'Company Doe' might finally be unmasked, and that's a win for consumers

In a major victory for consumers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled (PDF) that a Maryland district court was wrong to conduct months of secret litigation and seal all records in Company Doe v. Public Citizen. The company had sued in 2011 to prevent a report about one of its products allegedly harming a child from being posted on the database on SaferProducts.gov, which was created to help consumers learn about potentially dangerous products. The district court judge had allowed the corporation to be known only as Company Doe.

Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, along with Public Citizen and the Consumer Federation of America, intervened, filing a motion to unseal all records in the case. Now that the federal court has ordered the case to be unsealed, it is expected that Company Doe’s identity will be revealed when the case is sent back to district court.

Noting that the federal ruling “sends the right message,” Ami Gadhia, senior policy counsel for Consumers Union, said: “If a company sues to keep its name out of the complaint database, it can’t use the courts to hide its identity from the public. The decision also underscores the importance of this critical database, which was created for people to report unsafe products after a flood of recalls for dangerous toys, faulty cribs and other hazards.”

—Andrea Rock

Get more details about Company Doe v. Public Citizen:

Consumer groups aim to unmask Company Doe by unsealing secret court record

Arguments made in 'Company Doe' case in federal appeals court

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