A Magistrate Court judge in Utah has granted a defendant’s motion to serve a subpoena on an Internet Service Provider in order to determine the location from which a specific IP address originated, which provided consent to a lead generator to receive messages.
The Background: The plaintiff is accusing the defendant of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The plaintiff claims the calls he received were made without his permission.
- The defendant, meanwhile, argues that the plaintiff filled out a web-based consent form on a “lead generator” website and provided his real phone number and a fictitious name.
- The defendant wants to identify the location of the IP address that was used to fill out and submit the form, to help determine whether it was the plaintiff or someone else who filled out the form.
The Ruling: Judge Dustin B. Pead of the District Court for the District of Utah granted the motion, and will allow the defendant to serve a subpoena on the ISP, in order to identify the location from which the IP address originated, the subscriber linked to the IP address, and the description of any device transmitting information through the address. The subpoena also requests the identity of the owner of that device, including contact information.
- The ISP can seek to quash the subpoena, if it so chooses.