Latest / The Vault: The Epstein Files / Jane Doe #6 And Her Motion To Remain Anonymous In Her Lawsuit Against Epstein (9/1/26)

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Jane Doe #6 And Her Motion To Remain Anonymous In Her Lawsuit Against Epstein (9/1/26) · The Vault: The Epstein Files

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  Speaker 1: Everyone, and welcome back to the Epstein Chronicles. In this episode,
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  Speaker 1: we're going to continue taking a look at the claims
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  Speaker 1: made against Jeffrey Epstein and his estate. And to do that,
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  Speaker 1: we're going to look at the motion to proceed anonymously
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  Speaker 1: in filing a claim for unliquidated and unsecured damages. And
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  Speaker 1: this claim is being filed by Jane Doe, number six,
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  Speaker 1: case number ST-19-PB-80. motion to proceed anonymously in filing a
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  Speaker 1: claim for unliquidated and unsecured damages. Comes now, the undersigned
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  Speaker 1: counsel on behalf of claimant Jane Doe, number six, a
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  Speaker 1: victim of the estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein, and file
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  Speaker 1: this motion to proceed anonymously in filing a notice of
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  Speaker 1: claim for unliquidated and unsecured damages in support thereof, state, one,
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  Speaker 1: this motion and the subsequent notice of claim are timely
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  Speaker 1: and properly filed, pursuant to the Virgin Islands Probate and
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  Speaker 1: Fiduciary Rule 11, titled Notice to Creditors and Persons Indebted
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  Speaker 1: to the Epstein Estate, which notes that all persons having
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  Speaker 1: claims against the estate are to present or deliver to
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  Speaker 1: the executor or administrator their claims, verified by affidavit, to
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  Speaker 1: a place within the territory specific in the notice, within
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  Speaker 1: six months from the date of the notice. As such,
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  Speaker 1: A notice was dated September 13, 2019, filed on September 18, 2019,
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  Speaker 1: and directed such claims to be presented to the offices
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  Speaker 1: of their attorney or the clerk of this court. See
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  Speaker 1: also Virgin Island Code 15, Section 391, Publication of Notice
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  Speaker 1: of Administration. 2. The undersigned currently represents 12 victims, including
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  Speaker 1: claimant who has a claim to be made against the
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  Speaker 1: estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein. On December 3rd, 2019, nine
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  Speaker 1: of those 12 victims, including Klayment, filed suit against the
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  Speaker 1: above-referenced estate and its executors in the Supreme Court of
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  Speaker 1: the State of New York, County of New York. See
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  Speaker 1: Jane Doe v. Darren K. Endyke. A true and correct
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  Speaker 1: copy of the summons and verified complaint are attached as
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  Speaker 1: Exhibit 1. 3. It is important to note that in
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  Speaker 1: the complaint Klayment filed anonymously, using Jane Doe's pseudonym. 4. Furthermore,
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  Speaker 1: on December 5, 2019, Bennett J. Moskowitz of Troutman Sanders LLP,
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  Speaker 1: attorneys for the executors of the estate, filed a stipulation
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  Speaker 1: with request so order claimant's request for anonymity on consent
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  Speaker 1: from all parties involved in that litigation. Attached here to,
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  Speaker 1: as Exhibit 2, is a true and correct of the
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  Speaker 1: fully executed stipulation. 5. The only reason that this stipulation
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  Speaker 1: has not been so ordered at this time is due
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  Speaker 1: to the current administrative stay placed on the case, and
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  Speaker 1: all other cases of similar nature pending in the Supreme Court.
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  Speaker 1: Attached here too, as Exhibit 3, is a true and
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  Speaker 1: correct copy of the administrative order of Honorable George J. Silver, JSC. 6. Accordingly,
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  Speaker 1: The undersigned respectfully requests that this court also grant claimant
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  Speaker 1: the ability to present her notice of claim anonymously under pseudonym. 7.
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  Speaker 1: If the fact that both the parties in this proceeding
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  Speaker 1: have already agreed for claimant to file anonymously is not
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  Speaker 1: persuasive enough, courts in this circuit have also granted such
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  Speaker 1: relief even when it's opposed. 8. First and foremost, this
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  Speaker 1: sort of decision is within the direct purview of this court.
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  Speaker 1: see Doe v. C.A.R.S. Protection Plus, Inc., 527, F. 3D. 358. 371, 3rd
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  Speaker 1: Circuit Court, 2008. The decision whether to allow a claimant
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  Speaker 1: to proceed anonymously rests within the sound discretion of the court. 9. Indeed,
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  Speaker 1: in making such decisions, courts in this circuit have continually
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  Speaker 1: applied a balancing test type approach using several factors outlined
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  Speaker 1: by the 3rd Circuit, in the case of Doe v.
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  Speaker 1: Meglis and its progeny. See also DM v. City of Berks,
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  Speaker 1: 929 F. Superior Court, 2D390, F.D., PA, 2013. Also see
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  Speaker 1: Doe v. Rutgers, 2019, U.S. District, Lexus, 75139, DNJ, 2019, Rutgers, 10.
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  Speaker 1: In this case, it's clear that when applying the nine
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  Speaker 1: Meglis factors, 6 that favor anonymity and 3 that disfavor anonymity.
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  Speaker 1: An overwhelming majority of them support claimant's use of a pseudonym,
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  Speaker 1: while the few that do not are either not applicable
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  Speaker 1: to the case or do not do enough to tip
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  Speaker 1: the scales. See Megalith 654 F. 3D at 409. 11. Regarding
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  Speaker 1: the first factor in favor of anonymity, the facts of
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  Speaker 1: the case stand in sharp contrast to instances where courts
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  Speaker 1: have found that anonymity would be futile because the move-in's
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  Speaker 1: name was already widely known. See Rutgers at 5 and 6,
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  Speaker 1: citing Meglis at 4 and 10, move-in's name. Picture and
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  Speaker 1: home address had been disclosed on a publicly circulated flyer. Here,
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  Speaker 1: the facts align more with Rutgers as claimant has gone
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  Speaker 1: above and beyond to maintain her confidentiality, which has never
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  Speaker 1: been made public, including by filing her lawsuit as a
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  Speaker 1: Jane Doe and stipulating with the estate to do the same.
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  Speaker 1: See Meglis at 4 and 10, See also Rutgers at
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  Speaker 1: 2019 U.S. District Lexus 75139 at 5, 12. Second, as
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  Speaker 1: for the reasonableness of the harm that the litigant is
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  Speaker 1: seeking to avoid, here similar to the facts of Rutgers'
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  Speaker 1: claimant wishes to proceed anonymously in order to protect her
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  Speaker 1: mental and physical health and right to fully and fairly
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  Speaker 1: litigate this action. See Rutgers at 6 and 7. See
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  Speaker 1: also Doe versus Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. Miscellaneous. 3d. 1220a,
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  Speaker 1: Superior Court, Westchester County, 2019. 13. Indeed, as opposed to
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  Speaker 1: using a pseudonym merely to avoid the annoyance and criticism
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  Speaker 1: that may attend any litigation, claimant seeks to proceed anonymously
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  Speaker 1: to preserve her privacy in this matter of a sensitive
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  Speaker 1: and highly personal nature that will have a lifelong impact
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  Speaker 1: on her and her family's lives. See Rutgers at 6
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  Speaker 1: and 7. See also Doe vs. Zool Jewelry, Inc., 2008,
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  Speaker 1: New York Miscellaneous, Lexus, 8733, Superior Court, New York City. 14. Third,
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  Speaker 1: unlike Meglis, where the district court recognized that there is
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  Speaker 1: no allegation that falsely creates suspicious personal alert or a
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  Speaker 1: widespread problem, here the facts are more similar to Burke's
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  Speaker 1: in that disallowing anonymity. would likely deter those who have
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  Speaker 1: been falsely accused of sexual abuse from vindicating their rights
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  Speaker 1: due to the stigma that invariably attaches from having one's
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  Speaker 1: name publicly attached to such a deplorable act. See Meglis
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  Speaker 1: at 410. See also Berks at 929f. supp. 2d at 402. 15. Fourth,
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  Speaker 1: similar to Rutgers, there is a strong chance that this
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  Speaker 1: claim will not be resolved on its merits if the
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  Speaker 1: litigant is denied the opportunity to proceed using a pseudonym
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  Speaker 1: as claimant will potentially sacrifice a potentially valid claim simply
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  Speaker 1: to preserve her anonymity. See Rutgers at 7 and 8.
