IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION
e360 INSIGHT, LLC, an Illinois Limited Liability Company, and DAVID LINHARDT, an individual,
Plaintiffs,
v.
THE SPAMHAUS PROJECT, a company limited by guarantee and organized under the laws of England, a/k/a THE SPAMHAUS PROJECT, LTD.,
Defendant.
DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE INSTANTER A STATUS REPORT ON SUGGESTED DEPOSITION
Defendant The Spamhaus Project (“Spamhaus”),1 by and through its attorneys Jenner & Block LLP, respectfully moves this Court for the entry of an order granting Spamhaus leave to file instanter the 4-page Status Report attached as Exhibit A. In support of this motion, Spamhaus states that the parties have agreed that the voluntary telephonic deposition of Steve Linford should not proceed because Plaintiffs’ counsel was not interested in taking the deposition within the scope of Steve Linford’s offer to provide testimony.
[1 Defendant expressly objects to this Court’s jurisdiction over The Spamhaus Project because Defendant is based solely in the United Kingdom and does not conduct or transact business in Illinois. Moreover, Defendant reserves its arguments based on Plaintiffs’ failure to properly effect service of process.]
Because Your Honor suggested that Plaintiffs accept Steve Linford’s prior offer to sit for a telephonic deposition, Spamhaus respectfully desired to advise the Court, prior to the continued hearing date, that the deposition did not proceed and the reasons why it did not proceed.
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Respectfully submitted,
THE SPAMHAUS PROJECT
Dated: August 21, 2007
By: s/David Jiménez-Ekman _________
Craig C. Martin
David Jiménez-Ekman
Carrie A. Fino
JENNER & BLOCK LLP
330 North Wabash Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
Telephone: (312) 222-9350
Facsimile: (312) 527-0484
EXHIBIT A
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION
e360 INSIGHT, LLC, an Illinois Limited Liability Company, and DAVID LINHARDT, an individual,
Plaintiffs,
v.
THE SPAMHAUS PROJECT, a company limited by guarantee and organized under the laws of England, a/k/a THE SPAMHAUS PROJECT, LTD.,
Defendant.
STATUS REPORT ON SUGGESTED DEPOSITION
Defendant The Spamhaus Project ("Project")' files this status report to advise Your Honor, prior to the status hearing scheduled for August 24, 2007, that the parties agreed that the voluntary telephonic deposition of Steve Linford should not proceed because Plaintiffs' counsel was not interested in taking the deposition within the scope of Steve Linford's offer to provide testimony.
[1 Defendant expressly objects to this Court's jurisdiction over The Spamhaus Project because Defendant is based solely in the United Kingdom and does not conduct or transact business in Illinois. Moreover, Defendant reserves its arguments based on Plaintiffs' failure to properly effect service of process.]
Mr. Linford's offer to provide deposition testimony, which remains open, was purely voluntary. Mr. Linford:
• is not a party to this action; • is not a United States citizen; • has never traveled to the United States;
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• does not transact any business in his personal capacity in the United States; and • has not been served with any process in connection with this action.
Consequently, Mr. Linford is not producible on notice, or even on subpoena, to give deposition testimony in this case. Rather, in order to obtain compelled deposition testimony from him, plaintiffs would be required to effect proper international service of process via the Hague Convention, which plaintiffs have not done or attempted to do.
Nonetheless, as Your Honor noted at the status hearing on August 8, 2007, Mr. Linford previously offered to voluntarily provide telephonic deposition testimony in this case on a specific topic. That offer was formally made in a pleading on March 19, 2007. However, that offer was not made in the context of plaintiffs' current motion to compel the production of documents related to Spamhaus Technology, LTD and Ultradesign, LTD; the current motion was not even filed until about three months later, on June 11, 2007. Rather, Mr. Linford made that offer to resolve a motion over a dispute regarding the assets of the defendant in this case - The Spamhaus Project, Ltd. - and was specifically limited to that topic. Specifically, Mr. Linford "expressed his willingness to sit for a telephonic deposition relating to the assets of The Spamhaus Project." (Ex. A, Resp. to Mot. R. Show Cause ¶ 3 (emphasis supplied).) Mr. Linford remains willing to provide deposition testimony on that topic - "the assets of The Spamhaus Project." And, after counsel for The Spamhaus Project reported Your Honor's observations at the August 8, 2007 status conference to Mr. Linford, Mr. Linford also agreed to provide deposition testimony limited to the affirmative statements he made in his declaration opposing plaintiffs' current motion.
