Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_07-cv-04738/USCOURTS-cand-4_07-cv-04738-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
A. B.
Plaintiff
San Francisco Unified School District
Defendant

Document Text:

United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

A.B., a minor, by and through

W.F.B., his Guardian Ad Litem,

Plaintiff, No. C 07-4738 PJH

v. ORDER RE MOTION FOR

ADMINISTRATIVE RELIEF

SAN FRANCISCO UNIFIED SCHOOL 

DISTRICT,

Defendant.

_______________________________/

Before the court is plaintiff’s Motion for Administrative Relief to Protect Plaintiff’s

Right to Privacy by Proceeding Under Pseudonym & Filing Specific Documents Under

Seal. Specifically, plaintiff moves the court for an order (1) allowing plaintiff and his

guardian ad litem to proceed with this action pursuant to the use of pseudonyms A.B. and

W.F.B.; and (2) allowing “all documents filed by any party that contain any personally

identifiable information” of plaintiff or his guardian ad litem to be filed under seal in this

action. 

With respect to the former, plaintiff’s request is hereby GRANTED. In view of the

fact that plaintiff is a minor middle school student with protectable privacy interests

pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, see 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq.,

plaintiff and his guardian ad litem shall be allowed to prosecute this action under the above

pseudonyms. 

With respect to the latter request, however, plaintiff’s request for a blanket sealing

order is DENIED. Civil L.R. 3-17(a) directs parties to refrain from using and to redact

where necessary the following personal identifiers in all documents filed with the court:

Case 4:07-cv-04738-PJH Document 15 Filed 10/02/07 Page 1 of 2
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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social security numbers, names of minor children, dates of birth, and financial account

numbers. In this case, the redaction of these personal identifiers and the use of the

approved pseudonyms by both parties should serve to protect plaintiff’s privacy interests

with respect to briefs and other papers prepared by the parties. With respect to the

administrative record, however, which often contains sensitive educational and medical

information, and often in references too numerous to redact, the court hereby ORDERS,

that it may be filed under seal. 

Should either party wish to file a document which has not or cannot be redacted to

remove the personal identifiers or a document that contains other protectable material, that

party must comply with Civ. L.R. 79-5 and make a particularized showing of good cause

with respect to each such document at the time of filing, in a manner consistent with the

procedures set forth in the rule. Accordingly, plaintiff’s motion is DENIED, without prejudice

to any party’s right to invoke the sealing procedures set forth in Civ. L. R. 79-5 at the time

the document is sought to be filed.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: October 2, 2007 ______________________________

PHYLLIS J. HAMILTON

United States District Judge

Case 4:07-cv-04738-PJH Document 15 Filed 10/02/07 Page 2 of 2