Free Motion to Seal Document - District Court of California - California

Case 3:07-cv-05115-JSW

Document 36

Filed 12/14/2007

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1 GUTRIDE SAFIER REESE LLP Adam J. Gutride (Cal. State Bar No.181466) 2 Seth A. Safier (Cal. State Bar No. 197427) 835 Douglass Street 3 San Francisco, California 94114 Telephone: (415) 271-6469 4 Facsimile: (415) 449-6469 5 Counsel for Plaintiff 6 7 8 9 10 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case No. 07-5115 JSW PLAINTIFFS' ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO FILE DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL; SUPPORTING DECLARATION

11 DOE, Individually And On Behalf Of All Others Similarly Situated, 12 Plaintiff, 13 vs. 14 NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC Defendant. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

PLAINTIFF'S ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO SEAL; SUPPORTING DECLARATION - CASE NO. C 07-5115 JSW

Case 3:07-cv-05115-JSW

Document 36

Filed 12/14/2007

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NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION TO FILE DOCUMENT UNDER SEAL.

2 TO DEFENDANT AND ITS ATTORNEYS OF RECORD: 3 Please take notice that pursuant to Northern District of California Civil Local Rules 7-11,

4 79-5, Plaintiff hereby moves the Court for an Order allowing him to file under seal the 5 following: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 The Supreme Court has implicitly endorsed the use of pseudonyms to protect plaintiffs' privacy. See Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 35 L. Ed. 2d 147, 93 S. Ct. 705 (1973) (abortion); Doe 28 v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179 (1973) (abortion); Poe v. Ullman, 367 U.S. 497 (1961) (birth control). 27
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DECLARATION OF PLAINTIFF IN OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANT'S MOTIONS TO DISMISS This motion is based on the memorandum and declaration of Seth A. Safier ("Safier Decl.") that follow and all the pleadings and papers in the Court file. MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES The local rules permit a party, upon court order, to file under seal information that is "privileged or protectable as a trade secret or otherwise entitled to protection under the law." Civil Local Rule 79-5. As this case is being prosecuted by a "DOE" plaintiff, he seeks to file under seal his declaration. (Specifically, he has redacted from that declaration only his name.) Many federal courts, including the Ninth Circuit, have permitted parties to proceed anonymously when special circumstances justify secrecy. See, e.g., Doe v. Advanced Textile Corp., 214 F.3d 1058, 1067 (9th Cir. 2000) citing Doe v. Madison School Dist. No. 321, 147 F.3d 832, 833 n.1 (9th Cir. 1998), vacated on other grounds, 177 F.3d 789 (9th Cir. 1999) (en banc); Doe v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin, 112 F.3d 869, 872 (7th Cir. 1997); James v. Jacobson, 6 F.3d 233, 239 (4th Cir. 1993); Doe v. INS, 867 F.2d 285, 286 n.1 (6th Cir. 1989); Moe v. Dinkins, 533 F. Supp. 623, 627 (S.D.N.Y. 1981), aff'd, 669 F.2d 67 (2d Cir. 1982).1 Parties are permitted to use fictitious names "when nondisclosure of the party's identity `is necessary . . . to protect a person from harassment, injury, ridicule or personal embarrassment.'" Does I thru XXIII v. Advanced Textile Corp., 214 F.3d 1058, 1067-68 (9th Cir. 2000) citing United States v. Doe, 655 F.2d 920, 922 n.1 (9th Cir. 1981). Plaintiff asserts

PLAINTIFF'S ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO SEAL; SUPPORTING DECLARATION - CASE NO. C 07-5115 JSW

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Case 3:07-cv-05115-JSW

Document 36

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1 that sealing this document is necessary to protect Plaintiff from harassment, injury, ridicule or 2 personal embarrassment. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Dated: December 14, 2007 GUTRIDE SAFIER REESE LLP By: /s/ Seth A. Safier Adam J. Gutride Seth A. Safier Kate J. Stoia 835 Douglass Street San Francisco, California 94119 SUPPORTING DECLARATION I, SETH A. SAFIER, declare as follows: 1. I am an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of California and admitted to

11 practice before this Court, and am a partner of the law firm Gutride Safier LLP. I have personal 12 knowledge of the facts stated herein and, if called as a witness, I could and would competently 13 testify thereto. 14 2. The document described in this motion contains information that reveals the

15 Plaintiff's identity. Accordingly, I have filed it under seal in an effort to protect Plaintiff from 16 harassment, injury, ridicule or personal embarrassment. 17 I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed this

18 14th day of December, 2007, at San Francisco, California. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 /s/ Seth A. Safier SETH A. SAFIER

PLAINTIFF'S ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO SEAL; SUPPORTING DECLARATION - CASE NO. C 07-5115 JSW

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