McCarty v. VIP Logistics LLC et al

Filing 24

PROTECTIVE ORDER. Signed by Chief Judge Kristine G. Baker on 08/28/2024. (llg)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
CENTRAL DIVISION
BOBBIE RAY MCCARTY
v.

PLAINTIFF
Case No. 4:23-cv-150-KGB

VIP LOGISTICS, LLC, et al.

DEFENDANTS
PROTECTIVE ORDER

Before the Court is the parties’ joint motion for agreed protective Order (Dkt. No. 20). The
parties submitted to the Court a proposed agreed protective Order with their joint motion for agreed
protective Order (Dkt. No. 20, at 4–12). Based on the agreement of the parties, the Court hereby
grants the parties’ joint motion for agreed protective Order, but with some modifications to the
language in the proposed agreed protective Order (Id.). The Court enters this Protective Order to
govern the exchange of materials in this action pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c). It is hereby
ordered as follows:
1.

This Protective Order is entered based on the agreement of the parties pursuant to

the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
2.

For purposes of this Protective Order, the following words and phrases are defined:
(a)

Action or litigation is the civil action Bobbie Ray McCarty v. VIP Logistics,

LLC et al., Case No. 4:23-cv-150-KGB, filed in the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Arkansas, Central Division.
(b)

Party or parties includes Bobbie Ray McCarty, VIP Logistics, LLC, VIP

Supply Chain Solutions, LLC, Bobin Trucking LLC, Mohammed Saleh Qaid Algalham,
and Fuad Mahfiudh-Nasser Algalham.

(c)

Qualified Recipient means an individual who receives Confidential

Documents and/or Information consistent with the terms of this Protective Order and agrees
in writing to be bound by the Confidentiality Acknowledgment agreed to by the parties.
(d)

Confidential means a claim of protection by the terms of this Protective

(e)

Confidential Documents and/or Information means documents or

Order.

information produced in discovery during the course of this litigation and designated by a
party as entitled to confidentiality and protection consistent with the terms of this Protective
Order.
3.

The parties agree that documents or information already in the public domain are

not subject to this Protective Order.
4.

Designation of Confidential Documents and/or Information produced shall be made

by placing the following legend on the face of the document and each page so designated
“CONFIDENTIAL” or otherwise expressly identified as Confidential in written communications
with counsel for a party.
5.

A party may designate as Confidential portions of any deposition transcript wherein

documents or information designated as Confidential are identified, discussed, or disclosed.
Portions of a deposition transcript so designated will be subject to the terms of this Protective
Order. The designation must be made on the record during the deposition or by letter sent by
facsimile or electronic mail to all counsel within 30 business days after receipt of the transcript or
file-marked entry of this Protective Order, whichever date is later. The portions of a deposition
transcript that mention or discuss documents or information designated as Confidential must be
treated as Confidential and therefore are subject to this Protective Order.

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6.

The inadvertent production or transmission of documents or information without

designation as Confidential Documents and/or Information intended to be so designated, or that
should have been designated as Confidential, shall not waive the right of any party to so designate
such document or information. Any document or information that is inadvertently not designated
as Confidential when produced shall be, upon written request of the producing party, thereafter
treated as being designated as Confidential under this Protective Order.
7.

Except as otherwise stated in this Protective Order, Confidential Documents and/or

Information produced pursuant to this Protective Order shall not be disclosed to any third party or
otherwise distributed or used in connection with any other claim or litigation, absent specific
written authorization from the producing party, provided that Confidential Documents and/or
Information may be disclosed or made available to the Court; to record counsel for the parties,
including the paralegal, clerical, and secretarial staff employed by such counsel; and to Qualified
Recipients consistent with the terms of this Protective Order. The parties and their counsel shall
only disclose Confidential Documents and/or Information to those Qualified Recipients who
counsel determine, in their discretion, are reasonably necessary to the preparation, defense,
prosecution, or resolution of this action.
8.

Qualified Recipients of documents and information marked “CONFIDENTIAL”

shall include only the following:
(a)

Counsel of record for the parties to this litigation, including members or

employees of counsel’s law firm and any counsel associated to assist in the preparation or
trial of this case;
(b)

Any consultant or expert retained by any of the parties;

(c)

Any claims representative for any of the parties;

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(d)

The Court, the Court’s staff, the court reporter, and the jury involved in this

litigation;

9.

(e)

Any other individual agreed to by the parties in writing;

(f)

Any other individual included by Order of the Court.

All produced Confidential Documents and/or Information shall be carefully

maintained so as to preclude access by persons who are not Qualified Recipients.
10.

No copies of Confidential Documents and/or Information shall be made except by

or on behalf of counsel of record. Any person making copies of such documents or information
shall maintain all copies within their possession or the possession of those entitled to access to
such documents and information under this Protective Order.
11.

