Doe v. City and County of San Francisco et al

Filing 27

ORDER by Judge Kandis A. Westmore granting 23 Motion for Reconsideration. (kawlc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 4/27/2017) (Additional attachment(s) added on 4/27/2017: # 1 Certificate/Proof of Service) (sisS, COURT STAFF).

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JOHN DOE,
Plaintiff,

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Case No. 16-cv-06950-KAW
ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR
RECONSIDERATION

v.
CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN
FRANCISCO, et al.,

Re: Dkt. No. 23

United States District Court
Northern District of California

Defendants.
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Plaintiff John Doe filed the instant suit against Defendants, alleging that Defendants,

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without probable cause, had caused Plaintiff to be declared "gravely disabled" and involuntarily

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detained for mental health reasons. (Compl. ¶ 20, Dkt. No. 1-1.) Plaintiff brings claims for: (1)

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violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, based on deprivations of Plaintiff's First Amendment right to

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petition and Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizure; (2) discrimination

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based on disability, medical condition, psychiatric condition, and sexual orientation; (3) false

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arrest and excessive force; (4) false arrest and false imprisonment; (5) assault and battery; (6)

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intentional infliction of emotional distress; (7) negligent infliction of emotional distress; (8)

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trespass; (9) conversion; (10) invasion of privacy; and (11) negligent hiring, training, and

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retention. (Compl. ¶¶ 489-592.)

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On December 2, 2016, Defendants removed the case to federal court. (Dkt. No. 1.) On

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February 10, 2017, Plaintiff filed a motion for permission for electronic case filing. (Dkt. No. 10.)

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On February 21, 2017, the Court granted Plaintiff's motion, but required that Plaintiff file an

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amended complaint under his real name. (Dkt. No. 11.) Plaintiff then filed a motion for leave to

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file a motion for reconsideration of the Court's order that Plaintiff file an amended complaint

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under his real name. (Dkt. No. 18.) At the initial case management conference, the parties agreed

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to allow Plaintiff to file his motion for reconsideration, and the Court issued an order setting a

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briefing schedule. (Dkt. No. 22.)

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Pursuant to the Court's briefing schedule, Plaintiff filed the instant motion for

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reconsideration on March 30, 2017. (Plf.'s Mot., Dkt. No. 23.) Defendants filed their opposition

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on April 13, 2017. (Defs.' Opp'n, Dkt. No. 25.) Plaintiff filed his reply on April 20, 2017. (Plf.'s

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Reply, Dkt. No. 26.)

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The Court deems the matter suitable for disposition without hearing pursuant to Civil

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Local Rule 7-1(b). Having considered the papers filed by the parties and the relevant legal

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authority, the Court GRANTS the motion for reconsideration.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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I.

LEGAL STANDARD

District courts possess the "inherent procedural power to reconsider, rescind, or modify an

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interlocutory order" before entry of final judgment. City of L.A., Harbor Div. v. Santa Monica

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Baykeeper, 254 F.3d 882, 885 (9th Cir. 2001); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b) (stating that any

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order or decision which does not end the action "may be revised at any time before the entry of a

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judgment adjudicating all the claims and all the parties' rights and liabilities"). Reconsideration is

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appropriate where: (1) a material difference in fact or law exists from that which was presented to

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the court before entry of the interlocutory order for which reconsideration is sought; (2) the

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emergence of new material facts or a change of law after the time of the order; or (3) a manifest

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failure by the Court to consider material facts or dispositive legal arguments which were presented

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to the Court before the interlocutory order. (Civil L.R. 7-9(b).)

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II.

