U.S. Judge Blocks Porn BitTorrent Suits Filed in W. Va.

MARTINSBURG, Va. — A federal judge has quashed thousands of subpoenas that were requested in seven porn BitTorrent suits, ruling that the cases improperly join mass defendants together.

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey, in each of the orders, threw out all of the defendants with the exception of one John Doe for each claim. As a result, 5,462 unnamed defendants have been pared from suits filed by Combat Zone, Elegant Angel, Third World Media and West Coast Productions.

Bailey, in his ruling, said that the cases reeked of misjoinder, finding that it is an " undeniable fact that each defendant will also likely have a different defense."

In each of the cases, Bailey said that he would sever all Doe defendants except the first Doe of each suit. He also said that because so many ISPs were identified with each suit, "[allegations making] the propriety of joinder even more tenuous."

Bailey also said that if plaintiffs' counsel want to proceed they can do so by filing fees for each of the amended complaints, which would be assigned separate civil action numbers, but only if the defendants are located in West Virginia, where the cases were filed.

In the seven cases, Time Warner Cable moved to quash subpoenas seeking the identities of accused filed sharers.

Kenneth Ford of the Adult Copyright Co., which filed the suits, did not immediately respond to XBIZ for comment.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which filed amicus briefs in the cases, lauded the judge's ruling, calling it a "big victory in the fight against copyright trolls."

The EFF said that the studios in the seven suits were "abusing the law in an attempt to pressure settlements."

"In these cases — as in many others across the country — the owners of the adult movies filed mass lawsuits based on single counts of copyright infringement stemming from the downloading of a pornographic film, and improperly lumped hundreds of defendants together regardless of where the IP addresses indicate the defendants live," the EFF said in a statement.

"The motivation behind these cases appears to be to leverage the risk of embarrassment associated with pornography to coerce settlement payments despite serious problems with the underlying claims."

The West Virginia order comes on the heels of a ruling by a judge in the District of Columbia earlier this month that dismissed hundreds of individuals from across the country named in the U.S. Copyright Group's campaign due to lack of personal jurisdiction in Washington, D.C.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Haley Spades Stars in Latest From Immoral

Haley Spades stars with Charlie Dean, Matt Bird, and Dean Van Damme in a new three-part release from Immoral Productions, directed by "Porno Dan" Leal.

Octavia Red Makes Her Vampired Debut

Octavia Red has made her Vampired debut alongside Talia Mint and 2023 XMA Europas Female Performer of the Year Tiffany Tatum in the new feature “Hunters.”

Lily Starfire Fronts Latest From Brazzers

Lily Starfire stars with Kyle Mason in the latest release from Brazzers, titled "Eating Ass Is the Game."

Country Hotwife Makes Her WIFEY Debut

Content creator Country Hotwife has made her debut for Vixen Media Group (VMG) studio imprint WIFEY, alongside her husband StagHubby and former XMAs Male Performer of the Year Isiah Maxwell.

Vixen Media Group Celebrates 10 Years of 'Tushy'

Vixen Media Group (VMG) is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of studio imprint Tushy.

Cherry Kiss Stars in Latest 'Blind Dates' From Bellesa

Cherry Kiss headlines the 16th volume of "Blind Dates," from Bellesa.

Emma Rosie Toplines Pat Myne's 'Gape For Days 5'

Emma Rosie headlines director Pat Myne's "Gape For Days 5," from Evil Angel.

Adult Time Drops 2nd Installment of Bree Mills Thriller 'Escape From Camp Conversion'

Adult Time has debuted the second episode of the Bree Mills-helmed thriller "Escape From Camp Conversion," from studio brand Girlcore.

UPDATED: Supreme Court Rules Against Adult Industry in Pivotal Texas AV Case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday issued its decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, striking a blow against the online adult industry by ruling in support of Texas’ controversial age verification law, HB 1181.

Eris Jolie Makes Her TransAngels Debut

Eris Jolie has made her TransAngels debut alongside Bree Brooks in "A Very Filthy Cookout."

Show More