Global Brother SRL v. Johnson et al

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
GLOBAL BROTHER SRL, 	)
)
Plaintiff, 	)
)
v. 	) 	No. CIV-25-335-R
)
MESSIAH JOHNSON, et al., 	)
)
Defendants. 	)
ORDER
Before the Court is Plaintiff Global Brother SRL’s Motion for Alternative Service
and for Leave to Conduct Limited Discovery [Doc. No. 7]. The Motion arises due to
Plaintiff’s inability to locate Defendant Messiah Johnson through any of his listed means
of communication (physical address, email address, and phone number). Plaintiff requests
leave to serve Defendant Johnson via email, or in the alternative, to conduct limited
discovery to locate Defendant Johnson.
The Court finds service by email inappropriate at this time because there is no
indication that Defendant Johnson’s purported email address is active or that he received
prior attempts at communication sufficient to ensure notice. The Court does not foreclose
the possibility of service via email being proper should Plaintiff provide additional
information supporting email being a reliable means of providing notice in this case.
Given Plaintiff’s inability to locate Defendant Johnson despite due diligence and
reasonable efforts, the Court—exercising its discretion under Rule 26(d) of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure—finds good cause to grant Plaintiff’s Motion for Limited
Case 5:25-cv-00335-R Document 9 Filed 06/13/25 Page 1 of 2

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Discovery for the purposes of locating Defendant Johnson. See Wright v. Doe, No. 22-CV-
300-JFH-JFJ, 2022 WL 2764901, at *5-6 (N.D. Okla. July 15, 2022).
Accordingly, Plaintiff’s Motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Plaintiff
is permitted to serve a subpoena on SHOPIFY, Inc. as described in Plaintiff’s Motion.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 13th day of June, 2025.
Case 5:25-cv-00335-R Document 9 Filed 06/13/25 Page 2 of 2