Liberty Media Holdings, LLC v. Youngtek Solutions LTD et al

Filing 15

ORDER Granting (Doc. 12 ) Plaintiff's Ex Parte Application For Leave To Take Immediate Discovery. Signed by Magistrate Judge Louisa S Porter on 12/27/2010. (srm)

-POR Liberty Media Holdings, LLC v. Youngtek Solutions LTD et al

Doc. 15

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 v. YOUNGTEK SOLUTIONS, LTD, doing business as TNAFLIX.COM, FRANK, DOES 1, 2, and 3-500, Defendants. On September 21, 2010, Plaintiff filed a complaint against Youngtek Solutions, LTD, d/b/a Tnaflix.com, and the Doe Defendants for copyright infringement. Plaintiff does not know the names of the Doe Defendants, but has identified the Defendants by their screen names: greatBoobies1985, tyvm, and jiginghey. On December 20, 2010, Plaintiff filed an Ex Parte Motion seeking leave of the Court to serve immediate discovery on Defendant Youngtek Solutions, LLC, d/b/a Tnaflix.com, to identify the true identities of Doe Defendants. Pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26 and 34, Plaintiff intends to seek production of documents that identify each Defendant's true name, addresses, e-mail addresses, I. P. addresses, and the dates and times of logins to Tnaflix. Plaintiff further seeks documentation sufficient to determine the number of counts of copyright infringement committed by each Defendant, including a log or other record of all videos uploaded. In accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(d), discovery does not commence until parties to an action meet and confer as prescribed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(f), unless by court order or agreement of the parties. A court order permitting early discovery may be -1UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA LIBERTY MEDIA HOLDINGS, LLC Plaintiff, Civil No. 10cv1972-JAH (POR)

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS' EX PARTE APPLICATION FOR LEAVE TO TAKE IMMEDIATE DISCOVERY [Doc. 12.]

10cv1972-JAH (POR)

Dockets.Justia.com

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appropriate "where the need for expedited discovery, in consideration of the administration of justice, outweighs the prejudice to the responding party." Semitool, Inc. v. Tokyo Electron America, Inc., 208 F.R.D. 273, 276 (N.D.Cal. 2002). After reviewing Plaintiff's Ex Parte Motion for leave to take early discovery, and the accompanying Memorandum of Points and Authorities, the Court finds good cause to grant Plaintiff's Motion, based on: (1) the allegations of copyright infringement contained in Plaintiff's complaint; (2) the danger that Defendant Youngtek Solutions, LLC, d/b/a Tnaflix.com will not long preserve the information that Plaintiff seeks; (3) the narrow tailoring of the discovery request so as not to exceed the minimum information required to advance this lawsuit without prejudicing the Defendants; and (4) the Court's finding that the expedited discovery requested will substantially contribute to moving this case forward. Furthermore, without such discovery, Plaintiff cannot identify the Doe Defendants, and thus cannot pursue its lawsuit to protect their copyrighted works from infringement. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 1. Plaintiff may serve immediate discovery on Defendant Youngtek Solutions, LLC, d/b/a Tnaflix.com to obtain the identity of each Doe Defendant by serving a request for production pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 that seeks information sufficient to identify each Doe Defendant, including name, addresses, e-mail addresses, I. P. addresses, and the dates and times of logins to Tnaflix. Plaintiff may also seek documentation sufficient to determine the number of counts of copyright infringement committed by each Defendant. 2. Any information disclosed to Plaintiff in response to the request for production may be used by Plaintiff solely for the purpose of protecting its rights under the Copyright Act. 3. If Defendant Youngtek Solutions, LLC, d/b/a Tnaflix.com wishes to move to oppose the request for production, it shall do so before the return date of the request. If such a motion is brought, Defendant shall nonetheless preserve the information sought in the request for production pending resolution of such motion. // -2-

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4.

Plaintiff shall provide a copy of this Order to Defendant Youngtek Solutions, LLC, d/b/a Tnaflix.com when the request for production is served.

IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: December 27, 2010

LOUISA S PORTER United States Magistrate Judge The Honorable John A. Houston All parties

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