Latest / The Epstein Chronicles / Jane Doe #1 And The Fight To Remain Anonymous In The Lawsuit Against Epstein (9/2/26)

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Jane Doe #1 And The Fight To Remain Anonymous In The Lawsuit Against Epstein (9/2/26) · The Epstein Chronicles

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  Speaker 1: What's up, everyone, and welcome back to the Epstein Chronicles.
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  Speaker 1: In today's episode, we're going to continue looking behind the
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  Speaker 1: curtain and into the dark, shadowy room known as the
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  Speaker 1: Jeffrey Epstein Criminal Enterprise. And to do that, we have
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  Speaker 1: the motion to proceed anonymously by Jane Doe number one,
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  Speaker 1: Case number st DASH nineteen DASH PEB Dash eighty. Notice
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  Speaker 1: of filing of motion to proceed anonymously in filing a
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  Speaker 1: notice of claim for unliquidated and unsecured damages comes now
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  Speaker 1: the Undersigned Council on behalf of claimant Jane Doe number one,
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  Speaker 1: a victim of the estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein, and
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  Speaker 1: submit for the consideration of the Court the attached motion
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  Speaker 1: to proceed anonymously in filing a notice of claim for
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  Speaker 1: unliquidated and unsecured damages. This was signed by Melody D.
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  Speaker 1: Westfall and it was signed on January thirty, first of
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty one. This motion and the subsequent notice of
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  Speaker 1: claim are timely and properly filed pursuant of Virgin Islands
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  Speaker 1: Probate and Fiduciary Rule eleven titled Notice to Creditors and
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  Speaker 1: Persons indebted to the estate, which notes that all persons
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  Speaker 1: having claims against the estate are to present or deliver
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  Speaker 1: to the executor or administrator their claims verified by affid David,
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  Speaker 1: to a place within the territory specific in the notice,
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  Speaker 1: within six months from the date of the notice as
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  Speaker 1: such as the notice was dated September thirteenth, twenty nineteen
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  Speaker 1: and filed on September eighteenth, twenty nineteen, and directed such
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  Speaker 1: claims to be presented to the offices of their attorneys
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  Speaker 1: or the Clerk of this Court. See also Virgin Island
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  Speaker 1: Code fifteen, Section three ninety one. Publication of Notice of
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  Speaker 1: Administration number two. The undersigned currently represents twelve 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 three, twenty nineteen,
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  Speaker 1: nine of those twelve victims, including claimant, filed suit against
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  Speaker 1: the above reference to state and its executors in the
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  Speaker 1: Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of
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  Speaker 1: New York. See Jane Doe one versus Darren k Endyke,
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  Speaker 1: Index number nine to five zero two three zero, twenty nineteen.
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  Speaker 1: Honorable George J. Silver, JSC. A true and correct copy
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  Speaker 1: of the summons and verified complaint are attached here two
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  Speaker 1: as Exhibit one number three. It's important to note that
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  Speaker 1: in that complaint, Claimant filed anonymously using the Jane Doe
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  Speaker 1: pseudonym number four. Furthermore, on December fifth, twenty nineteen, Bennett J.
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  Speaker 1: Moskowitz of Troutman Sanders, LLP, attorneys for the executors of
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  Speaker 1: the estate, filed a stipulation with a request to so
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  Speaker 1: order Claimant's request for anonymity on consent from all parties
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  Speaker 1: involved in that litigation. Attached heer two as exhibit too,
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  Speaker 1: is a true and correct of the fully executed stipulation
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  Speaker 1: number five. The only reason that this stipulation has not
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  Speaker 1: been so ordered at this time is due to the
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  Speaker 1: current administrative stay placed on the case and all other
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  Speaker 1: cases of similar nature pending in the Supreme Court. Attached
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  Speaker 1: here two as exhibit number three, is a true and
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  Speaker 1: correct copy of the administrative order of Honorable George J.
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  Speaker 1: Silver JSC Number six. Accordingly, the undersigned respectfully requests that
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  Speaker 1: this Court also grant Claimant the ability to present her
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  Speaker 1: notice of claim anonymously under pseudonym number seven. If the
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  Speaker 1: fact that both of the parties in this proceeding have
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  Speaker 1: already agreed for claimant to file anonymously is not persuasive enough.
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  Speaker 1: Courts in this circuit have also granted such relief even
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  Speaker 1: when it's opposed. First and foremost, this sort of decision
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  Speaker 1: is within the direct purview of this court. C Do
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  Speaker 1: versus c Dot A Dot r Dot S Protection Plus
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  Speaker 1: Incorporated five twenty seven F Dot three D three fifty
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  Speaker 1: eight three seventy one, Third Circuit Court, two thousand and eight.
