Avenmarg v. Humboldt County
- Robert Illman
- 1:19-cv-05891
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Avenmarg v. Humboldt County, Judge Illman granted redactions and sealing to protect a non-party minor’s identity.
The order affected Debra Avenmarg, Humboldt County, Defendant Blanck, the non-party minor identified as G.N., and public access to the case filings.
What happened
In Avenmarg v. Humboldt County, Debra Avenmarg asked to file a redacted amended complaint and a sealed unredacted version to protect a non-party minor. She also asked to refer to the minor by fictitious initials.
Humboldt County opposed the request, while Defendant Blanck did not. The court found that the minor’s interests were not represented, that the requested initials went beyond the usual protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2, and that the limited redactions would not harm the public’s interest in court proceedings.
Judge Illman granted the administrative motion. The court sealed the motion, docketed the redacted complaint as the amended complaint, sealed the unredacted complaint for access only by the parties, sealed Humboldt County’s opposition, and ordered that future references to the minor use the initials G.N.
The detailed version
- Avenmarg v. Humboldt County · No. 1:19-cv-05891
- Robert Illman
- Jan. 29, 2020
Background
Plaintiff Debra Avenmarg moved for permission to file a redacted First Amended Complaint and a sealed unredacted version. She sought these protections to shield the identity of a non-party minor and asked to use fictitious initials for the minor throughout the case. Humboldt County opposed the motion; Defendant Blanck filed no opposition.
Court’s analysis
The court emphasized that the request concerned a non-party minor, not a minor plaintiff represented by counsel and a guardian ad litem. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 generally restricts the disclosure of minors’ names to their initials. The court treated the request for different initials as additional protection beyond that rule.
The court considered the public interest in open judicial proceedings but found that using the minor’s actual initials would not serve an additional public interest. The proposed redactions covered only a few words in 12 sentences of the 38-page amended complaint. The court concluded that the redactions would not impair public access and would advance the strong public policy favoring protection of minors’ identities. It also considered that the minor’s interests were unrepresented and that any potential prejudice to the defendants was minimal, if it existed.
Ruling
The court granted the administrative motion as follows:
- The administrative motion, docket entry 36, was placed under seal. - The redacted First Amended Complaint, docket entry 36-3, was docketed as the First Amended Complaint. - The unredacted First Amended Complaint, docket entry 36-4, was docketed under seal and made accessible only to the parties. - Humboldt County’s opposition, docket entry 37, was placed under seal because it referred to a family-law case number that purportedly revealed identifying information about the minor. - All future references to the non-party minor were required to use the initials G.N.
The order was dated January 29, 2020, and signed by Robert M. Illman, United States Magistrate Judge.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.