Ariz. Judge Denies Reseller's Motion to Quash Subpoenas in Phone Trafficking Case

U.S. District Judge Susan Brnovich for Arizona in Phoenix denied defendant GlobalguruTech’s (GGT) latest motion to quash Xfinity Mobile’s subpoenas to five banks and American Express because the subpoenas seek information directly relevant to the plaintiff’s claims, said her Friday order (docket 2:22-cv-01950). Brnovich also further denied GGT’s motion to quash Xfinity’s subpoenas to Zelle, UPS and Paypal, the order said. Xfinity sent the subpoenas to third parties that do business with GGT; the defendant argued the subpoenas were “overly broad.” GGT and owner Jakob Zahara don’t have standing to move to quash the subpoenas, and they didn’t show a protective order was a necessary alternative, said Brnovich. Xfinity's Nov. 16 complaint alleges defendants and their co-conspirators are handset traffickers who exploit financial incentives to acquire phones by using unlawful methods to circumvent the procedures put in place to protect Xfinity Mobile and its legitimate customers -- and then resell the phones for substantial profit. Plaintiffs argued the Arizona court isn't the proper jurisdiction to hear the motion because the motion should have been brought in Georgia, where compliance is required. Neither side cited a case where a law firm demands compliance outside of the state where the original action was filed, said the judge. Plaintiffs filed their case in Arizona, the Arizona court issued the subpoenas, and the various respondents are citizens of California, New York, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Missouri and Georgia, she said. “Georgia has nothing to do with the litigation,” so the court found Arizona the proper jurisdiction to hear the motion.