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  Speaker 1: The decision whether to allow a claimant to proceed anonymously
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  Speaker 1: rests within the sound discretion of the Court number nine. 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 Third Circuit in the case of Doe versus
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  Speaker 1: Meglus and its progeny C. Doe versus Meglus six fifty
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  Speaker 1: four f Dot three D four zero four, Third Circuit
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  Speaker 1: twenty eleven Meglis. See also DM verse City of Berks
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  Speaker 1: nine twenty nine F Dot s u pp Dot two
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  Speaker 1: D three ninety e dot d PA Dot twenty thirteen,
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  Speaker 1: Doe versus Rutgers twenty nineteen, US District Lexus seven five
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  Speaker 1: one three nine DNJ. Twenty nineteen Rutgers ten. In this case,
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  Speaker 1: it's clear that when applying the nine Megliz factors, six
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  Speaker 1: that favor anonymity and three that disfavor anonymity, an overwhelming
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  Speaker 1: majority of them support Claimant's use of a pseudonym, while
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  Speaker 1: the few that do not are either not applicable to
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  Speaker 1: the case or do not do enough to tip the
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  Speaker 1: scales see Meglis six fifty four f dot three d
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  Speaker 1: at four oh nine eleven. Regarding the first factor in
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  Speaker 1: favor of anonymity. The facts of this case stand in
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  Speaker 1: sharp contrast to instances where the court have found that
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  Speaker 1: anonymity would be futile because the movement's name was already
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  Speaker 1: widely known see Rutgers at five and six. Citing Meglis
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  Speaker 1: at four to ten. Moven's name, picture, and home address
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  Speaker 1: had been disclosed on a publicly circulated flyer. Here the
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  Speaker 1: facts align more with Rutgers, as claimant has gone above
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  Speaker 1: and beyond to maintain her confidentiality, which has never been
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  Speaker 1: made public, including by filing her lawsuit as a Jane
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  Speaker 1: Doe and stipulating with the estate to do the same
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  Speaker 1: see Meglis at four ten. See also Rutgers, twenty nineteen.
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  Speaker 1: US District Court Lexus seven five one three nine at
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  Speaker 1: five twelve. Second as for the reasonableness of the harm
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  Speaker 1: the litigant is seeking to avoid here, similar to the
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  Speaker 1: facts of Rutgers, claimant wishes to proceed anonymously in order
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  Speaker 1: to protect her mental and physical health and right to
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  Speaker 1: fully and fairly litigate this action. See Rutgers at six
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  Speaker 1: and seven. See also Doe versus Roman Catholic Archdiocese of
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  Speaker 1: New York, sixty four Miscellaneous, three d twelve twenty A,
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  Speaker 1: Superior Court, Westchester County, twenty nineteen thirteen. Indeed, as opposed
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  Speaker 1: to using a pseudonym merely to avoid the annoyance of
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  Speaker 1: critics that may attend any litigation claim, and seeks to
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  Speaker 1: proceed anonymously to preserve her privacy in this matter of
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  Speaker 1: a sensitive and highly personal nature, and will have a
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  Speaker 1: lifelong impact on her and her family's lives. See Rutgers
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  Speaker 1: at six and seven. See also Doe versus Zule Jewelry Incorporated,
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  Speaker 1: two thousand and eight, New York Miscellaneous Lexus eight seven
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  Speaker 1: three three Superior Court, New York City, two thousand and
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  Speaker 1: eight Doughverse New York University, six Miscellaneous, three D eight
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  Speaker 1: sixty six, Superior Court, New York City, two thousand and four,
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  Speaker 1: Sealed plaintiff vers sealed defendant, five thirty seven f Dot
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  Speaker 1: three D one eighty five, Second Circuit, two thousand and eight,
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  Speaker 1: fourteen third. Unlike Meglis, where the district Court recognizes there
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  Speaker 1: is no allegation that falsely creates suspicious person alert are
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  Speaker 1: a widespread problem. Here the facts are more similar to
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  Speaker 1: Burks in that disallowing anonymity would likely deter those who
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  Speaker 1: have 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 four ten. See also Bergs at nine to twenty
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  Speaker 1: nine ft su Pp. Dot two d at four O
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  Speaker 1: two fifteen fourth. Similar to Rutgers, there is a strong
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  Speaker 1: chance that this claim will not be resolved on its
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  Speaker 1: merits if the litigant is denied the opportunity to proceed
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  Speaker 1: using a pseudonym, as a claimant will potentially sacrifice a
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  Speaker 1: potentially valid claim simply to preserve her anonymity see Rutgers
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  Speaker 1: at seven to eight. The court here should decide in
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  Speaker 1: conformity with the cordon Rutgers, where they agreed with the
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  Speaker 1: movement's argument that the public is harmed when alleged abuse
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  Speaker 1: goes unchallenged because Moven's fear litigating publicly sixteen. As for
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  Speaker 1: the final factor a weighing in favor of anonymity, claimant
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  Speaker 1: is not seeking to use a pseudonym for nefarious reasons,
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  Speaker 1: nor has there been any allegations that claimant has an
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  Speaker 1: illegal or ulterior motive in her desire to hide her
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  Speaker 1: name see Meglis at four eleven. See also Rutgers at ten.
