Sunderland Association Football Club Ltd. v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A

• Court: District Court, W.D. Texas
• Decided: December 22, 2025
• Docket: 1:25-cv-01786
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS AUSTIN DIVISION

SUNDERLAND ASSOCIATION § FOOTBALL CLUB LTD., § Plaintiff § § v. § No. 1:25-CV-01786-ADA § THE PARTNERSHIPS AND § UNINCORPORATED § ASSOCIATIONS IDENTIFIED ON § SCHEDULE A, § Defendants §

ORDER

Before the Court is Plaintiff Sunderland Association Football Club Ltd.’s (“Sunderland”) corrected motion for expedited discovery, Dkt. 15. Sunderland asks the Court to allow expedited discovery into the Defendant partnerships and unincorporated associations’ identities. Id. at 2. Specifically, Sunderland asks the Court for an order directing third-party online marketplaces to provide documents and records sufficient to determine the identities and locations of Defendants, including all known contact information. Id. at 2-3. Sunderland also seeks to issue expedited discovery to Defendants related to their identities. Id. Under the Federal Rules, a party “may not seek discovery from any source before the parties have conferred as required by Rule 26(f), except … when authorized by these rules, by stipulation, or by court order.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(d)(1). Courts may order expedited discovery for good cause. El Pollo Loco, S.A. de C.V. v. El Pollo Loco, Inc., 344 F. Supp. 2d 986, 991 (S.D. Tex. 2004); Chanel, Inc. v. The Individual, P’ship, or Unincorporated Ass’n, No. 4:14-CV-2617, 2014 WL 12605584, at *1 (S.D. Tex. Oct. 17, 2014). “Factors commonly considered in determining the reasonableness of expedited discovery include, but are not limited to: (1) whether a preliminary

injunction is pending; (2) the breadth of the discovery requests; (3) the purpose for requesting the expedited discovery; (4) the burden on the defendants to comply with the requests; and (5) how far in advance of the typical discovery process the request was made.” Legacy of Life, Inc. v. Am. Donor Servs., Inc., No. SA-06-CA-0802-XR, 2006 WL 8435983, at *1 (W.D. Tex. Oct. 10, 2006) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also ConcernedApe LLC v. P’ships & Unincorporated Ass’ns Identified on Schedule

A, No. 1:25-CV-1537-RP, 2025 WL 3290428, at *4-5 (W.D. Tex. Nov. 26, 2025) (granting plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction and ordering expedited discovery as to defendants’ identities); id. at ECF 12. Sunderland has shown good cause for the limited expedited discovery it seeks. While there is no preliminary injunction pending, the breadth of the discovery request is narrow and limited only to information needed to contact Defendants in order to serve them. Nothing suggests that the burden on Defendants or the third-party online

marketplaces to comply is so high as to outweigh Sunderland’s need for the information in order to serve Defendants. And while this request is made before the Rule 26(f) conference, the Court finds that the discovery is necessary at this stage to serve Defendants. If Sunderland were not permitted to obtain the contact information, this suit could not move forward. Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that 1. Upon Sunderland’s request, any third party with actual notice of this order who is providing services for any of the Defendants, or in connection with any of Defendants’ online marketplaces, including, without limitation, any online marketplace platforms such as eBay, Inc., AliExpress, Alibaba, Amazon.com, Inc., Wish.com, and Dhgate, shall, within seven calendar days after receipt of such notice, provide to Sunderland expedited discovery, limited to copies of documents and records in such person’s or entity’s possession or control sufficient to determine the identities and locations of Defendants, their officers, agents, servants, employees, attorneys, and any persons acting in active concert or participation with them, including all known contact information and all associated e-mail addresses; and 2. Sunderland is authorized to issue expedited discovery to Defendants, pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 33, 34, and 36, related to the identities and locations of Defendants, their officers, agents, servants, employees, attorneys, and any persons acting in active concert or participation with them, including all known contact information and all associated e-mail addresses. SIGNED December 22, 2025.

DUSTIN M. HOWELL UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE