Odesza LLC v. The Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified On Schedule A

MINUTE entry before the Honorable LaShonda A. Hunt: Plaintiff's motion for leave to file certain documents under seal and temporarily proceed under a pseudonym 5 is granted in part and denied in part. Plaintiff's submissions establish that, were Defendants to learn of these proceedings before the execution of a temporary restraining order, there is a significant risk that Defendants could destroy relevant documentary evidence and hide or transfer assets beyond the reach of the Court. Conversely, there are no exceptional circumstances that would justify allowing Plaintiff to conceal its own identity: Plaintiff anticipates filing an ex parte TRO motion upon entry of this order and the identity of the defendant entities will be placed under seal during the pendency of the ex parte proceedings. Given these protections for Plaintiff's legitimate interests, the countervailing strong public interest in knowing who is seeking recourse in the federal courts compels the Court to deny Plaintiff's request to conceal its own identity, even initially. As the Seventh Circuit has explained, "We have repeatedly voiced our disfavor of parties proceeding anonymously, as anonymous litigation runs contrary to the rights of the public to have open judicial proceedings and to know who is using court facilities and procedures funded by public taxes. To proceed anonymously, a party must demonstrate exceptional circumstances that outweigh both the public policy in favor of identified parties and the prejudice to the opposing party that would result from anonymity." Doe v. Village of Deerfield, 819 F.3d 372, 376-77 (7th Cir. 2016). Thus, the request to seal Plaintiff's unredacted complaint 7 (which, unlike the redacted complaint 1, complies with FRCP 10(a) by "nam[ing] all the parties" including Plaintiff) and the document containing Plaintiff's intellectual property registrations 9 is denied. Conversely, subject to unsealing at an appropriate time, Plaintiff may file under seal any declarations in support of its ex parte TRO motion that identify defendants, but the motion and any supporting brief must be public. The Clerk's Office is directed, forthwith, to (1) update the docket to reflect that the Plaintiff's name is "ODESZA LLC"; and (2) unseal the following filings: 7, [7-1], 8, and 9 . The documents filed at [7-2], 10 shall remain under seal pending further order of the Court. Emailed notice. (cdh, ) (Entered: 03/28/2024)

SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff XYZ Corporation Amended Schedule A to the Complaint (Carter, Alison) (Entered: 03/27/2024)

COMPLAINT by Plaintiff XYZ Corporation Complaint (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2 - Schedule A)(Carter, Alison) Modified on 3/29/2024. (jj, ). (Entered: 03/26/2024)

CIVIL Cover Sheet (Carter, Alison) (Entered: 03/26/2024)

COMPLAINT (Redacted) filed by XYZ Corporation; Filing fee $ 405, receipt number AILNDC-21786845. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 1, # 2 Exhibit 2 - Schedule A)(Carter, Alison) (Entered: 03/26/2024)