Opinion
Civil Action No. 11-cv-01877-MSK-MEH.
August 9, 2011
ORDER
Plaintiffs' Motion for Expedited Order Authorizing Discovery[filed July 19, 2011; docket #2] is granted. Plaintiffs allege that unknown John and Jane Doe defendants are posting defamatory and harmful statements about Plaintiff S. Jawn Ross on the internet. Plaintiffs request permission from the Court to engage in discovery before Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(f) conferral. The purpose of this discovery is to ascertain the identities of the John and Jane Doe defendants.
Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(d) proscribes seeking discovery before Rule 26(f) conferral. However, this prohibition is not absolute; the Court may authorize discovery upon 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., No. 10-cv-03075-CMA-BNB, 2011 WL 9293, at *2 (D. Colo. Jan. 3, 2011) (citation omitted).
After review of the motion and discussion on the record at the August 8, 2011 hearing, the Court finds that Plaintiff establishes good cause for limited expedited discovery, as follows. The Court authorizes the issuance of twelve subpoenas, for the purpose of obtaining the identity of the individuals posting allegedly defamatory statements on the internet regarding Plaintiffs. If Plaintiffs determine further expedited discovery is necessary, Plaintiffs may again seek leave of court.
SO ORDERED.