However, because of severe security concerns, Mr. Linford is not willing to answer questions beyond the scope of his original offer or the affirmative statements in his declaration
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e.g., questions relating to the names of volunteers for The Spamhaus Project, or any information about the entities that are not defendants in this action, Spamhaus Technology, LTD or Ultradesign, LTD. The business and personal safety risks of The Spamhaus Project, which is devoted to eliminating internet spam, are well-publicized. In addition to creating the SBL and ROKSO list of known spammers and fighting for anti-spam legislation, Project also assists law enforcement agencies in an attempt to prevent and stop deceptive and criminal internet schemes. These criminal internet schemes often involve "gangs" or organized crime outfits. (Ex. B.) As a result of this work, Mr. Linford has received many death threats, was under the protection of the Scotland Yard for a period of time, and has been advised not to open any unexpected packages.
(Id.)
Consequently, while Mr. Linford remains willing to provide testimony regarding the assets of Project, and the lack of any control relationship between Project and the entities at issue in plaintiffs' current motion, Mr. Linford will not provide the names or addresses of any of Project's volunteers. Moreover, Mr. Linford, sitting solely in his capacity as the Director of Project, is unwilling to answer questions regarding the non-defendant entities (Spamhaus Technology, LTD and Ultradesign, LTD). Those answers would essentially provide the information sought in the motion to compel that is currently before this Court, and are not within the control of Project (the only defendant before this Court) as an entity, even though Mr. Linford may have personal knowledge on those topics acquired in his capacity as an officer of those other entities.
During two telephone conversations on August 16, 2007, plaintiffs' counsel advised counsel for Project that plaintiffs are not interested in proceeding with a deposition within the scope of Mr. Linford's offer. During those conversations, counsel for plaintiffs, Bartly Loethen,
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acknowledged that Mr. Linford could not be compelled to provide any testimony. Mr. Loethen also stated that he was not interested in proceeding with a deposition concerning the "assets of The Spamhaus Project" because he had "little doubt" that few, if any, assets were titled in that name. Mr. Loethen also stated that he did not desire to ask Mr. Linford questions regarding the declarations he submitted in connection with this motion, regarding the lack of a control relationship between Project and the two non-defendant entities (Spamhaus Technology and Ultradesign), unless Mr. Linford would provide additional information: the names of Project's volunteers, and specific information regarding those non-defendant entities, such as their revenues, the names of their employees and officers and the location of their servers. Because of the security concerns identified above, Mr. Linford is not willing to do that as part of his voluntary offer to provide testimony. Consequently, the parties mutually agreed that the deposition should not proceed, as memorialized in an e-mail from David Jimenez-Ekman to Mr. Loethen.
Because Your Honor suggested that plaintiffs accept Steve Linford's prior offer to sit for a telephonic deposition, Project desired to advise the Court, prior to the continued hearing date, that the deposition did not proceed and the reasons why it did not proceed.
Respectfully submitted,
THE SPAMHAUS PROJECT
Dated: August 21, 2007
By: s/ David Jimenez-Ekman
Craig C. Martin
David Jimenez-Ekman Carrie A. Fino
JENNER & BLOCK LLP 330 North Wabash Avenue Chicago, IL 60611
Telephone:
(312) 222-9350
Facsimile:
(312) 527-0484
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION
E360INSIGHT, LLC,
an Illinois Limited Liability Company, and
DAVID LINHARDT, an individual
Plaintiffs,
v.
THE SPAMHAUS PROJECT,
a company limited by guarantee and
organized under the laws of England, aka
THE SPAMHAUS PROJECT LTD,
Defendant.
MOTION TO FILE A STATUS REPORT
Plaintiffs, e360Insight, LLC and David Linhardt (collectively Plaintiffs), by and through their attorneys, Synergy Law Group, LLC, respectfully requests that this Court grant Plaintiffs leave to file a Status Report. In support of this motion Plaintiffs state:
1. Plaintiffs are seeking to obtain information on potential subsidiaries or affiliated companies of Defendant. To that end, Plaintiffs have sought discovery related to Spamhaus Technologies, LTD and UltraDesign, LTD.
2. On June 11, 2007, Plaintiffs filed a Motion to Compel (Docket No. 99) seeking to have the Court enter an order compelling Defendant to comply with a previous Court Order regarding responding to inquiries related to Spamhaus Technologies, LTD (Docket No. 78) and to comply with a Citation to Discover Assets.
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3. On June 13, 2007, Defendant filed a Response to the Motion to Compel. (Docket No. 101).
4. On June 14, 2007 the Honorable Judge Kocoras entered an Order granting the parties leave to file supplemental briefs. (Docket No. 102).
5. The parties both filed supplemental briefs. (Docket Nos. 103 and 107).
6. On July 31, 2007, the Honorable Judge Kocoras referred this matter to this Court for a ruling on the Motion to Compel. (Docket No. 113).
