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

European Commission to Assess Pornhub, XVideos, XNXX Compliance With Digital Services Act

The European Commission plans to conduct a study to determine how well adult sites Pornhub, XVideos and XNXX are addressing illegal content and other potential harms under the EU’s Digital Services Act.

Sabien DeMonia Stars in Latest From Brazzers

Sabien DeMonia stars with Jordi El Nino Polla and Danny D in the latest release from Brazzers, titled “Double Stuffed Sabien.”

Connie Perignon Makes Her Deeper Debut

Connie Perignon has made her debut for Vixen Media Group (VMG) studio imprint Deeper, alongside Kazumi and Anton Hardon in “Bare Witness.”

German Higher Court Upholds Ban on PornHub, YouPorn

The Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate on Thursday upheld a “network ban” on Aylo-owned adult sites Pornhub and YouPorn for failing to comply with German age verification regulations.

Kaci Kennedy Makes Her WIFEY Debut

Creator Kaci Kennedy stars with her husband Dakota Sexton and Chocolate Rod in the latest release from Vixen Media Group studio imprint WIFEY.

Bad Bella Makes Her New Sensations Debut

Bad Bella has made her New Sensations debut, starring alongside Danny Mountain.

Alabama Notifying Adult Sites of New Tax Set to Take Effect Sept. 1

The Alabama Department of Revenue has begun sending notices to adult site operators about a new 10% tax on their revenues, set to be enforced starting Sept. 1.

Ondato, CCBill Announce Strategic Partnership for Global High-Risk Market

Age and identity verification firm Ondato and payment processor CCBill have formed a strategic partnership to serve the global high-risk market.

Ofcom Investigates 4 More Adult Companies for OSA Compliance

U.K. media regulator Ofcom has launched investigations into whether four companies operating adult websites have implemented requisite age assurance measures under the Online Safety Act, the agency announced Thursday.

Keiran Lee Gets Star Send-Off from Brazzers Ahead of UK Homecoming

Keiran Lee is coming home. Two decades after moving from England to the United States to sign an exclusive contract with Brazzers, the award-winning performer is moving back to the U.K. this week along with his wife, fellow performer Kirsten Price, and their three children.

Show More