Doe v. 2TheMart.com Inc.:

In evaluating a civil subpoena that seeks to identify an anonymous Internet user, a court should consider the following factors before ordering a non-party, ISP to provide information concerning the identity of a subscriber who is a non-party witness to the underlying litigation :

(1) whether the subpoena seeking the information was issued in good faith and not for any improper purpose,
(2) whether the information sought relates to a core claim or defense,
(3) whether the identifying information is directly and materially relevant to that claim or defense, and
(4) whether information sufficient to establish or to disprove that claim or defense is unavailable from any other source.


Solers, Inc. v. John Doe:

When presented with a motion to quash (or to enforce) a subpoena which seeks the identity of an anonymous defendant, the court should:

(1) ensure that the plaintiff has adequately pleaded the elements of the cause of action,
(2) require reasonable efforts to notify the anonymous defendant that the complaint has been filed and the subpoena has been served,
(3) delay further action for a reasonable time to allow the defendant an opportunity to file a motion to quash,
(4) require the plaintiff to proffer evidence creating a genuine issue of material fact on each element of the claim that is within its control, and
(5) determine that the information sought is important to enable the plaintiff to proceed with his lawsuit.

We do not require a separate balancing test at the end of the analysis, nor do we require a showing that the plaintiff has exhausted alternative sources for learning the information.