Amazon.com Inc et al v. Does 1-20 et al

Filing 34

ORDER granting Plaintiff's 24 Ex Parte Motion for Expedited Discovery. Signed by Judge Tana Lin. (MJV)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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AMAZON.COM, INC., a Delaware
corporation; AMAZON.COM SERVICES
LLC, a Delaware limited liability company,
and AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC., a
Nevada corporation,
v.

CASE NO. 2:24-cv-01083-TL
ORDER ON EX PARTE MOTION
FOR EXPEDITED DISCOVERY

Plaintiffs,

Does 1–20, unknown parties doing business
as “Chin Chopa,” and the following
individuals: Justin Cook, Timothy Rodgers,
Sai Parvathareddy, Danielle Lantz, Brandon
Wong, Bharath Kumar Gandhe, Berkcan
Turkmenoglu, and Mike Ahlert,
Defendants.

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This is an action for damages and injunctive relief stemming from alleged refund fraud.

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This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Ex Parte Motion for Expedited Discovery. Dkt.

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No. 24. Plaintiffs seek discovery of certain third-party companies to identify additional
ORDER ON EX PARTE MOTION FOR EXPEDITED DISCOVERY - 1

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individuals operating as “Chin Chopa” on Telegram. Id. at 2. Having reviewed the relevant

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record, the Court GRANTS the motion.

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A party “may not seek discovery from any source before the parties have conferred as

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required by Rule 26(f), except . . . when authorized by [the FRCP], by stipulation, or by court

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order.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(d)(1). To deviate from the standard pretrial schedule, including by

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seeking expedited third-party discovery prior to a Rule 26(f) conference, the moving party must

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demonstrate good cause. See, e.g., Amazon.com, Inc. v. Dafang Haojiafu Hotpot Store, No. C21-

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766, 2022 WL 2511742, at *2 (W.D. Wash. June 8, 2022) (finding good cause for third-party

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discovery to identify defendants); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4) (“A schedule may be

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modified only for good cause and with the judge’s consent.”). In evaluating whether good cause

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exists to permit expedited discovery, courts examine the diligence and intent of the moving party

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and whether the need for expedited discovery in the administration of justice outweighs the

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prejudice to the responding party. See Amazon.com, Inc., 2022 WL 2511742, at *1.

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Here, for the reasons that follow, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have demonstrated good

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cause for limited third-party discovery targeted at learning the identities of the individuals

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operating as Chin Chopa. See, e.g., Kovalenko v. Does 1 through 5, No. C22-1578, 2022 WL

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17582483, at *3 (W.D. Wash. Dec. 12, 2022) (holding the same); see also Soo Park v.

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Thompson, 851 F.3d 910, 928 n.21 (9th Cir. 2017) (“[I]n circumstances ‘where the identity of

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alleged defendants will not be known prior to the filing of a complaint . . . the plaintiff should be

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given an opportunity through discovery to identify the unknown defendants, unless it is clear that

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discovery would not uncover the identities, or that the complaint would be dismissed on other

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grounds.’” (quoting Gillespie v. Civiletti, 629 F.2d 637, 642–43 (9th Cir. 1980))).

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Plaintiffs have been diligent in trying to identify the individuals behind Chin Chopa.

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Plaintiffs hired an investigator who conducted an undercover test purchase and paid Chin Chopa
ORDER ON EX PARTE MOTION FOR EXPEDITED DISCOVERY - 2

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using cryptocurrency, as the account requested. See Dkt. No. 25 (Ivory declaration) ¶¶ 8–12.

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Following this purchase, Plaintiffs retained another investigator to analyze the cryptocurrency

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wallet address, which was ultimately connected to Binance Holdings Limited, a centralized

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exchange based in the Cayman Islands. Id. ¶ 13. Further investigation revealed other

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cryptocurrency wallets tied to MEXC Global Limited, an exchange based in the Seychelles, and

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Coinbase, Inc., an exchange based in the United States. See id. Plaintiffs have also uncovered

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Microsoft Outlook email addresses associated with the operators of Chin Chopa. Id. ¶ 14.

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Although Plaintiffs have tried to identify the operators through other methods, they have been

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unable to do so. Id. ¶ 15. Indeed, the operators removed all posts from their Telegram channels

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on the day this action was filed, and messaged Plaintiffs the next day to confirm that they had

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deleted their channels and ceased operations. See Dkt. No. 24 at 3–4.

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The other factors also support expedited discovery in this matter. “Courts routinely allow

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early discovery for the limited purpose of identifying defendants on whom process could not

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otherwise be served,” which is precisely Plaintiffs’ intent here. Amazon.com, Inc., 2022 WL

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2511742, at *2. “Good cause exists where, as here, a plaintiff has exhausted its means to identify

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the defendant through publicly [ ] available information and has no other way to identify the bad

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actors involved in the scheme.” Id. (citing Facebook, Inc. v. Various, Inc., No. C11-1805, 2011

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WL 2437433, at *3 (N.D. Cal. June 17, 2011)). And there is “minimal risk of prejudice to

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Defendants, where the requested discovery is narrowly tailored to identify and locate Defendants

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so that they may be properly named and served in this action.” Kovalenko, 2022 WL 17582483,

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at *3; see also Amazon.com, Inc., 2022 WL 2511742, at *3 (recognizing discovery directed at

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non-parties as “not impos[ing] a significant burden upon defendants” (quoting Renaud v. Gillick,

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No. C06-1304, 2007 WL 98465, at *3 (W.D. Wash. Jan. 8, 2007))).

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ORDER ON EX PARTE MOTION FOR EXPEDITED DISCOVERY - 3

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Accordingly, Plaintiffs’ motion (Dkt. No. 24) is GRANTED. It is hereby ORDERED:

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(1)

Plaintiffs are GRANTED leave, prior to the Rule 26(f) conference, to serve Rule 45

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subpoenas and submit letters of request on the following companies solely for the

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purpose of obtaining account information that may help identify Defendants:

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a.

Microsoft Corporation

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b.

Coinbase, Inc.

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c.

Binance Holdings Limited

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d.

MEXC Global Limited

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(2)

To the extent Plaintiffs discover new information warranting additional Rule 45

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subpoenas or letters of request, they may file a supplemental motion for expedited

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discovery with information supporting their requests.

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Dated this 26th day of November 2024.

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A

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Tana Lin
United States District Judge

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ORDER ON EX PARTE MOTION FOR EXPEDITED DISCOVERY - 4