Judge seals identity information disclosed by Verizon prior to subpoena return date in Malibu Media v Does 1-13

You may recall that recently it was revealed, in Malibu Media v. Does 1-13, that Verizon had turned over the identities of its subscribers to the plaintiff's counsel five (5) days PRIOR to the subpoena return date, and three (3) days prior to the Court's order staying enforcement of the subpoena, thus preventing the court from ruling on the pending motion to quash (PDF) prior to disclosure.

Plaintiff's lawyer, instead of immediately advising the Court, waited ten (10) days, and then calmly made what he called a "motion for clarification" asking for permission to go ahead and use the information.

The Court, far from granting him such permission, has instead explicitly denied him the right to use that information, and ordered him to turn the information over to the Court in an envelope to be sealed by the Court, and to destroy any and all copies in his possession:

Order sealing information voluntarily disclosed by Verizon prior to return date of subpoena and prior to ruling on motion to quash


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