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Woman Who Litigated as Anne Nyarangi Is Now Identified by Court of Appeal as ‘Anne N.’
By a MetNews Staff Writer
A woman who brought suit for a domestic violence restraining order in her true name, filed a respondent’s brief in the Court of Appeal under that name, and was so identified in a Court of Appeal opinion filed on July 23, has obtained an order modifying the opinion by changing her last name to an initial, and doing the same in referring to her aggressor-husband.
Div. One of this district’s Court of Appeal on Monday also changed the name of a witness from “Jennica Melendez” to “J.M.”
The caption that formerly read Nyarangi v. Ofumbi is now Anne N. v. David O.
Div. Four’s Action
However, the panel—comprised of Presiding Justice Frances Rothschild and Justices Helen I. Bendix and Justice Gregory Weingart—did not do what Div. Four of this district did on Feb. 8, 2021, when it changed the caption from Junious v. Butler to B.J. v. S.B. and issued a modified opinion. It sealed the original opinion.
Then-Justice Thomas L. Willhite Jr. (now retired), Justice Audrey B. Collins, and then-Justice (now Presiding Justice) Currey declared:
“Appellant’s motion to seal, expunge, or replace the parties’ full names with their initials is granted….”
That was a rare instance where an entire opinion was sealed. Div. Seven of this district’s Court of Appeal did so on July 3, 2001 in Agency for the Performing Arts v. The Walt Disney Company, saying, in an order:
“All documents in this matter have been filed under seal pursuant to a confidentiality order. Consequently, this opinion is filed under seal.”
The panel later relented and publicly filed an opinion on July 27.
Div. One’s Order
Div. One attached to its order on Monday modifying the July 23 opinion a copy of the unmodified opinion and the docket, reflecting the parties’ full names has been unaltered. A footnote was added reading:
“At respondent’s request and in the interests of privacy, we do not use the parties’ full names and refer to the third party witness by her initials.”
The opinion, which is not certified for publication, affirms an order granting a domestic violence restraining order based on believing the testimony of the wife. Bendix wrote for the panel in saying that the Court of Appeal does not reassess credibility.
The case is B321152.
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