Malibu Media, LLC v. John Does 1-16

Filing 18

MINUTE ORDER denying without prejudice 16 Motion to Dismiss and/or Issue a Protective Order filed by Defendant John Doe #10, by Magistrate Judge Michael E. Hegarty on 6/4/2012. (mehcd)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 12-cv-00840-PAB-MEH
MALIBU MEDIA, LLC,
Plaintiff,
v.
JOHN DOES 1-16,
Defendants.

MINUTE ORDER
Entered by Michael E. Hegarty, United States Magistrate Judge, on June 4, 2012.
The Motion to Dismiss and/or Issue a Protective Order filed by Defendant John Doe #10
[filed May 25, 2012; docket #16] is denied without prejudice for failure to comply with Fed. R.
Civ. P. 11(a), which states in pertinent part,
Every pleading, written motion, and other paper must be signed by at least one
attorney of record in the attorney’s name – or by a party personally if the party is
unrepresented. The paper must state the signer’s address, email address, and
telephone number.
From the content of the present motion, the Court infers that Defendant John Doe #10 seeks to
proceed in this litigation anonymously. However, he has failed to seek permission from the Court
to do so. See K-Beech, Inc. v. Does 1-29, 826 F. Supp. 2d 903, 905 (W.D.N.C. 2011) (noting that
a party who wishes to proceed anonymously may overcome the presumption against anonymous
proceedings by filing a well-reasoned motion to proceed anonymously); see also West Coast Prods.,
Inc. v. Does 1-5829, 275 F.R.D. 9, 12 (D.D.C. 2011) (“federal courts generally allow parties to
proceed anonymously only under certain special circumstances when anonymity is necessary to
protect a person from harassment, injury, ridicule or personal embarrassment”). Therefore, if
Defendant John Doe #10 wishes to re-file his motion in accordance with this order and all applicable
local and federal court rules, he may do so on or before June 25, 2012 and must first (or
contemporaneously) file a motion to proceed anonymously and provide to the Court his name,
address, and telephone number in accordance with Rule 11(a).1 If Defendant wishes to keep his
identifying information confidential, he may file the motion (and any other motion or document
containing such information filed in this case) with a request to file under restriction pursuant to the
procedure set forth in D.C. Colo. LCivR 7.2. The Court may strike any motion or other filing that

1

In addition to compliance with Rule 11, the Court also notes the necessity of having such
information for the proper and efficient management of its docket.

deviates from the requirements of this order or from those set forth in the applicable local or federal
rules.
The Clerk of the Court is directed to send a copy of this order to the only contact information
provided by this Defendant, his email address at [e-mail].

2