John and Mary Does' lawsuit against the City of Ludington claiming damages due to aggravation of his PTSD because of a nearby siren that goes off twice a day is not going forth.  Sort of. 

Federal District Court Judge Hala Jarbou on March 31 has ruled that the plaintiffs in this case cannot file anonymously, and that if they want this case to proceed in federal court they must file an amended complaint within a week that uses their actual names.  Jarbou's ruling states:

Plaintiffs are anonymously suing the City of Ludington for moving and re-connecting a siren in Copeyan [sic] Park in downtown Ludington, which allegedly exacerbated Plaintiff John Doe's post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) from his two tours of duty in Afghanistan and one tour of duty in Iraq with the American Armed Forces. Plaintiffs claim that the City of Ludington has violated Plaintiff John Doe's rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Federal Fair Housing Act (FFHA) by refusing Plaintiffs' proposed reasonable accommodation of only using the siren for emergencies. Plaintiffs also allege pendant state claims for nuisance, city code violations, and a request for injunctive relief….

Courts begin with a presumption of open judicial proceedings. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure generally require a complaint to state the names of all parties. Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(a). A plaintiff may proceed anonymously only in exceptional circumstances …. Plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that their privacy interests substantially outweigh the presumption in favor of open judicial proceedings….

Plaintiffs' fears of social stigma or harm to their reputations fail to outweigh the general interest in favor of open judicial proceedings. Such fears, without more, are not enough to justify an exception. And that is especially true here, where Plaintiffs' identities are already known. {Justin Cooper, City OKs Settlement Talks with Veteran Triggered by Copeyon Park Siren, Ludington Daily News (Mar. 15, 2022), [URL].} The public interest in guaranteeing open access to judicial proceedings requires a heavy basis to overcome…. "One of the essential qualities of a Court of Justice is that its proceedings should be public." … Plaintiffs have failed to meet this burden….

If Plaintiffs wish to proceed with this litigation, they shall file an amended complaint in their full names within seven days from the date of this Order. If they fail to comply, the Court may dismiss the case for lack of prosecution….

      Jana Rose addresses the Ludington City Council on 2-28-22.  She and Nathaniel both commented on the issue at the 12-6-2021 meeting 

The original Complaint can be found here.  Those familiar with the controversy already know that the plaintiff's name's are Nathaniel and Jana Rose.  As this is a technical, procedural error, it's highly likely that they will resubmit an amended complaint that uses their real names by April 6.

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Good report X, glad someone is following up on this complaint issue. Notwithstanding, can't understand using anonymous identities for their complaint either, since the public city council complaints were known to all anyhow, and published in the LDN some time ago.

As sure as my name is XLFD and your name is Aquaman, I think we are in full agreement that anonymous identities used anywhere should be outlawed.  

Er, um, at least on lawsuits and other legal devices.

Thanks for the update X. This is just a technical glitch and will most likely be corrected. What I think is needed to solve this situation is a compromise of sorts. What I suggest is that the siren should be rededicated as a symbol for all the sacrifices by veterans who made this Country great. Keep the siren and let it sound off once a month to celebrate significant days of observance for our armed forces and an occasional salute to all the volunteer fire fighters in Ludington's history. These days will limit the amount of times the siren will sound off and help folks remember all the sacrifices done in the name of freedom and give a new meaning and purpose to the icon siren. Also relocating the siren to a central location will help remind most citizens to remember those that deserve to be honored.

The Rose's attorneys made a bad mistake off the bat, and when I read this lawsuit, I don't have a lot of confidence in other aspects of the legal acumen of those lawyers.  First impression is that if they can't even get the correct spelling of Copeyon and also make several assertions of dubious truth in the federal lawsuit, the fact set isn't looking good for the plaintiffs.

I want to be empathetic with the veteran in this case, we should all acknowledge the sacrifices he made in his service, particularly his service in combat theatres.  But the Rose's and their attorneys aren't winning me and others over to their cause with their course taken so far-- and I will develop why this is in the coming weeks.  I welcome both of them to join the LT and help us all understand their 'injury' in specific and even graphic terms if they wish.

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