Doe v. Borough of Morrisville

130 F.R.D. 612, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4403, 1990 WL 52641
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 17, 1990
DocketCiv. A. No. 89-9161
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 130 F.R.D. 612 (Doe v. Borough of Morrisville) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Doe v. Borough of Morrisville, 130 F.R.D. 612, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4403, 1990 WL 52641 (E.D. Pa. 1990).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

VAN ANTWERPEN, District Judge.

This matter is before us on federal question jurisdiction, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343, in that claims are asserted under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961-1968 and 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983, 1985 and 1986, and under diversity jurisdiction, in that plaintiff alleges he is a citizen of the State of Michigan and that all [613]*613defendants are citizens or public bodies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania1.

Plaintiff John Doe is acting pro se, does not set forth an address in this District as required by Local Rule 18(b) and has not sought leave of court to file under the pseudonym of “John Doe”.

Before us are:

1. Plaintiffs Motion for Enlargement of Time
2. Motion to Dismiss of defendants Ronald Sharpe, Fred Rokosky and McAndrews (hereinafter “State Police Defendants”), plaintiffs response thereto and defendant’s supplemental memorandum in support of the Motion.
3. Motion to Dismiss and for a More Definite Statement of defendants Borough Council of Morrisville, John Hoffman, Pat Schell, Edgar Solt, Thomas Mack, Borough of Morrisville Police Department, Borough of Morrisville Civil Service Commission, Edgar Solt, Lou Damario, Morrisville Borough and Harry Merker. (hereinafter “Morrisville Defendants”)
4. Motion to Dismiss of defendants Wrightstown Township, George Donant, Ken Cronlund and Wrightstown Police Department, (hereinafter “Wrightstown Defendants”)
5. Motion to Dismiss of defendants Borough of Yardley, Borough of Yardley Council, Borough of Yardley Council Members: Susan Taylor, Vince Profy, Fred McHale, Andy Costantino, Ray O’Hare, Edward Morgan and Edward Snyder, Borough of Yardley Solicitor Larry Tomar and Borough of Yardley Mayor Edward Robinson, (hereinafter “Yardley Defendants”)
6. Motion to dismiss and for a More Definite statement of defendant Walter Hughes.

In addition to the foregoing Motions to Dismiss, Answers have been filed on behalf of defendants Alan M. Rubenstein, Dale Reichley, David Zellis, Paul Gorley, Edward Broche, David Armitage, Office of the District Attorney of Bucks County, Office of the Bucks County Detectives, (“hereinafter Bucks County Defendants”)

With regard to plaintiff’s Motion for an enlargement of time, for the purpose of responding to the Motions to Dismiss, the Motion will be denied as moot, because we are instead granting plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint. With regard to the defense Motions to Dismiss, they will be denied at this time without prejudice, and pro se plaintiff will be given an opportunity to file an amended complaint in a form which will permit defendants reasonable opportunity to know the claims against them, and which will be comprehensible by the Court. The Bucks County defendants will be granted leave to file an amended answer or a motion to dismiss following the filing of an amended complaint.

Our action does not end with ruling on the Motions. We act, sua sponte on three other matters, first, plaintiff’s failure to comply with the requirements of Fed.R. Civ.P. 10 and 11 by disclosing his name and signing it to the pleadings, second, plaintiff’s failure to comply with Local Rule 18(b) which requires that:

(b) Any party who appears pro se shall file with his appearance or with his initial pleading an address within the district where notices and papers can be served,

and, third and most importantly, in connection with our ruling on the Motion for a More Definite Statement, plaintiff’s failure to comply with the requirements of Fed.R. Civ.P. 8(a)(2), which requires:

(2) a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief____

We will deal with these matters seriatim.

DISCLOSURE OF NAME

Fed.R.Civ.P. 10(a) requires that “In the Complaint the title of the action shall include the names of all the parties ...” Fed.R.Civ.P. 11 provides, in part: “If a pleading, motion, or other paper is not signed, it shall be stricken unless it is [614]*614signed promptly after the omission is called to the attention of the pleader or movant.” Courts have allowed filings under pseudonyms, but only on good cause shown. According to exhibits attached to plaintiff’s Response to Motion for Enlargement of Time (Document 14) plaintiff John Doe is either Bob Puricelli or Brian Puricelli, who was once a police officer to Wrightstown Township.

According to the Motion to Dismiss of the Morrisville Defendants, plaintiff John Doe is Brian Puricelli, who was employed as a police officer by the Borough of Morrisville. Defendants claim that Brian Puricelli has brought two previous actions against the Borough of Morrisville involving at least in part the subject matter of the instant action. These actions in the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County were: Brian Puricelli v. Borough of Morrisville, No. 84-0781-03-6 and Brian Puricelli v. Borough of Morrisville, et al., No. 85-9321-11-1. No. 84-0781-03-6 was decided adversely to Brian Puricelli, and appealed to Commonwealth Court, where the action of the trial court was affirmed. No. 85-9321-11-1 is pending in the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County.

Plaintiff has never filed a Motion, or by any other means, asked leave of this Court to file under a pseudonym. Since, in the instant case, we are dealing with a pro se litigant, we have carefully examined the record to determine whether there are factors which justify permitting John Doe to continue to proceed under his pseudonym. The only grounds that we can find in the record is an unsubstantiated allegation concerning the disclosure of some supposedly secret court information concerning • plaintiff, and his apparent desire to prevent his new community from knowing about the litigation concerning his employment history. This does not satisfy the criteria used in other cases where courts have permitted filing under a pseudonym.

Generally, lawsuits are public events and the public has a legitimate interest in knowing the pertinent facts, including the true names of the parties. Under special circumstances, however, courts have allowed parties to use fictitious names, particularly where necessary to protect privacy.

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Bluebook (online)
130 F.R.D. 612, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4403, 1990 WL 52641, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doe-v-borough-of-morrisville-paed-1990.