Power of Few, LLC v. Doe

Full title: THE POWER OF FEW, LLC, Plaintiff, v. DOES 1-28, Defendants.

Court: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

Date published: Oct 21, 2013

Civil Action No. 13-cv-02635-RM-BNB (D. Colo. Oct. 21, 2013)

Opinion

Civil Action No. 13-cv-02635-RM-BNB

2013-10-21

THE POWER OF FEW, LLC, Plaintiff, v. DOES 1-28, Defendants.

Boyd N. Boland

Magistrate Judge Boyd N. Boland

ORDER

This matter arises on the plaintiff's Renewed Motion for Leave to Take Discovery Prior to Rule 26(f) Conference [Doc. # 10, filed 10/18/2013] (the "Renewed Motion"), which is GRANTED as specified.

The motion alleges that the Doe defendants used peer-to-peer file swapping networks to unlawfully obtain and distribute material for which the plaintiff holds exclusive copyrights. The plaintiff requests leave of court to serve limited, immediate discovery in the form of subpoenas on Internet Service Providers ("ISPs") prior to a conference under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) so that it may identify and serve the Doe defendants.

Rule 26(d), Fed. R. Civ. P., proscribes seeking discovery before the Rule 26(f) conference. The prohibition is not absolute, however, and a court may authorize expedited discovery on a showing of good cause. Pod-Ners, LLC v. Northern Feed & Bean of Lucerne Ltd. Liability Co., 204 F.R.D. 675, 676 (D. Colo. 2002). "Expedited discovery should be limited, however, and narrowly tailored to seek information necessary to support expedited or preliminary relief." Avaya, Inc. v. Acumen Telecom Corp., 2011 WL 9293 *2 (D. Colo. Jan. 3, 2011).

The plaintiff has shown good cause for the limited discovery requested because it is necessary to identify the defendants so that they may be served with process. There appears to be no other source for this information.

IT IS ORDERED:

(1) The Renewed Motion [Doc. # 10] is GRANTED;

(2) The plaintiff may serve subpoenas, in the forms attached [Doc. # 10-3], together with a copy of this Order on Century Link QC and Comcast Cable Communications Management, LLC, for the limited purpose of ascertaining the identity of the Doe defendants; and

(3) The plaintiff may use the information obtained pursuant to the subpoenas, if any, solely for the purpose of making service of process on the Doe defendants.

BY THE COURT:

Boyd N. Boland

United States Magistrate Judge