Opinion
1:23CV130 SNLJ
08-16-2023
JOHN DOE, Plaintiff, v. GENERAL INFORMATION SOLUTIONS, INC., Defendant.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
STEPHEN N. LIMBAUGH, JR. SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Plaintiff John Doe brought this action against defendant for alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), 15 USCA § 1681 et seq.. Plaintiff seeks to use a pseudonym for the entirety of this action “in order to protect the identity of the plaintiff where there is no less drastic means available to do so.” [Doc. 2.] Plaintiff claims the defendant, as part of its services in providing a background check on him to a potential employer, wrongfully reported a criminal misdemeanor conviction that had in fact been expunged. As a result, plaintiff says, he did not get the job and has suffered additional damages. Plaintiff argues that “the usual public interest in open judicial proceedings is tempered by the public's conflicting interest in allowing litigants to vindicate their rights under federal law (in this case, the FCRA) without visiting upon themselves the same injury for which they are suing.” [Doc. 2 at 3.] Plaintiff contends that without anonymity, he must create a public record containing the intimate matters he wished had not been disclosed in the first place.
Although the Court agrees that plaintiff has an interest in protecting confidential information, that interest can be adequately protected through this Court's procedures for filing confidential or sensitive matters under seal. See Mo. E.D. Local Rule 13.05. Plaintiff should use his initials in filings and is hereby granted leave to do so, but must also file his full name under seal in accordance with Local Rule 13.05.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for leave to proceed under pseudonym [Doc. 2] is DENIED without prejudice, but plaintiff is GRANTED leave to file confidential information under seal in accordance with Local Rule 13.05.