7. On August 3, 2007, this Court set the matter for status on August 8, 2007. (Docket No. 114).
8. At the status conference before this Court, the Court advised Plaintiffs that it was the Court’s understanding that the director of the Defendant, Mr. Linford, had agreed to sit for a deposition as to the Motion to Compel and that it was the Court’s suggestion that Plaintiffs avail themselves of that opportunity. The Court confirmed with counsel for Defendant that Mr. Linford would sit for a deposition as to the matters related to the Motion to Compel. Counsel for Defendant knew that the Plaintiff sought to depose Mr. Linford on issues related to the Motion to Compel and advised this Court that Mr. Linford would sit for such a deposition. Mr. Linford has only agreed to sit for a deposition regarding the issues related to the assets of Spamhaus Technology and as to his previously filed affidavit but not as to any of the items sought by Plaintiff with respect to the information sought by the Motion to Compel.
9. Plaintiffs seek to file a Status Report advising this Court as to the status of events subsequent to the status conference.
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WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs, e360Insight, LLC and David Linhardt, respectfully request that this Court enter an Order granting Plaintiffs leave to file a Status Report.
Respectfully submitted,
E360Insight, LLC. and David Linhardt
By: /s/ Daniel J. Peters
One of Their Attorneys
Bartly J. Loethen
Joseph L. Kish
Daniel J. Peters
Synergy Law Group, LLC
730 West Randolph, 6th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60661
Telephone: (312) 454-0015
Facsimile: (312) 454-0261
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION
E360INSIGHT, LLC,
an Illinois Limited Liability Company, and
DAVID LINHARDT, an individual
Plaintiffs,
v.
THE SPAMHAUS PROJECT,
a company limited by guarantee and
organized under the laws of England, aka
THE SPAMHAUS PROJECT LTD,
Defendant.
STATUS REPORT
Plaintiffs, e360Insight, LLC and David Linhardt (collectively Plaintiffs), by and through their attorneys, Synergy Law Group, LLC, respectfully submit the following Status Report to the Court:
1. On August 3, 2007, this Court set the matter for status on Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel for August 8, 2007. (Docket No. 114).
2. At the status conference before this Court, the Court advised Plaintiffs that it was the Court’s understanding that the director of the Defendant, Mr. Linford, had agreed to sit for a deposition as to the Motion to Compel and that it was the Court’s suggestion that Plaintiffs avail themselves of that opportunity. The Court confirmed with counsel for Defendant that Mr. Linford would sit for a deposition as to the matters related to the Motion to Compel. Counsel for Defendant knew that the Plaintiff sought to depose
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Mr. Linford on issues related to the Motion to Compel and advised this Court that Mr. Linford would sit for such a deposition. Mr. Linford has refused to sit for a deposition regarding the issues related to the Motion to Compel.
3. Plaintiffs seek to obtain discovery regarding the following information concerning Spamhaus Technology, LTD:
a. A list of officers or board members and compensation paid to each;
b. A list of investors, if any, identifying the amount of the investment;
c. A list of employees including their salaries and/or other payments made to the employees for the past two (2) years;
d. A list of owners (including percentage of ownership);
e. Accounts receivables for the past 2 years (including a list of companies subscribing to Spamhaus Technology, LTD’s services);
f. Accounts payable for the past 2 years;
g. Bank statements for the past 2 years;
h. Profit and loss ledgers for the past 2 years; and,
i. The dates and amounts of any dividends paid to shareholders.
4. Plaintiffs seek to obtain discovery regarding the following information concerning Ultradesign, LTD:
• The office address for Ultradesign, LTD;
• A list of officers or board members and compensation paid to each;
• A list of investors, if any, identifying the amount of the investment;
• A list of employees including their salaries and/or other payments made to the employees for the past two (2) years;
• A list of owners (including percentage of ownership);
• Accounts receivables for the past 2 years (including a list of companies subscribing to Ultradesign, LTD’s services);
• Accounts payable for the past 2 years;
• Bank statements for the past 2 years;
• Profit and loss ledgers for the past 2 years; and,
• The dates and amounts of any dividends paid to shareholders.
5. On information and belief, Mr. Linford has knowledge regarding all of the information being sought by Plaintiffs.
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Respectfully submitted,
E360Insight, LLC. and David Linhardt
By: /s/ Daniel J. Peters
One of Their Attorneys
Bartly J. Loethen
Joseph L. Kish
Daniel J. Peters
Synergy Law Group, LLC
730 West Randolph, 6th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60661
Telephone: (312) 454-0015
Facsimile: (312) 454-0261
MINUTE entry before Judge Geraldine Soat Brown : Motion hearing held.
Plaintiffs' motion to compel [99] is taken under advisement. Defendant's motion for leave to file a status report [117] is granted. Plaintiffs' motion for leave to file a status report [120] is granted.Notice mailed by judge's staff (ntf, )