6
reported that only one of the 400 Comcast subscribers AF
Holdings identified appeared to live in the District. And Cox,
AT&T, and Bright House each stated that they had no
subscribers at all in the District of Columbia; indeed, they do
not even offer service here. The providers also argued that
any burden was necessarily undue because AF Holdings had
failed to provide any reason to think that joinder of these
1,058 defendants in one action was proper.
The district court rejected these arguments, holding that
“considerations of personal jurisdiction and joinder are
premature when discovery is sought before the plaintiff has
named a defendant and the discovery is targeted to identify
unknown individuals associated with the IP addresses.” But
acknowledging that several other district courts had reached
contrary conclusions in similar situations, and recognizing
that a substantial ground for difference of opinion existed, the
district court certified its order for immediate appeal. See 28
U.S.C. § 1292(b).
The providers now reiterate the arguments they made in
the district court—that the subpoenas are unduly burdensome
because venue is improper, personal jurisdiction over these
Doe
defendants
is
lacking,
and
the
defendants
could
not
properly be joined together in one action. Our review is for
abuse of discretion. See Recording Industry Ass’n of America,
Inc. v. Verizon Internet Services, 351 F.3d 1229,
Cir.
2003).
discretion
As
when
a “district
it makes
an
court
error
by
definition
of law,”
the
1233 (D.C.
abuses
its
“abuse-of-
discretion standard includes review to determine that the
discretion was not guided by erroneous legal conclusions.”
Koon v. United States, 518 U.S. 81, 100 (1996).