From Doe v. Mid-American Apartment Communities, Inc., decided Wednesday by Magistrate Judge Christopher Ray (S.D. Ga.):
The Court's prior Order explained that "[a]nonymous pleading is the exception to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 10(a), which requires every party to be named in the complaint." It also explained that "[t]he ultimate test for permitting a plaintiff to proceed anonymously is whether the plaintiff has a substantial privacy right which outweighs the customary and constitutionally-embedded presumption of openness in judicial proceedings."
Doe's Motion to Proceed Anonymously states that he should be permitted to pursue this case anonymously because his "defamation of character lawsuit warrants anonymous filing." He contends, without any citation to legal authority, that "[c]ourts in the Eleventh Circuit and elsewhere have routinely recognized defamation of character lawsuit as one of the rare situations justifying anonymous suits." He also alleges, in wholly conclusory fashion, that anonymous proceeding is justified by the possible application of an arbitration clause, apparently in his lease. Finally, he expresses concern that pursuing this case in his own name "may incite [d]iscrimination[, and] … expose [him] to [d]iscrimination, [r]etaliation, [f]urther risk of illegal entry, [p]rivate [p]roperty, personal health, and life dangers."
