Free Order on Motion for Miscellaneous Relief - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:03-cv-02684-CFL

Document 456

Filed 04/30/2007

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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS No. 03-2684L and No. 01-568L (consolidated) (Filed: April 30, 2007) ____________________________________ ) SHELDON PETERS WOLFCHILD, et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) ) UNITED STATES, ) ) Defendant. ) ____________________________________)

ORDER Pending before the court are two motions that bear on the presence of anonymous plaintiffs and intervening plaintiffs in the Wolfchild action: (1) the government's motion for disclosure of the names of anonymous intervening plaintiffs [311], filed October 24, 2006, and (2) a motion for a protective order, filed December 29, 2006, by the anonymous Blair group of intervening plaintiffs [381]. In support of its motion to compel the disclosure of the names of the anonymous intervening plaintiffs, the government states the fundamental precept that it is entitled to know who is suing the government and cites this court's Protective Order of December 29, 2004, which was extended to the anonymous plaintiffs granted intervention by this court's Opinion and Order of August 22, 2006. See Wolfchild v. United States, 72 Fed. Cl. 511, 540 (2006) ("The protective order previously entered [45] shall also apply to the anonymous plaintiffs in the various groups of intervening plaintiffs.") Specifically, the protective order as entered requires counsel for anonymous plaintiffs, including anonymous intervening plaintiffs, to provide to the government under seal the names of the anonymous plaintiffs and their corresponding pseudonyms (e.g., Doe No. 1, Blair Doe No. 1, Robinette Doe No. 1, etc.). The government subsequently has sought to withdraw its motion as to the Walker group's anonymous intervening plaintiffs Nos. 1 - 30 and the Blair group's anonymous intervening plaintiffs Nos. 1 - 433, because those groups provided the government with the names of certain anonymous members.1 Additionally, the Wanna, Kimbell, Robinette, Cournoyer, French, Ferris,
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As to the Blair group, the government notes that its request to withdraw its motion to disclose the names of the group's anonymous intervening plaintiffs applies only to Nos. 1-433. 1

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Trudell, Taylor, Henry, Saul, and Vassar groups have responded that they would provide the names of their anonymous plaintiffs "at some time in the future" and stated that their lists of anonymous plaintiffs were "an estimate based upon the number of Lineal Descendants that should be Plaintiff[s] in this action." Response [by Certain Intervenors] to the Defendant's Motion for Disclosure of Names of John Doe Plaintiff[]s-Intervenors (Nov. 20, 2006) [324] at 1, 2. For good cause shown, the government's motion [311] is GRANTED. On or before May 25, 2007, counsel for the anonymous plaintiffs and anonymous intervening plaintiffs in this case, including those made parties to this case by the Opinion and Order rendered April 27, 2007, must comply with the protective order in this case by disclosing to the government and the court, under seal, the pertinent names and corresponding pseudonyms. Any anonymous plaintiff whose name is not so disclosed by May 25, 2007 shall be dismissed from this action. The motion of the Blair group of intervening plaintiffs, filed on December 29, 2006, requests that the court issue a protective order specifically applicable to the additional intervening plaintiffs the group seeks to add.2 The Blair group also states that it understands the court's protective order to require that the government and the Blair group sign a joint stipulation regarding the confidentiality of the names of the members of the group. The government objects to the issuance of a specific protective order as unnecessary and contends that the protective order proposed by the Blair group is overly broad. For good cause shown, the Blair group's motion for a protective order [381] is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. For clarity, the court this day is entering a new Protective Order Respecting Anonymous Plaintiffs and Intervening Plaintiffs, which order supersedes and supplants that issued on December 29, 2004. The new protective order explicitly applies to all anonymous plaintiffs and anonymous intervening plaintiffs present in the Wolfchild action, and it sets out the obligations of the parties and their counsel respecting such plaintiffs and intervening plaintiffs. Notably, under the new protective order, just as with the protective order previously entered on December 29, 2004, the government is not required to sign separate confidentiality agreements with the Blair group or any other group that includes anonymous intervening plaintiffs.

The government's withdrawal does not apply to Blair Nos. 434-479, whose identities were disclosed to the government by the Blair group, but who were not included on the Blair group's list until after the August 22, 2006, the date on which the court granted the Blair groups motion to intervene. See Wolfchild III, 72 Fed. Cl. at 519 (listing 433 members of the Blair group). The court addressed the motion to amend the complaint in intervention of the Blair group in the Opinion and Order issued April 27, 2007. 2
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Case 1:03-cv-02684-CFL

Document 456

Filed 04/30/2007

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It is so ORDERED.

s/ Charles F. Lettow Judge

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