Magistrate Judge Bristow Marchant's decision earlier this month in Doe v. Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc. (D.S.C.) arose in a case where plaintiff sued alleging that a coworker had sexually assaulted her, including by "threatening her with a gun." Many (though not all) courts allow plaintiffs alleging sexual assault to sue pseudonymously in order to protect their privacy as to "matters of a sensitive and personal" nature (see pp. 1430-37 of this article). And the magistrate generally endorsed that position—but concluded that in this instance pseudonymity was unavailable:
[W]here a Plaintiff has not herself acted in a manner to preserve her privacy as to her allegations of sexual assault, this interest [in plaintiff's privacy] may be negated…. [Defendant] Roberts argues that other factors weigh against Plaintiff's request for anonymity here, as Plaintiff herself "has not acted to preserve her privacy" because she used her own name and photograph on social media in claiming that Roberts sexually assaulted her, thus unmasking her identity in a public forum. Roberts argues that "[b]ecause Plaintiff's reasons for anonymity (to preserve her privacy) are belied by her [own] actions, this factor weighs against anonymity." The Court is constrained to agree….
Based on a review of the parties' submissions regarding Plaintiff's Facebook posts, the Court concludes as follows. "Are We Dating the Same Guy?" ("AWDTSG") is a network of approximately 200 female-only Facebook groups that are location-specific. Within these groups, women can post screenshots of men's dating profiles to their specific location's group, asking other members of the group for "red flags" or "tea" (apparently referring to gossip or information) about the identified men…. To join a group, a member must be vetted and only individuals (presumably female) who have been admitted to the group are able to see the content posted by other members and to post content themselves. The rules applicable to these groups prohibit taking screen shots of content and sharing the information outside of the group.
The parties have identified two AWDTSG groups in which Plaintiff was a member and posted information about the issues involved in this case. First, there is a regional group for Greenville and Anderson Counties, which has approximately 16,700 members …. Second, there is a regional group for the Charleston and Columbia areas … with over 40,000 members….
In June or July 2023, a member of one of the two groups posted a request seeking information about Roberts. Plaintiff, using her full name and profile picture, responded to this post as follows:
To everyone, he SA me. I didn't know he had a criminal history. I'm putting this out there to protect anyone I can from him. He is DANGEROUS.
Although members of AWDTSG have the option to post anonymously, Plaintiff posted this comment using her real name along with a photograph. Moreover, Plaintiff's post was linked to her personal Facebook profile, which contained additional pictures and personal information.
