From Concerned Jewish Parents & Teachers of L.A. v. Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium, decided yesterday by Judge Fernando Olguin (C.D. Cal.).
An unincorporated association, the Concerned Jewish Parents and Teachers of Los Angeles, along with six individuals using the pseudonyms Jane or John Doe ("Doe plaintiffs") initiated this action …. [Their] claims revolve around the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum ("LESMC"), which plaintiffs allege is taught in Los Angeles public schools. According to plaintiffs, the LESMC "denounces capitalism, the nuclear family, and the territorial integrity of the lower 48 states of the United States[,]" and is designed "to expunge the idea of Zionism, and the legitimacy of the existence of the State of Israel, from the public square[.]" … With the instant Motion, the Doe plaintiffs seek leave to proceed anonymously….
A party's "use of fictitious names runs afoul of the public's common law right of access to judicial proceedings … and Rule 10(a)'s command that the title of every complaint 'include the names of all the parties[.]'" Nonetheless, the Ninth Circuit has "permitted parties to proceed anonymously when special circumstances justify secrecy." In particular, courts may "allow parties to use pseudonyms in the 'unusual case' when nondisclosure of the party's identity 'is necessary … to protect a person from harassment, injury, ridicule or personal embarrassment.'" See also Roe v. Skillz, Inc. (9th Cir. 2021) ("[T]his Court has made clear that use of a pseudonym should only be permitted occasionally and in 'unusual' cases."). Given the "presumption that parties' identities are public information, anonymity is only proper under special circumstances when the party's need for anonymity outweighs prejudice to the opposing party and the public's interest in knowing the party's identity." …
As an initial matter, the Doe plaintiffs have not established that they personally fear harm of any kind. None of them filed any declarations in support of the Motion. Nor does the Declaration of Lori Lowenthal Marcus, counsel for plaintiffs, provide any basis, let alone an admissible basis, for the court to credit the Doe plaintiffs' purported fears. The Marcus Decl. states that "[e]ach of the persons who is an individual Plaintiff in this case … is willing to serve as a plaintiff only if they are allowed to proceed anonymously[,]"and recounts three examples of non-plaintiffs who are alleged to have suffered harm as a result of their beliefs. But a desire to proceed anonymously is not tantamount to a fear of severe harm; nor will the court presume the existence of such a fear simply from a party's desire to use a pseudonym. Similarly, plaintiffs offer no basis for the court to impute the alleged experiences of non-plaintiffs to the Doe plaintiffs.
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