FutureFuel Chemical Company v. Lonza Inc et al

Filing 22

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER regarding confidential information 21 . Signed by Judge Susan Webber Wright on 11/22/11. (vjt)

FILED

US DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTilICT ARKANSAS

NOV 222011
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
JAMES W. McCORMACK, CLERK
WESTERN DIVISION
By:
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FUTUREFUEL CHEMICAL COMPANY

v.

PLAINTIFF

Case No. 1:11-CV-00061-SWW

LONZA, INC

DEFENDANT
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

Pursuant to the agreement by the undersigned counsel for the parties and Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 26(c), IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AND DECREED that:

1.

This order shall govern all documents produced, answers to interrogatories,

requests for admission, deposition testimony, and other discovery conducted in this case and any
motions, briefs or other filings incorporating such confidential information as hereinafter defined
("CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION").
2.

Only information which by statute is confidential or which was (a) regularly

maintained in a manner designed to assure confidentiality, (b) not intentionally disclosed to the
public, (c) neither included in nor the basis of matters intentionally disclosed to the public, (d)
intended or of the nature that would regularly be held in confidence, (e) and/or is information
containing any trade secret or other confidential, research, development, or commercial
information as such terms are used in Fed. R. Civ. 26 (c) , and (f) delivered or conveyed in a
manner to insure that it would be held in confidence shall be deemed to be CONFIDENTIAL
INFORMATION.

Examples include but are not limited to confidential customer data,

confidential financial data, confidential product development and components.
3.

Only that information which a party or witness in good faith deems to contain

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION shall be so designated, and such designation by a party of

LERK

witness shall constitute a certification by that witness or its counsel that they are of the belief
that such designation has been made in good faith and that there are substantial reasons to
believe that the information meets the criteria stated in Paragraph 2 hereinabove.
4.

The parties shall not, without the consent of counsel of the party producing such

information or further order of this Court made after notice given to all parties, disclose
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION to any person except that such information may be
disclosed to attorneys of record for parties in this case, employed or retained personnel, paralegals
and support staff who are directly assisting such attorneys in this action, parties and officers and
employees of the parties, witnesses or potential witnesses, stenographic reporters and any
necessary secretarial, clerical or other personnel of such reporters, expert witnesses and
consultants retained by the parties in connection with this proceeding, to the extent counsel
deems such disclosure to be necessary for the trial or preparation for trial, including depositions
and preparation for depositions, of this case, and upon written acknowledgment by such person
to whom disclosure is made to abide by confidentiality requirements of this Order.

This

requirement of obtaining such written agreement may be satisfied by counsel for the party making
the disclosure obtaining the signed acknowledgment of any such person to whom disclosure is
made that he or she has read the Order and understands its provisions. Such written agreement
may be made by a member of a law firm, accounting firm or other firm retained as an expert in
the case on behalf of all members and staff of his or her firm. The counsel for the parties shall
maintain a list of the names of all persons other than the parties, their attorneys, or members of
the staffs of the law firms representing the parties, to whom any CONFIDENTIAL
INFORMATION is disclosed.

The parties, and counsel for the parties, are bound by the

confidentiality requirements of this Order by virtue of signatures of counsel for the parties at the
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conclusion of this Order.
5.

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION shall be utilized by any person authorized

pursuant to this Order only for purposes of this litigation and for no other purpose.
6.

The designation of documents containing CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

may be made by placing or affixing on each page thereof (in such manner as will not interfere
with legibility) the following notice:
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER
7.

Whenever a deposition taken on behalf of any party involves a disclosure of

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION of a party or witness, said deposition or portions thereof
shall be designed as containing CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION subject to the provisions of
this Order. Such designation shall be made on the record whenever possible, but a party or
witness may designate portions of depositions as containing CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
after transcription, provided written notice of such designation is promptly given to all counsel of
record herein within fourteen (14) days after the delivery of the transcript by the court reporter
to those who have ordered a copy. Prior to expiration of such fourteen-day period, information
which reasonably may be anticipated to be designated as CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
shall be treated as such by the parties.
8.