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  Speaker 1: The court here should decide in conformity with the court
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  Speaker 1: in Rutgers where they agreed with the move-in's argument that
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  Speaker 1: the public is harmed when alleged abuse goes unchallenged because
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  Speaker 1: move-in's fear litigating publicly. 16. As for the final factor
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  Speaker 1: weighing in favor of anonymity, claimant is not seeking to
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  Speaker 1: use a pseudonym for nefarious reasons. Nor has there been
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  Speaker 1: any allegation that claimant has an illegal or ulterior motive
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  Speaker 1: in her desire to hide her name. See Meglis at 411.
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  Speaker 1: See also Rutgers at 10. As opposed to simple public
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  Speaker 1: humiliation and embarrassment, which have been determined not to be
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  Speaker 1: sufficient grounds for allowing a claimant to proceed anonymously In
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  Speaker 1: this case, there is no illegitimate ulterior motive because as
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  Speaker 1: referenced above, identification of claimant's true identity poses a risk
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  Speaker 1: of mental or physical harm. And the case involves information
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  Speaker 1: of the utmost intimacy. See Meglis at 411. See also
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  Speaker 1: Rutgers at 10. Doe 2008, New York miscellaneous, Lexus at 1617.
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  Speaker 1: Doe 6 miscellaneous, 3D at 879, sealed plaintiff 537F. 3D. At
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  Speaker 1: 189 and 90, 1991 McKinney Session Laws of New York
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  Speaker 1: at 2211 and 2212. The victim had to endure a
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  Speaker 1: terrible invasion of their physical privacy. They have a right
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  Speaker 1: to expect that this violation will not be compounded by
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  Speaker 1: a further invasion of their privacy. Seventeen. Furthermore, when turning
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  Speaker 1: to the other side of the scale and the factors
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  Speaker 1: disfavoring anonymity, claimant still comes out ahead. Eighteen. While Klayman
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  Speaker 1: acknowledges that there is a thumb on the scale that
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  Speaker 1: is the universal interest in favor of open judicial proceedings,
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  Speaker 1: she is not asking the record to be sealed, rather
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  Speaker 1: simply to proceed anonymously. 19. Next, the court must consider whether,
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  Speaker 1: because of the subject matter of this litigation, the status
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  Speaker 1: of a litigant as a public figure or otherwise, there
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  Speaker 1: is a particularly strong interest in knowing the litigant's identity.
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  Speaker 1: See Meglis at 411. See also Rutgers at 12. Here
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  Speaker 1: the claimant is not a public figure. 20. This litigation
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  Speaker 1: involves a member of a particularly vulnerable class or the
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  Speaker 1: subject matter is highly personal. The public has an interest
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  Speaker 1: in protecting the identity of the litigant. C. Rutgers at 12,
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  Speaker 1: citing to L.A. v. Hoffman, 2015, U.S. District Lexus 94564, D.N.J., 2015,
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  Speaker 1: granting move-ins motion to proceed anonymously and observing that although
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  Speaker 1: the identities of the move-ins will not be included in
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  Speaker 1: the filings in this matter, the public will maintain access
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  Speaker 1: to the docket and filings in this case. 21. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: the last factor weighing against disclosure is not applicable as
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  Speaker 1: there is no party opposing the use of a pseudonym. 22.
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  Speaker 1: Applying factors for the case law to be specific facts
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  Speaker 1: of claimant's case makes clear that she should be permitted
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  Speaker 1: to proceed under a pseudonym. She is a victim of
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  Speaker 1: sexual abuse, a matter of a highly sensitive and personal nature.
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  Speaker 1: She is not seeking to avoid mere embarrassment, but rather
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  Speaker 1: to protect her physical and mental well-being. It is well
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  Speaker 1: known that victims of sexual crimes are often not believed
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  Speaker 1: and their reputations are put into question. Thus, identification of
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  Speaker 1: her poses a serious threat of retaliatory harm to her
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  Speaker 1: and the estate will not be prejudiced because her identity
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  Speaker 1: will be known to it and their counsel, and thus
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  Speaker 1: they will be able to properly investigate her claim. As such,
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  Speaker 1: the court here should find that the totality of the
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  Speaker 1: factors and circumstances favor anonymity. Wherefore, claimant prays that the
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  Speaker 1: court grant a her motion seeking the right to proceeding
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  Speaker 1: in this action under pseudonym in its entirety and all
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  Speaker 1: other further relief as the court may deem just and proper.
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  Speaker 1: This was signed by Melody D. Westfall and it was
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  Speaker 1: signed on January 31st of 2020. All right, folks, that's
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  Speaker 1: going to do it for this one. All of the
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  Speaker 1: information that goes with this episode can be found in
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  Speaker 1: the description box.