Blocher v. MindGeek USA Inc.

District Court, D. Nevada·Decided August 4, 2023·No. 3:23-cv-00209·Unknown

Opinion

* * *

JORDAN FLEMING BLOCHER, Case No. 3:23-CV-00209-MMD-CLB

Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MINDGEEK’S MOTION TO STAY DISCOVERY AND v. DENYING AS MOOT BLOCHER’S MOTION TO DETERMINE DISCOVERY

Defendant. [ECF Nos. 18, 30]

Currently pending before the Court is Defendant MindGeek USA, Inc.’s (“MindGeek”) motion to stay discovery. (ECF No. 18.) Plaintiff Jordan Fleming Blocher (“Blocher”) filed a response, (ECF No. 27), and MindGeek replied. (ECF No. 29.) Also pending before the Court is Blocher’s motion to determine discovery plan. (ECF No. 30.) The Court has reviewed the relevant pleadings and papers, and, for the reasons set for below, grants MindGeek’s motion to stay discovery and denies Blocher’s motion to determine discovery plan as moot. Blocher’s complaint alleges the following. In 2018, Blocher’s then-boyfriend recorded sexually explicit videos of her and uploaded them to “content sites for profit.” (ECF No. 1-1 at 7.) Blocher later discovered the videos on “pornhub” (“Pornhub”). (Id.) In 2020, Blocher was tortured in her home from late April to mid-June by being repeatedly drugged and raped. (Id. at 7-8.) These events were videotaped and were released online in 2022. (Id. at 8.) Blocher’s current boyfriend took additional sexually explicit videos of her which were also released online. (Id. at 8-9.) Blocher alleges the “negligence of MindGeek is clear” and asks for damages of $64,000,000. (Id. at 9, 14.) MindGeek claims it does not own or operate Pornhub, the website referenced by Blocher. (ECF No. 6 at 4.) In the complaint, Blocher does not explain the connection between MindGeek and In response to the complaint, MindGeek filed a motion to dismiss the case for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. (ECF No. 6.) Thereafter, MindGeek filed the instant motion to stay discovery arguing discovery should be stayed because: (1) the pending motion to dismiss is dispositive of the entire case; (2) no discovery is required to rule on the motion to dismiss; and (3) there is good cause for a stay. (ECF No. 18.) Blocher opposed the motion to stay and requests that discovery be allowed. (ECF No. 27.) Blocher reiterates portions of her complaint and adds allegations that the accounts in question violate multiple Nevada statutes. (Id. at 2-3.) Blocher also argues MindGeek did not address her allegations of gross negligence. (Id. at 1-2.) MindGeek filed a brief reply on July 31, 2023. (ECF No. 29.) MindGeek argues Blocher’s response does not dispute that the motion to dismiss is potentially dispositive or that discovery is unnecessary for the Court to decide the motion. (Id. at 1.) MindGeek reiterated that it “should not be required to engage in discovery when Plaintiff has not, and may never, set forth any coherent claims.” (Id. at 2.) On August 2, 2023, Blocher also filed a motion to determine discovery plan. (ECF No. 30.) To determine if a stay is appropriate pending the ruling on a motion to dismiss, a court must consider the following factors: (1) whether the pending motion is potentially dispositive of the case; (2) whether the motion can be decided without additional discovery; and (3) whether the court is convinced that the plaintiff cannot state a claim for relief. Kor Media Group, LLC v. Green, 294 F.R.D. 579, 581 (D. Nev. 2013). The court must take a “preliminary peek” at the merits of the underlying dispositive motion in order to find whether the plaintiff can state a claim. Tradebay, LLC v. eBay, Inc., 278 F.R.D. 597, 603 (D. Nev. 2011). The “preliminary peek” does not prejudge the outcome of the motion; it merely evaluates whether an order staying discovery is warranted. Id. In conducting its review, the court also considers the goal of Federal Rule of Civil employed by the court and the parties to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 1. With Rule 1 as its prime directive, the court must decide whether it is more just to speed the parties along in discovery while a dispositive motion is pending or to delay discovery to accomplish the inexpensive determination of the case. See Big City Dynasty v. FP Holdings, L.P., 336 F.R.D. 507, 512 (D. Nev. 2020). A. MindGeek’s Motion to Dismiss is Dispositive The Court must first determine whether MindGeek’s motion to dismiss is potentially dispositive. Kor Media Group, LLC., 294 F.R.D. at 581. Here, MindGeek’s motion to dismiss argues that Blocher has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. (ECF No. 6 at 1-6.) MindGeek argues Blocher falls well short of stating any plausible claim because the complaint contains almost no allegations related to MindGeek, and none of the claims asserted would give rise to any recovery if proven. (Id. at 2.) MindGeek further argues that even if Plaintiff had adequately pleaded any viable claim, that claim would in turn be barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (“Section 230”), which affords a provider of an interactive computer service provider (“ICS”) broad immunity from liability for content posted to its websites by third parties. 47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1). If the motion to dismiss is granted, it appears all of the claims asserted in the complaint would likely be subject to dismissal for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Therefore, the Court finds Defendants’ motions to dismiss are potentially dispositive. B. No Discovery is Needed to Decide the Motion to Dismiss Next, the Court must determine whether additional discovery is necessary for a ruling on the motion to dismiss. Kor Media Group, LLC., 294 F.R.D. at 581. MindGeek argues that no discovery is necessary because the motion to dismiss deals purely with questions of law. (ECF No. 18 at 3.) The Court agrees with MindGeek’s description of the whether Defendant is immune from liability under Section 230.” (Id. (citing 47 U.S.C. § 230).) Whether Blocher sufficiently pled her claims requires a legal determination of whether she met the standard of a “short and plain statement of [any] claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2); Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 677 (2009). Liability under Section 230 also is a pure question of law, as it requires determination of whether the defendant is “(1) a provider or user of an interactive computer service (2) whom a plaintiff seeks to treat, under a state law cause of action, as a publisher or speaker (3) of information provided by another information content provider.” Dyroff v. Ultimate Software Grp., Inc., 934 F.3d 1093, 1097 (9th Cir. 2019); see also Barnes v. Yahoo!, Inc., 570 F.3d 1096, 1100 (9th Cir. 2009). Where the motion to dismiss concerns questions of law, additional discovery is not required. Segal v. Lefebvre, 2013 WL 12130553, *2 (D. Nev. Nov. 14, 2013). Therefore, as MindGeek’s motion to dismiss concerns only questions of law, no discovery is required to rule on the motion to dismiss. Id. C. The Court is Convinced the Motion to Dismiss is Likely to be Granted Finally, the Court must conduct a “preliminary peek” of the motions to determine whether as stay is warranted. Tradebay, 278 F.R.D. at 603. In conducting this preliminary peek, it is the Court’s duty is to ensure an inexpensive determination of this action, and delaying discovery would prevent economic

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Blocher v. MindGeek USA Inc., (D. Nev. 2023).

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