If any motion, affidavit, brief, or other document submitted to the Court during

the pretrial proceedings contains any CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION developed, revealed
by, or included within any discovery proceedings, formal or informal, whether in the form of
depositions, transcripts, interrogatory answers, document production, or otherwise, such
document shall be subject to this Order and shall be filed under seal. Any party who identifies a

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document which has already been filed that it believes contains CONFIDENTIAL
INFORMATION and should thus be under seal shall immediately request of the Court a filing
under seal, any party opposing the request shall respond within five (5) days so that the matter
may be expedited for Court consideration.
9.

Any party may at any time object to the designation of particular material or

information as CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION by giving written notice to the party or
witness designating such information. Any such written notice shall identify the information to
which the objection is directed. If the status of the information cannot be resolved within ten
(10) business days of the time the notice is received (or such additional time as the designating
party or witness in writing agrees), it shall be the obligation of the party objecting to the
designation of the information as CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION to file, within a
reasonable time thereafter, an appropriate motion requesting that the Court rule that the
disputed information should not be subject to the protection invoked. The disputed material
shall remain CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION under the terms of this Order until the Court
rules on such motion.
10.

The parties shall make separate application to the Court as to how

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION shall be treated at the jury trial and appeal of this matter as
necessary.
I 1.

At the conclusion of this case, by settlement or exhaustion of all appeals, all

documents subject to this Order, including any summaries or copies thereof in any format or
medium, shall be returned to the producing party or witness by all parties and persons to whom
they have been furnished or shall be destroyed at the option of the producing party. In the event
that any party is authorized to destroy physical objects and documents by the producing party,
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such party shall certify in writing within sixty (60) days of the final termination of the litigation
that it has undertaken its best efforts to destroy such physical object and documents and that
such physical objects and documents have been destroyed to the best of its knowledge. Counsel
may retain any of his or her work product that reflects or contains CONFIDENTIAL
INFORMATION provided that such CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION is not disclosed
unless the disclosure is pursuant to agreement of the party designating it as confidential or is
authorized by Court order.
12.

Persons receiving CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION, whether written or oral,

shall hold such information in confidence and not disclose it either orally or in writing during the
pendency of this case or thereafter except with the written agreement of the party who
designated it as CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION or pursuant to Court Order, unless such
information has ceased to be CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION by disclosure in open Court at
the trial of this case.
13.

Any

document

or

information

that

may

contain

CONFIDENTIAL

INFORMATION that has been inadvertently produced without identification as to its
"confidential" nature may be so designated by the party asserting the confidentiality thereof by
written notice to the undersigned counsel for the receiving party identifying the document or
information as so "confidential" within a reasonable time following the discovery that the
document or information has been produced without such designation.
14.

The production or disclosure of CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION shall in no

way constitute a waiver of each party's right to object to the production or disclosure of other
information in this action or in any other action.
15.

Nothing herein shall be deemed to waive any privilege recognized by law, or shall
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be deemed an admission as to the admissibility in evidence of any facts or documents revealed in
the course of disclosure.
16.

This Order shall not be amended except on prior notice to counsel.

Date

Approved:
BARBER, McCASKILL, JONES & HALE, PA
Attorneys for and on behalf of Plaintiff FutureFuel Chemical Company
400 West Capitol Avenue, Suite 2700
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
501-372-6175
By: sis Gail Ponder Gaines
Gail Ponder Gaines AR BIN 86144
Charles L. Schlumberger
Everett Clarke Tucker, IV
John E. Tull, III
Attorneys for Defendant Lonza Inc.
Quattlebaum, Grooms, Tull & Burrow PLLC
111 Center Street, Suite 1900
Little Rock, AR 72201
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
By: IslCharles L. Schlumberger
Charles L. Schlumberger AR BIN 79253

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Janeen Olsen Dougherty
Attorney for Defendant Lanza Inc.
Grey Street Legal, LLC
356 North Pottstown Pike, Suite 200
Exton, PA 19341
Telephone:
[phone]
Facsimile:
[phone]
[e-mail]
By: Is/laneen Dougherty
Janeen Dougherty

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