From today's order by Judge John Woodcock (D. Me.) in Doe v. Smith; Sigmund D. Schutz and Alexandra A. Harriman of PretiFlaherty and I represent the media intervenors, and my student Timon Amirani worked on our motion. (Note that our motion to unseal is still pending.)
Over the plaintiff's objection, the Court grants a motion to intervene filed by a trust representing a network of independent news and media outlets to seek to unseal docket entries and potentially to depseudonymize the plaintiff depending on the contents of the filings if unsealed….
On November 14, 2023, John Doe, acting under a pseudonym, filed a civil action in this Court against Sara Smith, another pseudonym, asserting that she breached a Non-Disclosure Agreement and caused the Plaintiff damages. The Plaintiff also sought equitable relief, including an injunction against Ms. Smith. In the complaint, Mr. Doe alleges that he was the winner of the Maine State Lottery, that Ms. Smith is the mother of his minor daughter, and that Ms. Smith entered into a Non-Disclosure Agreement to "promote the safety and security of John Doe, [herself], and their daughter" and to avoid "the irreparable harm of allowing the media or the public in general to discover, inter alia, John Doe's identity, physical location, and assets." Mr. Doe filed several motions to seal documents filed in this case based on his view that the revelation of his name will cause him irreparable harm, and the Court has granted those motions….
On February 20, 2024, the Maine Trust for Local News (Maine Trust) filed a motion to intervene to file motions to unseal the documents currently docketed under seal and potentially to depseudonymize the case in the future. In its motion, Maine Trust describes itself as "a network of independent news and media outlets serving the entirety of the state of Maine," a description the Court accepts for purposes of this motion. [Note that despite the court's admirable caution in its description, there's little controversy about the Maine Trust's role; it includes, among others, the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram, as well as many other smaller mainstream publications. -EV]
On the same day, the Maine Trust filed a motion to unseal the documents in four docket entries. On February 21, 2024, Sara Smith quickly responded and stated that not only did she not object to Maine Trust's motion to intervene but that she had objected to various motions to seal by John Doe. On March 6, 2024, John Doe filed his opposition to Maine Trust's motion to intervene….
