Bait Productions Pty Ltd. v. Does 1-82

Filing 17

ORDER adopting 6 Report and Recommendation: The clerk is directed to terminate all but the first defendant as parties to this action. Signed by Judge Susan C Bucklew on 2/13/2013. (JD)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
BAIT PRODUCTIONS PTY LTD.,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 8:12-cv-2643-T-24 TBM

DOES 1-82,
Defendants.
_____________________________/
ORDER
This cause comes before the Court on the Report and Recommendation of Magistrate
Judge David A. Baker (Doc. No. 6) and Plaintiff's objections thereto (Doc. No. 8). The
magistrate judge held a status conference on December 10, 2012 in this and numerous other
copyright infringement actions brought by Plaintiff involving the BitTorrent file sharing
protocol. The magistrate judge concluded that the fictitious defendants in these actions were
improperly or imprudently joined, and therefore, he recommended that all of the defendants be
dismissed except for the first-named defendant in each case.1 Judge Dalton recently adopted the
same Report and Recommendation in case number 6:12-cv-1780-Orl-37DAB at Doc. No. 20.
This Court agrees with both the magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation and Judge
Dalton's Order, and this Court adopts both here, except as otherwise specified.2

1

The magistrate judge also recommended that all of the cases brought by Plaintiff be
consolidated before a single pair of district and magistrate judges. After a brief period of
consolidation, the district judge presiding over the consolidated cases ordered that they be
returned to the judges to whom the cases were originally assigned.
2

This Court does not adopt the portion of the magistrate judge’s Report and
Recommendation that recommends that all of the cases brought by Plaintiff be consolidated
before a single pair of district and magistrate judges.

The joinder of 82 fictitious defendants in this case makes the judicial economy that
normally results from joinder impossible. The Court is mindful that requiring Plaintiff to file a
separate lawsuit against each fictitious defendant may be burdensome and costly. However, the
joinder of 82 defendants in this case significantly impacts the Court's ability to effectively
manage this litigation and outweighs any convenience and cost-savings to Plaintiff.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that:
(1)

Plaintiff’s Objections to the Report and Recommendation (Doc. No. 8) are
OVERRULED.

(2)

The Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation (Doc. No. 6) is adopted and
incorporated by reference into this Order of the Court (except to the extent that
the magistrate judge recommended that all of the cases brought by Plaintiff be
consolidated before a single pair of district and magistrate judges).

(3)

Only the first-named Defendant (as identified in Exhibit A to the Complaint) shall
remain a party to this action. The claims against the remaining defendants are
hereby severed and dismissed without prejudice. The clerk is directed to terminate
all but the first defendant as parties to this action

DONE AND ORDERED at Tampa, Florida, this 13th day of February, 2013.

Copies to:
Counsel of Record

2