From Judge John Cronan (S.D.N.Y.) today in Doe v. Fashion Institute of Tech., refusing to reconsider an earlier decision that denied Doe pseudonymity:
First, Plaintiff argues that the Court erred in several ways by concluding that the second and third factors [of the Second Circuit pseudonymity test] (risk of retaliation and severity of harm to the plaintiff) weighed only slightly in favor of anonymity. In so arguing, Plaintiff suggests that the Court overlooked evidence presented along with the renewed motion that a sticker bearing the phrase "The only good Zionist is a dead Zionist" has been affixed to at least two locations inside FIT buildings since early February 2023. Similarly, Plaintiff highlights "[r]ecent violence against Jewish students" on school campuses in New York and across the country in arguing that the Court improperly assessed the risk of harm to her. While Plaintiff's allegations of derogatory stickers affixed to buildings on FIT's campus and of violence against Jewish students elsewhere "are abhorrent," these alleged actions "were 'not directed at plaintiff or similarly situated individuals and so do not demonstrate that plaintiff is at risk of harm.'"
Plaintiff also argues that the second and third factors weigh in her favor because she has "alleged more than reputational harm resulting from the disclosure of her identity." She claims instead that disclosure of her name would result in "potential employers and educational institutions [having] easy access to the disciplinary measures Defendant has taken against Plaintiff …, which would in turn threaten her ability to secure future employment and pursue academic opportunities," and would result in a "severely compromised" "likelihood of [Plaintiff] being hired or accepted to a prestigious graduate institution."
Plaintiff's identified harms are no different than mere reputational harms, insufficient to support a motion to proceed anonymously. These claims of "economic hardship and loss of professional goodwill" do not weigh in favor of anonymity.
