"Any Business in America Would Rather Not Have Their Internal Documents out in the Public"
"But that does not mean that litigants have a right to hide them from the public once they are implicated in court proceedings."
Right of Access
Multi-Billion Dollar Corporation Drops Suit Against Inter-American Development Bank, After Court Holds It Can't Sue as "Doe Corporation"
The case helps illustrate why the legal rules surrounding when parties can litigate under pseudonyms are so important.
Court Refuses to Seal Case Involving Government's Motion to Authorize Disclosure of Tax Returns
"The substantial public interests implicated by questions of the proper scope of Executive power and the statutory limits on access to tax information warrant public disclosure. While this case, and ... this decision, are now unsealed, the underlying Application and its supporting materials will remain under seal, at least while the investigation remains active ...."
Judge Reverses Earlier Decision: Ex-Employee Can't Sue Planned Parenthood for Race Discrimination as a "Jane Doe"
[UPDATE 11/17/2015 10:21 am: Sorry, post title originally accidentally omitted the "as a 'Jane Doe'" (which of course is what this decision is about, see below); I've revised the title to include it. My apologies!]
No Pseudonymity for Former Federal Employees Suing Over Mass Firings
"The fact that disclosure means Plaintiffs 'could be deemed litigious' or that future employers 'may treat Plaintiffs' association with this litigation as a red flag' is not sufficient to allege a substantial privacy interest."
Can Vanderbilt Student Suspended for Alleged False Accusations Sue Vanderbilt Pseudonymously?
No, says, a District Court judge.
"If Doe Wishes to Use Judicial Proceedings" "to Seek Relief from … Defamat[ion],"
"he must do so under his true name and accept the risk that certain unflattering details may come to light over the course of the litigation."
"Plaintiff's Complaint Is Focused on Discrimination Related to Positionality Across Multiple Marginalized and Vulnerable Communities"
Not enough to get pseudonymity for plaintiff's employment discrimination claim, at least in S.D. Tex.
"Protecting Reputation Is Not Enough to Overcome Public Access" to Court Records
A lawyer tried to seal a copy of an earlier judge's order that had made certain claims about the lawyer.
Judge Denies Pseudonymity, Because Plaintiff's Sensitive Personal Information Wouldn't Likely Emerge in the Case—But then Disclosed That Information In Its Order
"[T]he heart of the district court's analysis in denying Brooks's initial motion was its conclusion that the litigation would not require Brooks to disclose the information that he had filed under seal. But, in some respects, the district court's order did just that—it put the information that Brooks had filed under seal on the public docket."
Are Plaintiffs More Eligible to Be Pseudonymous in Lawsuits Against the Government? Less Eligible?
Today's D.C. Circuit decision muddies the matter still further.
No Pseudonymity for Illinois Ex-Med Student Suing Under Title IX to Challenge Dismissal for Sexual Misconduct
The Seventh Circuit is generally much more hesitant than courts in other circuits to allow pseudonymity in such cases.
