## Facts

- Breaking Glass Pictures, LLC, a film distributor, alleged infringement of its copyright in the motion picture *6 Degrees of Hell*.
- The defendants were 188 unnamed individuals identified only by IP addresses, alleged to have uploaded and downloaded the film using the BitTorrent peer-to-peer protocol.
- BitTorrent allows users in a “swarm” to share pieces of a file among multiple users, enabling acquisition of the complete file from distributed sources.
- An exhibit to the complaint alleged the relevant swarm activity spanned about nine weeks (Dec. 2, 2012 to Jan. 30, 2013).
- Because the plaintiff initially knew only IP addresses and associated internet service providers, the court earlier authorized limited pre-service discovery for ISP subpoenas to identify subscribers and permitted subscribers to contest subpoenas anonymously.
- Several Doe defendants objected and were voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiff.

## Issues

1. Whether the remaining 188 Doe defendants were properly joined under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20(a)(2) based on alleged participation in the same BitTorrent swarm over a multi-week period.
2. Whether the court should, on its own motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 21, sever misjoined defendants and permit the action to proceed only against properly joined parties.

## Decision

- The court acted sua sponte and found misjoinder under Rule 20.
- The court ordered that Doe defendants #2 through #188 who remained in the case be severed from Doe #1 under Rule 21.
- The action continued only as to Doe #1.
- The order addressed joinder and case structure only and did not decide copyright liability or damages.

## Legal Principles

- Permissive joinder under Rule 20(a)(2) requires both (a) claims arising out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences, and (b) at least one common question of law or fact.
- Even where common legal or factual questions exist, joinder is improper if the “same transaction or occurrence” requirement is not satisfied.
- Rule 21 permits a court, on motion or sua sponte, to sever misjoined parties on just terms; misjoinder is not itself grounds to dismiss the action.
- Allegations that multiple defendants participated in a BitTorrent swarm involving the same work over a broad time period, without specific allegations linking defendants through direct or contemporaneous exchanges, may reflect parallel acts rather than a single series of transactions sufficient for Rule 20 joinder.

## Conclusion

The court severed all remaining Doe defendants except Doe #1, holding that alleged participation in a BitTorrent swarm over roughly nine weeks did not, without more, establish the transactional relatedness required to join 188 defendants in one case under Rule 20, and that Rule 21 severance was an appropriate remedy for misjoinder.


Breaking Glass Pictures, LLC v. Does 1–188, No. 4:13-CV-00388 AGF, 2013 WL 4551773 (E.D. Mo. Aug. 28, 2013)