Confidential Documents and/or Information produced pursuant to this Protective

Order shall be held in confidence by each individual and Qualified Recipient to whom disclosed,
shall be used only for purposes of the prosecution, defense, or settlement of this action and for no
other purpose.
12.

Confidential Documents and/or Information produced pursuant to this Protective

Order shall be used only for purposes of this litigation. No person or entity authorized under this
Protective Order to gain access to Confidential Documents and/or Information:
(a)

shall disclose any of the Confidential Documents and/or Information to any

other individual, directly or indirectly, except as authorized by this Protective Order; or
(b)

shall use any of the Confidential Documents and/or Information to the

detriment of the producing party or for any other business or financial benefit of the person
or entity.

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13.

In the event of a disclosure in violation of this Protective Order, whether intentional

or unintentional, the disclosing party shall immediately notify the opposing party of the disclosure
and take immediate action to prevent further disclosures.
14.

In the event either party is subpoenaed or otherwise required by legal process to

disclose the Confidential Documents and/or Information which a party has obtained under the
terms of this Protective Order, it shall immediately notify the opposing party and provide it with
an opportunity to object before any disclosure is made.
15.

Any Confidential Documents and/or Information disclosed in any pleading,

motion, brief, exhibit, or other filing with the Court shall be maintained under seal. To the extent
such Confidential filing is capable of redaction, the redacted version is to be filed on the public
docket, with the unredacted version delivered in hard copy to the Clerk’s Office for filing under
seal. The redacted version of a Confidential filing may include, when necessary, slip sheets
appropriately labeled “UNDER SEAL” to indicate the exhibits or other materials that have been
omitted in their entirety from the public filing.
16.

If either party objects to the claims that documents or information should be deemed

Confidential Documents and/or Information pursuant to this Protective Order, that party’s counsel
of record shall inform opposing counsel in writing within 30 days of receipt of the Confidential
Documents and/or Information that the documents or information should not be so deemed, and
the parties shall attempt first to dispose of such disputes in good faith and on an informal basis. If
the parties are unable to resolve their dispute, they may present a motion to the Court objecting to
such status. The motion should describe with specificity the particular materials for which the
designation is being challenged and set forth with specificity the particular materials that are not
properly designated as Confidential. Upon such a motion, the materials should be submitted under

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seal for the Court to conduct a review in camera to determine the validity of the Confidential
nature of the documents or information in question. The documents and information shall continue
to have Confidential status during the pendency of any such motion and are subject to the terms of
this Protective Order pending a determination by the Court on the merits of any such challenge.
17.

This Protective Order does not prevent a party from seeking to compel production

of redacted documents or information at a later time, if it were believed to be relevant and
otherwise discoverable.
18.

Nothing in this Protective Order shall be deemed as a waiver of any applicable

privilege or protection.
19.

The parties agree to and the Court orders protection of privileged and otherwise

protected documents and information against claims of waiver (including as against third parties
and in other federal and state proceedings) as follows:
(a)

The disclosure or production of any document and information by a party

subject to a legally recognized claim of privilege, including without limitation the attorneyclient privilege and the work-product doctrine, to a receiving party or any third parties,
shall in no way constitute the voluntary disclosure of such document or information.
(b)

The inadvertent disclosure or production of any document or information in

this action shall not result in the waiver of any privilege, evidentiary protection, or other
protection associated with such document or information as to the receiving party or any
third parties, and shall not result in any waiver, including subject matter waiver, of any
kind.
(c)

If, during the course of this litigation, a party determines that any document

or information produced by another party is or may reasonably be subject to a legally

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recognizable privilege or evidentiary protection, the parties shall comply with the
procedures outlined in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5) with respect to the
document or information.
20.

Nothing in this Protective Order shall be construed as an admission as to the

relevance, authenticity, foundation, or admissibility of any document, material, or other
information.
21.

Subject to the Federal Rules of Evidence, any Confidential Documents and/or

Information may be offered in evidence at trial or any Court hearing. Any party may move the
Court to prevent unnecessary disclosure of Confidential Documents and/or Information.
22.

No lawyer for any party may comment in the presence of the jury on the reasons or

motivation for designating materials as Confidential or under seal without first having obtained
specific permission from the Court to do so.
23.

The parties may agree subsequently to exclude any documents or information from

coverage under this Protective Order.
24.

The termination of this action shall not relieve the parties and persons obligated

hereunder from their responsibility to maintain the Confidential nature of Confidential Documents
and/or Information designated Confidential pursuant to this Protective Order.
25.

At the conclusion of this action, including all appeals, counsel for the parties shall

take all reasonable steps necessary to reclaim and destroy or return all copies of Confidential
Documents and/or Information to opposing counsel.
26.

Nothing in this Protective Order shall prevent any party from seeking modification

of this Protective Order at any time as to specific documents or information designated

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Confidential or to remove such documents or information from the application of this Protective
Order.
It is so ordered this 28th day of August, 2024.

________________________________
Kristine G. Baker
Chief United States District Judge

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