A judge has rejected arguments by a nonprofit group that promotes press freedom to unseal the names of two plaintiffs suing a woman and her mother for allegedly defaming them on social media with false claims of sexual assault.
During a Jan. 3 hearing, an attorney for the First Amendment Coalition argued in favor of making the plaintiffs’ names public. The coalition is not a party to the suit, but contended that the plaintiffs had no legal basis to remain anonymous in their suit. The plaintiffs are identified only as John Doe and Jane Roe and the defendants are a 16-year-old teen who alleges she was raped by John Doe. The teen’s mother also is a defendant.
The judge took the case under submission and issued his final ruling Tuesday, finding that the plaintiffs, who along with the defendants filed separate motions allowing them to proceed with the case using pseudonyms, have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
“If the parties proceed anonymously, the public is not precluded from access to the court, only access to names of the parties,” Judge FrankTavelman wrote.
The plaintiffs have sufficiently demonstrated that their privacy interests outweigh the public interest in the disclosure of their names, according to Tavelman.
The FAC court papers did not address the defendants’ anonymity motion.
According to the suit filed last May 23, Doe, Roe and the teen defendant were students at Burroughs High School in Burbank and all three were members of a campus group called the Club. Doe and Roe were in a romantic relationship that continues Wednesday now that they have graduated.
“The school showcased Jane Roe and John Doe in the Club,” the suit states. “Roe and Doe were leaders in the Club in all aspects, by both performance and structure. Doe served in an officer position at the helm of the Club during his senior year.”
In contrast, the teen defendant participated in the shadows of Doe and Roe and the plaintiffs believe this caused her to become envious of them, the suit states.
In March 2023, the teen defendant began her campaign against Doe and Roe by falsely telling another student that Doe had sexually assaulted the defendant and Roe, the suit states.
The teen defendant subsequently “knowingly spread and published numerous false and defamatory statements to various social media applications, erroneously accusing John Doe of sexual assault,” according to the suit.
The teen defendant’s mother “shared these wrongful allegations crafted by her daughter to numerous other parents of students,” the suit states.
Doe and Roe, who were left feeling “utterly dejected (and) threatened” are uniquely talented in a specific area that they are both pursuing in collegiate study and both anticipate making careers in a highly public realm, the suit states.
“These untrue accusations and false statements could irreparably harm them both, ending their careers before they have even really begun to flourish,” the suit states.
Doe was exonerated by the school district after the teen defendant filed a complaint against him, the suit states.