¶6 ¶7 ¶8 ¶9 ¶ 10 ¶ 11 allowed the subscriber at the IP address the ability to contest the subpoena. On April 24, counsel entered an appearance and filed a motion to quash the subpoena. On July 11, 2012, the federal court granted a motion to dismiss filed by Gatehouse, finding that Hadley’s claim against Gatehouse was barred by federal statute. The dismissal of the lawsuit rendered the motion to quash moot. On August 7, 2012, Hadley returned to the circuit court of Stephenson County and filed the instant defamation action against Subscriber Doe a/k/a “Fuboy.”3 In this complaint, Hadley alleged that the comment made by Fuboy that Hadley was a “Sandusky waiting to be exposed” was defamatory per se because it imputed the commission of a crime to Hadley. Along with the complaint, Hadley issued a subpoena to Comcast requesting records and information concerning the IP address. Hadley also filed a motion for entry of an order directing Comcast to turn over such information. On August 31, 2012, the circuit court entered an order directing Comcast to comply with the subpoena and to provide the information requested, with the conditions that Comcast would have to notify the subscriber and the subscriber would be allowed 21 days to contest the subpoena. On September 26, the same attorney who had appeared in federal court filed a motion to quash the subpoena. Counsel also filed a special and limited appearance to contest jurisdiction. During a hearing held in January 2013, the circuit court informed the parties that the better procedure to use to discover the identity of Fuboy would be Illinois Supreme Court Rule 224. Ill. S. Ct. R. 224 (eff. May 30, 2008). In general, Rule 224 provides a means to identify potential defendants prior to the commencement of suit. Relying on Stone v. Paddock Publications, Inc., 2011 IL App (1st) 093386, the circuit court stated that, to show that relief under Rule 224 was necessary, Hadley would have the burden of setting forth allegations that would be sufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss under section 2-615 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-615 (West 2012)), even if such a motion was not filed. As the Stone court explained, this requirement is necessary in order to protect any first amendment interest possessed by the online commentator to engage in nondefamatory, anonymous speech. The circuit court then entered an order granting Hadley leave to file an amended complaint to add a count seeking relief under Rule 224. Based on the circuit court’s instructions, Hadley filed an amended complaint on January 24, 2013. Count I alleged a cause of action for defamation against Subscriber Doe a/k/a Fuboy. Count II, directed at Comcast as respondent, sought an order directing Comcast to disclose Fuboy’s identity pursuant to Rule 224. After additional briefing and hearing, the circuit court concluded that count I of Hadley’s complaint could withstand a motion to dismiss under section 2-615 and, therefore, Hadley was entitled to Rule 224 relief. The circuit court found that the “Sandusky” in Fuboy’s statement referred to Jerry Sandusky, the Penn State University football coach who was charged with sexual abuse of numerous boys, and that this would be obvious to any reasonable person who read Fuboy’s statement. The court also concluded that the comment imputed the commission of a crime to Hadley; that it was not capable of an innocent construction; and that it could not Counsel for defendant has not challenged plaintiff’s assertion that Subscriber Doe and “Fuboy” are one and the same, and we treat them as such for purposes of this appeal. 3 -3-