Ford et al v. Hermanson et al

Filing 5

ORDER: Clerk's office shall seal complaint and plaintiffs shall refile a properly redacted complaint. By Magistrate Judge Charles S. Miller, Jr. (CAS) Distributed to Plaintiffs on 9/20/2010. (rs)

Ford et al v. Hermanson et al

Doc. 5

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NORTH DAKOTA NORTHWESTERN DIVISION John Ford and Diedre Godycki, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) vs. ) ) ORDER Mary Hermanson, personally and in her ) official capacity, Mary Jan Blanchfield, ) Case No. 4:10-cv-00068 personally and in her official capacity, ) Carol K. Olson, personally and in her ) official capacity, Rachael Bartz, personally ) and in her official capacity, Kathleen ) Cummings, personally and in her official ) capacity, and Does 1-100, ) ) Defendants. ) ______________________________________________________________________________ Before the court is Plaintiffs' complaint, filed on September 13, 2010. See Docket No. 1. Upon review of the complaint, the court has observed that the minor child allegedly involved in this action is identified by name. Furthermore, the complaint contains sensitive and potentially embarrassing information concerning the minor's alleged behavior. Rule 5.2(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires that an electronic or paper filing with the court that contains the name of an individual known to be a minor may include only the minor's initials. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2(a)(3). Rule 5.2(e) states that a court, for good cause, may order redaction of additional information. Furthermore, Rule 5.2(d) states that a court may order that a filing be made under seal without redaction, and may order the person who made the filing to file a redacted version for public record. A person waives the protections of Rule 5.2 by filing their own personal information without redaction and not under seal. Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2(h). The parties in this case have filed the minor's

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personal information, not their own. The protections of Rule 5.2 apply to the minor and the court finds good cause to protect the minor's identity. Therefore, the court ORDERS the following: 1. 2. The Clerk shall seal the complaint filed at Docket No. 1 in this case, and Plaintiffs shall file a properly redacted complaint, identifying the minor by her initials only, for the public record. Dated this 20th day of September, 2010. /s/ Charles S. Miller, Jr. Charles S. Miller, Jr. United States Magistrate Judge