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Someone Trying to Vanish My Post About a No-Pseudonymity Decision

Eugene Volokh | 9.22.2026 11:48 AM

[1.] First, the backstory: In December, I posted an item about a decision by Judge Jeannette Vargas (S.D.N.Y.) in Finley v. Przybylowski:

Plaintiff and Defendant are attorneys who met seven years ago as summer associates at different prominent law firms in New York City…. [Plaintiff] alleges that Defendant violently raped and sexually assaulted her on the night they met, causing her physical, professional, and psychological damage. Defendant denies all allegations of nonconsensual conduct…. Defendant claims that he and Plaintiff engaged in consensual sexual activity in May 2018. Defendant attests that he was "terminated from [his] employment with a top law firm on October 13, 2025 as a result of the Plaintiff's Complaint and false allegations," and that he fears that it would be "nearly impossible" to obtain employment with his name attached to this lawsuit, He also claims to fear that his physical safety could be placed at risk….

Defendant sought to proceed under a pseudonym, but the court said no:

[T]he economic and reputational harms that Defendant has faced and may face as a party to this action, substantial though they may be, are outweighed by the public interest in access to judicial proceedings….

I excerpted more of the opinion, which you can read here. Naturally, one can agree or disagree with the court's decision to deny pseudonymity, but in any event, my post passed along that decision.

[2.] Then, on July 22, Przybylowski's lawyer (a partner at a small but prominent law firm) sent a letter to........

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