Named in a subpoena that's filed in the wrong jurisdiction

[okaynowwhat]

Jurisdiction issue for subpoena; motion to quash

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
District of Columbia

I'll start with the questions, and follow with the background:

1. If a plaintiff has filed for a subpoena of my name and address in a District Court that doesn't have personal jurisdiction over me, and I'm moving to quash their subpoena because of it, should I file my motion in the same court they did or in the District Court of my home state?
2. Since it's my name and other personal information they're trying to obtain, how do I file my motion without revealing that information?

Case background:

I was informed by my ISP (Qwest) that they've been subpoenaed to supply my name, address, etc, to a law firm that's threatening to sue 5,000 John Does for allegedly downloading a movie in violation of copyright. All the plaintiff has right now are the IP addresses of the unknown defendants.

The subpoena was filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, where a large number of the John Does and their respective ISPs do NOT conduct business with each other. Therefore, motions to quash have been pouring in to the DC court, most of which include an objection based on lack of jurisdiction.

Recently, an ISP based in South Dakota filed their own motion to quash, but did so in their home state instead of DC (http://www.myce.com/news/hurt-locker-file-sharing-subpoena-quashed-34699/). It got me wondering: What would happen if I tried to file my motion to quash in my home state as well, OR in the state where my ISP is based, (instead of in DC)? And out of curiosity, what would happen if I filed in more than one court?

Also, how do I file my motion while ensuring my anonymity? I'd planned on identifying myself in the motion by my IP address, or just "John Doe xxxx", while using an alternate mailing address. Or maybe instead I need to include my actual name along with a motion for a protective order (or to seal)?

Thanks for any help.

 

[scott07]

Someone please look into this some of us are still curious

I'm also interested in the answers to questions this user has submitted.

I am also curious if the said user did not get the objection submitted in time then what is the next step should the court come after the individual DOE?

Motion to dismiss based on lack of jurisdiction?
How do you file this properly?


*Bump*

 

[tranquility]

Civil procedure is hard. If everyone cooperates in a fair-minded manner, disputes can be equitably resolved between parties. CivPro is an attempt to make the resolution path give due process to all parties involved claims.

Many try to use it as a sword to prevent probably valid actions against them. Then, the answers become more difficult.

Clearly, this particular sword, quashing a federal IP/name subpoena from another part of the country, is coming up a lot with the large copyright violation lawsuits of late.

There is a lot of recent litigation on the surrounding matters and the courts come down different ways in different fact situations. Since it is so much cheaper to prevent a lawsuit here than to defend a lawsuit or pay damages, I'd go to an attorney with experience with defending this type of infringement litigation. Quashing the subpoena will pretty much end things, (Based on the current theory of the amount of effort these large scale copyright lawsuit firms are willing to go to to find defendants.) so it makes sense to pay a few hundred to an expert who can write a high-quality and convincing motion.

Even though the motion will probably go into a group of some sort by order of the court for judgment and not by individual motions, only by using an attorney can you be sure to not make a mistake in your motion which could hurt in later litigation.

 

[quincy]

You can go to http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/ for DC's local rules of civil procedure.

I also suggest that both of you, okaywhatnow and scott, use the "search" feature at the top of the page. Click on it and enter into the "keyword" box the words "West Coast Productions." Several threads will appear that address the very issue you are currently faced with.

The first thread posted, titled "Illegal Downloading," has resources listed that may be of help to you in handling your own infringement suits.

As a note, the DC courts are denying motions to quash the ISP subpoenas and denying motions to dismiss in many of these mass-defendant infringement cases. They have ruled that there are no due process issues or jurisdictional issues until the ISPs release the John Doe defendant identities and the John Does are named in an action against them.

The advice offered by tranquility, to speak with an attorney in your area, is wise advice. You may also find some attorney help through the Electronic Frontier Foundation and through your local ACLU.

Good luck.