No Pseudonymity in #TheyLied Libel Case Alleging False Claims of Sexual Assault at College
From Doe v. Doe, decided Jan. 5 by Judge James Dever III (E.D.N.C.):
Essentially, plaintiff’s complaint concerns defendant’s alleged “false claims” of sexual assault made to Tulane University … and unidentified third parties in order to “defame, humiliate, harass, and punish Plaintiff John Doe.” Plaintiff also identifies another student, using the pseudonym “Sue Roe,” who allegedly conspired with the defendant to defame plaintiff and misuse Tulane’s Title IX investigation process to “further a malicious vendetta against John Doe.” Outside of John Doe, Jane Doe, and Sue Roe, the complaint identifies almost every other individual with initials….
A civil complaint generally must set forth the “name[s] [of| all the parties.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(a). “[I]n exceptional circumstances, compelling concerns relating to personal privacy or confidentiality may warrant some degree of anonymity in judicial proceedings, including use of a pseudonym.” … [But] because the use of pseudonyms in litigation undermines the public’s right of access to judicial proceedings, “when a party seeks to litigate under a pseudonym, a district court has an independent obligation to ensure that extraordinary circumstances support such a request by balancing the party’s stated interest in anonymity against the public’s interest in openness and any prejudice that anonymity would pose to the opposing party.” …
Plaintiff argues that the sexual assault allegations leading to his expulsion from Tulane involve “private and intimate details regarding the lives of John Doe and Jane Doe.” Numerous district courts have recognized a plaintiff’s interest in preserving privacy where the allegations concern sexual assault. [Citations omitted. -EV] Therefore, the court finds that plaintiff desires to proceed pseudonymously in order to preserve his privacy in a matt
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