M. v. The City of New York

Background

R.M. brought the action without a lawyer, individually and on behalf of minor children A.T. and A.S. The complaint named R.M. by initials rather than by her full name and listed The City of New York and other defendants.

Anonymity requirement

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 10(a) generally requires a complaint’s title to name all parties. The court explained that this requirement promotes public scrutiny of judicial proceedings. A party seeking to proceed anonymously must show why anonymity is appropriate under the factors identified by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, including the sensitivity of the issues, potential harm from disclosure, vulnerability, prejudice to defendants, confidentiality to date, and the public interest in knowing the parties’ identities.

R.M. had not requested permission to proceed anonymously or provided a reason for doing so. The court therefore directed R.M. to file a motion to proceed anonymously within 30 days of the order. The motion must state whether R.M. seeks to shield her identity from the public, from the defendants, or from both. If she does not file the motion, the case will proceed using her full name.

Claims for A.T. and A.S.

The court stated that a nonlawyer parent ordinarily cannot represent a child’s interests without a lawyer in federal court. Because R.M. did not state that she is an attorney, the court dismissed the claims brought on behalf of A.T. and A.S. without prejudice to an attorney appearing on their behalf.

Disposition

The court ordered R.M. to file the anonymity motion within 30 days and dismissed without prejudice the claims brought on behalf of A.S. and A.T. No summons was to issue at that time. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees. The order did not decide the underlying merits of the claims.