Vidala Aaronoff v. Curtis R. Olson
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
Case 2:21-cv-09747-SB-PD Document Filed 12/29/ Page 1 of Page ID #:1105
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
JANE DOE, Case No. 2:21-cv-09747-SB-PD
Plaintiff,
v. ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
CURTIS R. OLSON et al.,
Defendants.
Plaintiff Jane Doe is litigating this suit anonymously without having obtained leave of court. A complaint must ordinarily “include the names of all parties,” Fed R. Civ. P. 10(a), and a party’s use of a fictitious name “runs afoul of the public’s common law right of access to judicial proceedings,” Does I thru XXIII v. Advanced Textile Corp., 214 F.3d 1058, 1067 (9th Cir. 2000). Parties may proceed anonymously when “special circumstances justify secrecy.” Id. A district court must consider various factors in determining whether to allow a party to proceed anonymously, including “(1) the severity of the threatened harm, (2) the reasonableness of the anonymous party’s fears, and (3) the anonymous party’s vulnerability to . . . retaliation.” Id. at 1068. The district court must balance these factors against the public’s right of access.