Karimi v. Golden Gate School of Law et al
Filing
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Order by Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero denying 77 Motion for Sanctions and vacating hearing. (jcslc2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/24/2018)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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MORTEZA BENJAMIN RAY KARIMI,
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Case No. 17-cv-05702-JCS
Plaintiff,
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v.
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR
SANCTIONS
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GOLDEN GATE SCHOOL OF LAW, et al.,
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Re: Dkt. No. 77
Defendants.
United States District Court
Northern District of California
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Plaintiff Morteza Karimi moves for sanctions against Defendants Golden Gate School of
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Law (“Golden Gate”) and Anthony Niedwiecki for failure to comply with Rule 5.2(a) of the
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Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”).
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The Court finds the motion suitable for resolution without oral argument and VACATES the
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hearing set for August 31, 2018. For the reasons discussed below, the motion is DENIED.1
On December 22, 2017, opposing a previous motion by Karimi for a preliminary
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injunction, Defendants filed in the public record a copy of Karimi’s first-semester law school
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transcript as an exhibit to a declaration. See dkt. 29-18 (now under seal). Karimi did not raise an
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objection to that filing in his December 29, 2017 reply brief or at the April 20, 2018 hearing2 on
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the preliminary injunction motion. On July 21, 2018, Karimi filed his present motion for
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sanctions, asserting that Defendants violated FERPA by filing the transcript in the public record
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and violated Rule 5.2(a) because the transcript included Karimi’s date of birth. See generally Mot.
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(dkt. 77). Defendants filed a version of the transcript redacting Karimi’s birthdate three days later
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(dkt. 79), and the Court sealed the offending document (dkt. 81).
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The parties have consented to the jurisdiction of the undersigned magistrate judge for all
purposes pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).
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The hearing date was continued multiple times to allow the parties time to engage in mediation.
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Karimi contends that the transcript violates the provision of FERPA prohibiting a
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university from receiving federal grants if it “has a policy or practice of permitting the release of
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education records” without consent, despite Golden Gate stating on its website that it complies
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with the conditions of FERPA. 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(b)(1); see Mot. at 4 & Ex. A. As Defendants
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correctly note, however, FERPA’s implementing regulations provide an exception to that rule that
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is applicable here:
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If a parent or eligible student initiates legal action against an
educational agency or institution, the educational agency or
institution may disclose to the court, without a court order or
subpoena, the student’s education records that are relevant for the
educational agency or institution to defend itself.
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34 C.F.R. § 99.31(a)(9)(iii)(B).3 Karimi did not file a reply brief and thus did not respond to the
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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argument that this exception applies here.
Karimi moved for a preliminary injunction in part based on harm that he asserted he would
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experience from disciplinary action appearing on his academic record. See Mot. for Prelim. Inj.
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(dkt. 18) at, e.g., 8. The lack of notation on Karimi’s then-current transcript, while not alone
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dispositive of the question of whether Karimi might be entitled to injunctive relief against future
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notations, was relevant to Golden Gate’s defense. Under the regulatory exception set forth above,
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Golden Gate’s filing of Karimi’s transcript did not violate FERPA.
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Rule 5.2(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure prohibits filing the date of an
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individual’s birth (except where limited to only the year of birth) in the public record of a civil
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action, subject to certain exceptions not applicable here. Defendants violated that rule by failing
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to redact Karimi’s date of birth from his transcript. Courts have in some circumstances exercised
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their inherent authority to impose sanctions for egregious violations of this rule. See generally
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Courts have not interpreted this regulation as requiring such filings to be made under seal. See
Doe #1 ex rel. Lee v. Sevier Cty., No. 3:17-CV-41, 2017 WL 1048378, at *3 (E.D. Tenn. Mar. 15,
2017); Moreno v. Mcallen Indep. Sch. Dist., No. 7:15-CV-162, 2016 WL 3198159, at *3 & n.53
(S.D. Tex. June 9, 2016); Gaskins v. Baltimore City Pub. Schs., No. JKB-15-2961, 2016 WL
192535, at *8 (D. Md. Jan. 15, 2016), aff’d sub nom. Gaskins v. Abiodun, 649 F. App’x 307 (4th
Cir. 2016); Osei v. Temple Univ. of the Commonwealth Sys. of Higher Educ., No. CV 10-2042,
2015 WL 12914144, at *1 n.1 (E.D. Pa. Nov. 10, 2015); Jennings v. Univ. of N.C. at Chapel Hill,
340 F. Supp. 2d 679, 681–82 (M.D.N.C. 2004).
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Allstate Ins. Co. v. Linea Latina De Accidentes, Inc., No. 09-3681 (JNE/JJK),2010 WL 5014386
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(D. Minn. Nov. 24, 2010). Here, however, Defendants’ failure to redact the date of birth was
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inadvertent, Vartain Decl. (dkt. 84-1) ¶ 11, there is no indication that Karimi brought the error to
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Defendants’ attention before filing his motion for sanctions approximately seven months later,
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Defendants promptly and effectively remedied the error by filing a redacted version of the exhibit
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after Karimi filed his motion, and there is no evidence that Karimi suffered harm in the
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intervening period as a result of the disclosure. Under these circumstances, the Court declines to
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impose sanctions in this instance, but admonishes Defendants going forward to comply with Rule
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5.2 and any other privacy rules that may be applicable.
Karimi’s motion for sanctions is therefore DENIED.
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: August 24, 2018
______________________________________
JOSEPH C. SPERO
Chief Magistrate Judge
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