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  Speaker 1: As opposed to simple public humiliation and embarrassment, which have
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  Speaker 1: been determined not to be sufficient grounds for allowing a
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  Speaker 1: claimant to proceed anonymously. In this case, there is no
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  Speaker 1: illegitimate ulterior motive, because, as referenced above, identification of claimant's
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  Speaker 1: true identity poses a risk of mental or physical harm,
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  Speaker 1: and the case involves information of the utmost intimacy see
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  Speaker 1: Meglis at four eleven. See also Rutgers at ten. Dough
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  Speaker 1: two thousand and eight, New York Miscellaneous Lexis at sixteen
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  Speaker 1: and seventeen dough six Miscellaneous Dot three d at eight
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  Speaker 1: seventy nine, Sealed Plaintiff five thirty seven f. Dot three
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  Speaker 1: d At one eighty nine to ninety nineteen ninety one
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  Speaker 1: McKinney's Session Laws of New York at twenty two eleven
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  Speaker 1: and twenty two twelve. Sexual assault victims have unfortunately had
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  Speaker 1: to endure a terrible invasion of their physical privacy. They
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  Speaker 1: have a right to expect that this violation will not
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  Speaker 1: be compounded by a further invasion of their privacy seventeen. Furthermore,
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  Speaker 1: even when turning to the other side of the scale
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  Speaker 1: and the factors disfavoring anonymity, claimant still comes out ahead eighteen.
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  Speaker 1: While claimant acknowledges that there is a thumb on the scale,
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  Speaker 1: that 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. Nineteen. 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 identities
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  Speaker 1: see Meglis at four eleven. See also Rutgers at twelve.
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  Speaker 1: Here the claimant is not a public figure twenty This
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  Speaker 1: litigation also involves a member of a particularly vulnerable class,
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  Speaker 1: or the subject matter is highly personal, the public has
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  Speaker 1: an interest in protecting the identity of the litigant. See
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  Speaker 1: Rutgers at twelve, citing Doe versus Ryder University twenty eighteen.
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  Speaker 1: U S. District Lexus one three three one four six DNJ.
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  Speaker 1: Twenty nineteen. Here claimant alleges that she is a victim
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  Speaker 1: of sexual assault, so allowing her to proceed as a
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  Speaker 1: Jane Doe while preserving the public's right to access the
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  Speaker 1: docket and the proceedings in this case strikes the appropriate
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  Speaker 1: balance between these competing interests. See Rutgers at twelve, citing
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  Speaker 1: to La versus Hoffmann, twenty fifteen, U. S. District Lexus
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  Speaker 1: nine four five sixty four DNJ. Twenty fifteen, granting movements
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  Speaker 1: motion to proceed anonymously and observing that although the identities
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  Speaker 1: of the movements will not be included in the filings
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  Speaker 1: in this matter, the public will maintain access to the
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  Speaker 1: and the filings in this case. Twenty one. Finally, the
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  Speaker 1: last factor weighing against disclosure is not applicable as there
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  Speaker 1: is no party opposing the use of a pseudonym. Twenty two.
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  Speaker 1: Applying the factors referenced in the litany of case law
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  Speaker 1: to the specific facts of the claimant's case makes clear
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  Speaker 1: that she should be permitted to proceed anonymously. She is
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  Speaker 1: a victim of sexual abuse, a matter of highly sensitive
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  Speaker 1: and personal nature. She is not seeking to avoid mere embarrassment,
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  Speaker 1: but rather to protect her physical and mental well being.
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  Speaker 1: It is well known that victims of sexual crimes are
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  Speaker 1: often not believed and have their reputations put into question.
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  Speaker 1: Thus identification of her poses serious risk of retaliatory harm
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  Speaker 1: to her, and thus the estate will not be prejudiced
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  Speaker 1: because her identity will be known to it and their counsel,
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  Speaker 1: and thus they will be able to properly investigate her claim.
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  Speaker 1: As such, the Court here should find that the totality
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  Speaker 1: of the factors and circumstances favor anonymity. Wherefore, claim and
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  Speaker 1: praise that the Court grant her a her motion seeking
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  Speaker 1: the right to proceeding in this action under pseudonym in
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  Speaker 1: its entirety, and all other relief as this Court may
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  Speaker 1: deem just and proper This document was signed by Melody D. Westfall,
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  Speaker 1: and it was signed on January third of twenty twenty.
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  Speaker 1: All Right, folks, that's going to do it for this one.
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  Speaker 1: All of the information that goes with this episode can
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  Speaker 1: be found in the description box.