Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of The subject matter of the Complaint clearly contains highly sensitive and intimate information about Plaintiff Plaintiff was an identified victim by the FBI and the U.S Attorneys Office in a criminal investigation against Defendant Jeffrey Epstein During the related criminal investigation and up and to this point in time Plaintiffs identity has been sealed as all parties recognize the highly sensitive subject matter of the charges and the need to protect the privacy interest of Plaintiffs identity In this civil action Defendant Jeffrey Epstein already knows Plaintiffs identity and will be privy to the sealed document containing Plaintiffs name Therefore he knows the identity of Plaintiff and will not be prejudiced by public non-disclosure of Jane Doe No identity There is great need in this case to protect intimate information about Plaintiff Jane Doe No and to protect her privacy interest Memorandum of Law The general presumption against anonymous or pseudonymous pleadings is commonly overcome in certain types of cases and courts have discretion to permit such pleading in appropriate circumstances Privacy or confidentiality concerns are sometimes sufficiently critical that parties or witnesses should be allowed this rare dispensation James Jacobson F.3d 4th Cir As is ordinarily the case where trial courts have discretion judicial guidelines exist for the exercise of such discretion in the form of factors that courts should consider in deciding whether to grant anonymity requests They are not many for the question happily is one that is seldom raised Nevertheless some guidelines can be gleaned from the relatively few cases-both at the trial and appellate levels-that have wrestled with the problem Among them are the following that have relevance to this case whether the Podhurst Orseck P.A West Flagler Street Suite Miami FL Miami Fax Fort Lauderdale w.podhurst.com Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of justification asserted by the requesting party is merely to avoid the annoyance and criticism that may attend any litigation or to preserve privacy in a matter of sensitive and highly personal nature whether identification poses a risk of retaliatory physical or mental harm to the requesting party or even more critically to innocent non-parties the ages of the persons whose privacy interests are sought to be protected and relatedly the risk of unfairness to the opposing party from allowing an action against it to proceed anonymously See id internal citations omitted In deciding whether to permit pseudonymous pleadings courts must balance the plaintiffs right to privacy and security against the dual concerns of public interest in identification oflitigants and harm to the defendant stemming from suppression of plaintiffs name Doe Smith Supp 2d E.D.N.Y internal citation omitted The ultimate test for permitting a plaintiff to proceed anonymously is whether the plaintiff has a substantial privacy right that outweighs the customary presumption of openness in judicial proceedings See Doe Stegall 2d 5th Cir August Courts typically accept pseudonym filing in cases where the nature of the pleading unveils highly sensitive information and detail about the plaintiff such that the non-disclosure of the partys name is necessary to protect her from harassment injury ridicule or personal embarrassment See United States Doe F.2d 9th Cir see also Doe Smith F.3d 7th Cir court required to consider whether the interests of justice required adult woman who was videotaped having consensual sex with her boyfriend when she was a minor to disclose her name as plaintiff in lawsuit against boyfriend alleging that boyfriend illegally distributed videotape Does I ThruXXlv Advanced Textile Corp F.3d 9th Cir district court abused its discretion in denying permission to proceed anonymously to Chinese employees working in garment industry in Mariana Islands where Podhurst Orseck P.A West Flagler Street Suite Miami FL Miami Fax Fort Lauderdale podhurst.com Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of employees were vulnerable to retaliation Stegall F.2d at anonymity warranted to protect minor plaintiffs against risk of violence from revelation of unpopular personal beliefs Doe United Servs Life Ins Co F.R.D S.D.N.Y anonymity allowed because of sensitive privacy and retaliation concerns in suit by homosexual against insurance company alleging discriminatory practices no unfairness to defendant who was aware of claimants identity Candy Redemption Ranch Supp M.D Ala anonymity allowed in suit by pregnant 19-year-old alleging fraudulent inducement to enter defendants Home for Girls It is clear from the allegations of sexual abuse of a minor in the Complaint that the information is of a highly sensitive nature Jane Doe No name remained anonymous in the related criminal case and Defendants attorneys as well as the United States government redacted all documents containing her name The present case is not one in which permitting Plaintiff to proceed anonymously will disadvantage Defendant in any way Defendant already knows Plaintiffs identity and will be privy to the sealed document containing Plaintiffs name While the public normally has a right to the openness of judicial proceedings the victims privacy interest greatly outweighs the right to know the identity of a victim of child sex abuse Other than the identity of Plaintiff the aspects of this case will be available to the public Evidently the balance weighs overwhelmingly in favor of allowing Plaintiff to proceed anonymously This Court recently has allowed at least ten other plaintiffs who were underage sex abuse victims of Defendant Jeffrey Epstein to proceed anonymously See C.M.A Epstein et al Case No Jane Doe No Epstein Case No Jane Doe No Epstein Case No Jane Doe No Epstein Case No Jane Doe No Epstein Case No Jane Doe No Podhurst Orseck P.A West Flagler Street Suite Miami FL Miami Fax Fort Lauderdale w.podhurst.com Case Document Entered on FLSD Docket Page of Epstein Case No Jane Doe No Epstein Case No KAM Jane Doe No Epstein Case No Jane Doe Epstein Case No Jane Doe Epstein et al Case No Jane Doe Epstein Case No Accordingly this Court should likewise permit Jane Doe No to proceed anonymously WHEREFORE Plaintiff Jane Doe No moves this Court to enter an Order granting this Motion thus allowing her to proceed in this litigation under the Jane Doe No pseudonym Date April eow Nc lo-ff Jt_ Robert Josefsb Katherine Ezell Bar No Podhurst Orseck P.A West Flagler Street Suite Miami Florida fax rjosefsberg podhurst.com kezell podhurst.com Attorneys for Plaintiff CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH LOCAL RULE On April I undersigned counsel conferred with counsel for Defendant in a good faith effort to resolve the issues raised in this motion and Defendants counsel advised that Defendant opposes this motion Date April J?;s Florida Bar No Podhurst Orseck P.A West Flagler Street Suite Miami FL Miami Fax Fort Lauderdale w.podhurst.com
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