DISCUSSION

"Ordinarily, pleadings must identify the parties to a suit." Doe v. Metro. Life Ins. Co.,

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Case No. 16-cv-2298-MEJ, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64387, at *1 (N.D. Cal. May 13, 2016) (citing

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(a).) In "unusual cases," however, the Ninth Circuit has permitted the use of

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pseudonyms "when nondisclosure of the party's identity is necessary to protect a person from

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harassment, injury, ridicule or personal embarrassment." Does I thru XXIII v. Advanced Textile

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Corp., 214 F.3d 1058, 1067-68 (9th Cir. 2000) (internal quotation and modification omitted).

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Anonymity is thus allowed "in special circumstances when the party's need for anonymity
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outweighs prejudice to the opposing party and the public's interest in knowing the party's identity."

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Id. at 1068. In making this determination, the district court considers: (1) the severity of the

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threatened harm, (2) the reasonableness of the anonymous party's fears, (3) the anonymous party's

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vulnerability to retaliation, (4) the prejudice at each stage of the proceedings to the opposing party,

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and (5) whether the public's interest in the case would be best served by requiring the litigants to

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reveal their identities. Id.

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Here, the Court finds that reconsideration is appropriate because the parties did not

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previously brief the issue to this Court. The Court also concludes that the use of a pseudonym is

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appropriate to protect Plaintiff from injury or personal embarrassment, based on Plaintiff's HIVpositive status. In recent years, courts have permitted the use of anonymous pleading where a

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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party is HIV-positive, recognizing that "HIV-positive plaintiffs are in a highly sensitive position

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and therefore should be allowed to proceed anonymously." Roe v City of New York, 151 F. Supp.

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2d 495, 510 (S.D.N.Y. 2001); see also Doe, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64387, at *2 (permitting

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anonymous pleading based on the plaintiff's HIV-positive status); S.G. v. Mears Transp. Grp.,

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Inc., No. 6:14-cv-917-Orl-37KRS, 2014 WL 4637139, at *1 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 12, 2014) (finding

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that HIV-related privacy interests outweighed the need for disclosure). Furthermore, in this case,

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Plaintiff states that his HIV-positive status is "now known only to [his] medical providers and to a

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few close friends," and that his family is not aware of his status. (Plf.'s Mot. at 8.) This implicates

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significant privacy concerns.

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Defendants respond that Plaintiff's HIV-positive status is not "necessary to decide any fact

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or legal issue in this case," and that "Defendants have no intention of revealing any of this

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information in order to defend Plaintiff's allegations." (Defs.' Opp'n at 2; see also id. at 4 ("here,

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this case does not depend on Plaintiff's HIV status, neither in the allegations nor in the defense").)

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The Court disagrees. Plaintiff has brought a discrimination claim based on his HIV-positive

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status, necessitating disclosure of that status in the complaint. (Compl. ¶ 508 (alleging that

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Defendants denied Plaintiff "full and equal services because of disability, HIV status, psychiatric

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condition, and sexual orientation) (emphasis added).) Thus, Plaintiff's allegations regarding his

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HIV-positive status are not, as Defendants suggest, "gratuitous[]." (Defs.' Opp'n at 1.)
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Notably, Defendants identify no prejudice to allowing Plaintiff to proceed under a

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pseudonym, particularly where Defendants are aware of Plaintiff's real name. Compare with Doe,

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2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64387, at *3 (finding no prejudice to the defendant where the defendant

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could ascertain the plaintiff's identify from the claim number). Thus, Plaintiff's interest in

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shielding his identity outweighs any potential prejudice to Defendants. Similarly, Defendants do

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not explain why the use of a pseudonym in this case will harm the public interest. See Does I thru

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XXIII, 214 F.3d at 1072 ("we fail to see[] how disguising plaintiffs' identities will obstruct public

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scrutiny of the important issues in this case"). Thus, the factors weigh in favor of permitting

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Plaintiff to proceed anonymously in this case.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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III.

CONCLUSION

For the reasons stated above, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff's motion for reconsideration,
and will permit Plaintiff to proceed under a pseudonym.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: April 27, 2017
__________________________________
KANDIS A. WESTMORE
United States Magistrate Judge

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