UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

KIMBERLY JONES, et al., Plaintiff(s) ,
No. C 05-0997 BZ

v.

SEALING AND PROTECTIVE ORDER

DEJA VU, INC., et al., Defendant(s)

Having reviewed plaintiffs’ ex parte motion to seal and for a protective order, the opposition, the reply, and the declarations filed in support of plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction that have been filed under seal, and for the reasons discussed at the hearing, I find that at this stage of the litigation, the need of Jane Roes 1-5 for anonymity outweighs any prejudice to the opposing party and the public’s interest in knowing the identity of the Jane Roe plaintiffs. See Does 1 Thru XXIII v. Advanced Textile Corp., 214 F.3d 1058, 1068-69 (9th Cir. 2000). I believe there may be ways of managing this litigation such that the Case 3:05-cv-00997 -BZ Document 52 Filed 05/04/2005 identities of the Roe plaintiffs may become less significant than in the usual litigation. I further believe there may be ways of disclosing the identity of the plaintiffs to less than all of the defendants’ employees and agents while not prejudicing defendants ability to defend themselves.

Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1) The Clerk of the Court is directed to seal the declarations and consents of the five Jane Roe plaintiffs filed in this case,

2) Pending further order, the declarations, consents and identities of Jane Roes 1-5 shall be disclosed only to Edith A. Thomas, Michael B. Margolis, Laura M. Toutant, and Douglas J. Melton, and may not be shared, disseminated or 14 otherwise disclosed to any other individual or entity, including employees or agents of any defendant, and

3) Plaintiffs’ counsel shall serve forthwith a copy of the sealed declarations filed in support of plaintiffs’ 18 I motion for a preliminary injunction on the attorneys specified in this order.

4) A status conference is scheduled for May 23, 2005 at 3:00 p.m. to consider the case management ideas discussed during the hearing. Each party shall file and serve a case management proposal by May 20, 2005.

Dated: May 4, 2005
/s/ Bernard Zimmerman
Bernard Zimmerman
United States Magistrate Judge