L. v. United Healthcare Insurance Company et al

Filing 15

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR LEAVE TO PROCEED ANONYMOUSLY - granting 13 Motion for leave to proceed under initials filed by Cullen L.. See Order for details. Signed by Magistrate Judge Daphne A. Oberg on 3/5/25. (jrj)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF UTAH
CENTRAL DIVISION

CULLEN L., individually and on behalf of
C.L. a minor,

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND
ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR
LEAVE TO PROCEED
ANONYMOUSLY
(DOC. NO. 13)

Plaintiffs,
v.
UNITED HEALTHCARE INSURANCE
COMPANY; UNITED BEHAVIORAL
HEALTH; BENEFITS COMMITTEE OF
CREDIT SUISSE; and the CREDIT
SUISSE SECURITIES (USA) LLC GROUP
HEALTH CARE PLAN,

Case No. 2:24-cv-00851
District Judge Ted Stewart
Magistrate Judge Daphne A. Oberg

Defendants.
C.L. and his father, Cullen L., brought this action alleging Defendants violated
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 1 (“ERISA”) by denying insurance
coverage for care C.L. received as a minor. 2 Because Plaintiffs filed this case using
only initials and a partial name, the court ordered them to file either an amended
complaint under their full names or a motion for leave to proceed under initials. 3
Plaintiffs filed a motion to proceed under initials. 4 Defendants filed a notice of

1 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001 et seq.
2 (See Compl., Doc. No. 1.)
3 (See Docket Text Order, Doc. No. 12.)
4 (See Pls.’ Mot. for Leave to Proceed Anonymously, Doc. No. 13.)

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non-opposition to the motion. 5 Because the motion is unopposed and this case involves
C.L.’s highly sensitive and personal health information, Plaintiffs’ motion is granted.
LEGAL STANDARDS
Under Rule 10 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, “[t]he title of the complaint
must name all the parties.” 6 “Absent permission by the district court to proceed
anonymously, . . . the federal courts lack jurisdiction over the unnamed parties, as a
case has not been commenced with respect to them.” 7 However, Rule 5.2 of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that minors may be named using initials
unless the court orders otherwise. 8 Additionally, a party may proceed anonymously in
“exceptional cases involving matters of a highly sensitive and personal nature, real
danger of physical harm, or where the injury litigated against would be incurred as a
result of the disclosure of the [party’s] identity.” 9 In deciding whether to permit
anonymity, courts exercise discretion in weighing these privacy interests against the
public’s interest in access to legal proceedings. 10

5 (Notice of Non-opposition to Pl.’s Mot. to Proceed Anonymously, Doc. No. 14.)
6 Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(a); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(a) (requiring an action to “be

prosecuted in the name of the real party in interest”).

7 Nat’l Commodity & Barter Ass’n v. Gibbs, 886 F.2d 1240, 1245 (10th Cir. 1989).
8 Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2(a)(3).
9 Femedeer v. Haun, 227 F.3d 1244, 1246 (10th Cir. 2000) (quoting Doe v. Frank, 951

F.2d 320, 324 (11th Cir. 1992)).

10 See id.

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ANALYSIS
Where this case involves highly sensitive and personal health information, and
Defendants do not oppose Plaintiffs’ motion, the motion is granted. Plaintiffs’ complaint
contains sensitive details about C.L.’s personal circumstances and the serious mental
health issues he confronted as a minor. 11 Because this information is “of a highly
sensitive and personal nature,” C.L. has a strong interest in the protection of his
identity. 12 Moreover, this case relates to care C.L. received as a child. 13 Additionally,
Cullen L.’s anonymity is warranted where disclosure of his full name would reveal
C.L.’s identity. 14
Further, public interest in the identities of the parties in this proceeding appears
limited. This case does not involve the sorts of important public issues giving rise to
common interest—such as cases “attacking the constitutionality of popularly enacted

11 (See generally Compl., Doc. No. 1.)
12 Femedeer, 227 F.3d at 1246 (quoting Frank, 951 F.2d at 324).
13 See Tony M. v. United Healthcare Ins., No. 2:19-cv-00165, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS

18132, at *4 (D. Utah Jan. 31, 2025) (unpublished) (permitting ERISA plaintiff to
proceed pseudonymously where the case related to medical care the plaintiff received
as a minor); Doe v. USD No. 237, No. 16-cv-2801, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142435, at
*31 (D. Kan. Sept. 1, 2017) (unpublished) (“The fact that Doe was a minor at all times
material to the allegations of the complaint is at the forefront of the Court’s analysis [of
whether the plaintiff could proceed pseudonymously].”).

14 See S.E.S. v. Galena Unified Sch. Dist. No. 499, No. 18-2042, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS

116054, at *4 (D. Kan. July 12, 2018) (unpublished) (noting a child “and his parents
share common privacy interests based on their inseparable relationship,” because
disclosure of a parent’s identity would effectively disclose the child’s identity).
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legislation.”15 Instead, this case involves private individuals challenging the denial of
insurance benefits for care received by a minor. Any public interest in this case is
limited (at least at this time) to the precedential or persuasive value of the rulings in the
case. The use of pseudonyms does not diminish this value.
CONCLUSION
Where Defendants do not oppose Plaintiffs’ motion and this case implicates
matters of a highly sensitive and personal nature regarding care received by a minor,
the motion 16 is granted. Plaintiffs may proceed pseudonymously in this action. Within
fourteen days of this order, Plaintiffs shall file, under seal: a disclosure containing the
full legal name of C.L. and his father, Cullen L. 17 That filing shall remain under seal
unless otherwise ordered.
DATED this 5th day of March, 2025.
BY THE COURT:
_____________________________
Daphne A. Oberg
United States Magistrate Judge

15 See Femedeer, 227 F.3d at 1246.
16 (Doc. No. 13.)
17 See W.N.J. v. Yocom, 257 F.3d 1171, 1172 (10th Cir. 2001) (“If a court grants

permission [to proceed pseudonymously], it is often with the requirement that the real
names of the plaintiffs be disclosed to the defense and the court but kept under seal
thereafter.” (citing Nat’l Commodity & Barter Ass’n, 886 F.2d at 1245)).
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