Case Information
*1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE DIVISION JANE DOE, Plaintiff, CASE NO. 3:25-cv-249 v. HON. ROBERT J. JONKER JOHN ROE and XYZ, LLC, (Sitting by Designation) Defendants. ______________________________/ ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
This is a civil action claiming unlawful disclosure of intimate images in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 6851. The matter has recently been reassigned to this judicial officer. The case is still in its early stages, though there has been extensive motion practice with respect to anonymity that the Court is addressing in a separate Order. In reviewing the case file, the Court discerns another aspect of the case that is ripe for review. In particular, the Court questions whether it ought to decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the State law claims in the current pleading. At present, there is a single federal claim and five pendent state law claims. Beyond the numbers, the State law claims run the risk of confusing the jury with separate elements requiring separate jury instructions on elements and damages. Moreover, other claims are seemingly unrelated to the federal claim and would needlessly lengthen and complicate proceedings, especially with a relatively new federal cause of action at play. All told, there appears to be good reason to decline supplemental jurisdiction here. 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c).
Case 3:25-cv-00249 Document 44 Filed 05/19/25 Page 1 of 2 PageID #: 257 *2 The parties are accordingly directed to respond in writing with their positions on this matter no later than June 13, 2025.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: May 19, 2025 /s/ Robert J. Jonker ROBERT J. JONKER UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
2 Case 3:25-cv-00249 Document 44 Filed 05/19/25 Page 2 of 2 PageID #: 258