Minor et al v. Schlumberger Technology Corporation

Filing 19

AGREED PROTECTIVE ORDER. Signed by Honorable Robert T. Dawson on February 7, 2013. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit A Protective Order Agreement)(lw)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
FORT SMITH DIVISION

LARRY MINOR and
JOAN MINOR, Husband and Wife
PLAINTIFFS
VS.

Case NO. 2:11-CV-2258-RTD

SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY
CORPORATION
DEFENDANT
AGREED PROTECTIVE ORDER
On this day came on for hearing the Motion for Entry of Agreed Protective Order which was filed
by Schlumberger Technology Corporation ("Schlumberger"). The Court, having considered the
Motion and finding that the Parties' respective interests in the confidentiality of their sensitive and
valuable trade secrets and business information outweighs the public's interest in full access to all
documents related to this Litigation is of the opinion that the Motion should be in all things
GRANTED. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), it is therefore ORDERED that the
following provisions are in place concerning the documents, discovery responses, depositions and
other items produced, exchanged or otherwise utilized in this lawsuit:

1.

Definitions
The terms defined in Paragraph 1 shall have the meaning provided. Defined terms

may be used in the singular or plural.
1.1 "'Producing Party" means the Party or person who produces or who is asked to
produce documents or information that the Party or person considers to be
Confidential or Highly Confidential.
1.2 "Receiving Party" means the Party receiving or requesting the production of
documents or information designated as Confidential or Highly Confidential,
1.3 The "Litigation" means the lawsuit captioned above, including all discovery
proceedings, hearings, preparation and pre-trial, trial and post- trial activities
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related thereto.
1.4 "Litigation Documents" means all pleadings, motions, affidavits and related
papers, answers to interrogatories, all documents produced or exchanged in the
course of discovery, settlement negotiations, trial preparation or trial, and all
transcripts of testimony given in depositions, in hearings or at trial in connection
with the Litigation.
1.5

The "Parties" shall mean the Parties to this Litigation; Plaintiffs Larry Minor
and Joan Minor, and Defendant Schlumberger Technology Corporation and all
agents thereof.

1.6

"Non-party" shall mean any entity or individual that is not a party to this
Litigation.

Confidential and Highly Confidential Information
2.

The terms Confidential and Highly Confidential Information shall have the meaning

provided below.
2.1 "Confidential Information" means all information, whether or not embodied in
a document or other physical medium, which the Producing Party believes in good
faith lends to it a competitive advantage over others who do not possess such
information, as well as confidential, private or personal information relating to
any individual Party or employee or former employee of the Party, which the
Producing Party would not normally reveal to third parties except in confidence,
or has undertaken with others to maintain in confidence. Confidential Information
includes any data, summary, abstract, compilation, or information obtained,
derived, or generated from Confidential Information.
2.2 "Highly Confidential Information" means all information, whether or not
embodied in a document or other physical medium, which the Producing
Party believes in good faith contains or reflects proprietary information, trade
secrets or competitive or commercial information of a sensitive nature that
disclosure to another party or an employee or officer of such other party may
cause competitive injury. Highly Confidential Information includes any data,
summary, abstract, compilation, or information obtained, derived, or generated
from Highly Confidential Information.
INSPECTION OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
3.

Each person, to whom Confidential Information is disclosed or made available,

including experts or consultants retained by one or more of the Parties, shall first be advised of the
existence and the contents of this Order and shall agree in writing to be bound by its terms and
conditions (collectively "Protective Order Agreements"), Counsel for the Receiving Party shall
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maintain the Protective Order Agreements throughout the course of this Litigation and shall provide
copies of same to the Court upon request and the Producing Party upon request if there are specific
questions about potential violations of or compliance with this Protective Order and/or a
corresponding Protective Order Agreement by an identifiable individual who has been given the
opportunity to review Confidential or Highly Confidential Information produced in this
Litigation by any Party.
4.

Confidential Information may only be inspected by or revealed to the following persons:
a.

The Court, Court personnel, court reporters reporting during deposition, hearing or
trial testimony, jury and/or mediator;

b.

Counsel of record for the Parties in this Litigation, including regular employees
who provide assistance for purposes of discovery, preparation for trial, and/or trial of
this case as a part of their regular duties, as well as persons or agents employed by
them and/or under contract with said attorneys' of record;

c.

A Party and designated representatives of a named party who is an entity who are
directly involved in the handling and/or administration of the Litigation or who,
in the good faith judgment of the Party's counsel, need to have access to
Confidential Information for a legitimate litigation need. Each party's counsel shall
take reasonable steps to assure that Confidential Information is not disclosed to
corporate employees who are not so designated;
Independent experts retained by the Parties in connection with this Litigation
who have a legitimate need to review such Confidential Information for
purposes of this Litigation;

d.

e.

Witnesses who have authored, or had authorized access from the Producing Party to
the Confidential Information prior to this Litigation, from whom the Receiving
Party's attorney deems it necessary to obtain testimony for this Litigation. For
purposes of trial, the identity of any such witnesses must' be disclosed thirty (30)
days before trial. No copies of Confidential Information shall be sent to or retained
by any such witness.

f.

Any other person who is designated to receive Confidential Information by Order
of Court or agreement of the parties; and

g.

In-house attorneys for each of the Parties.

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INSPECTION OF HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
5.

Each person to whom Highly Confidential Information is disclosed or made

available, including experts or consultants retained by one or more of the Parties, shall first be advised
of the existence and the contents of this Order and shall agree in writing by signing a Protective Order
Agreement to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Protective Order. Counsel for the Receiving
Party shall maintain the Protective Order Agreements throughout the course of this Litigation and shall
provide copies of same to the Court and the Producing Party upon request if there are specific questions
about potential violations of or compliance with this Protective Order and/or a corresponding
Protective Order Agreement by an identifiable individual who has been given the opportunity to
review Confidential or Highly Confidential Information produced in this Litigation by any Party.
6.

Highly Confidential Information may only be inspected by or revealed to the

following persons:
a.

The Court, Court personnel, court reporters reporting during deposition, hearing
or trial testimony, jury and/or mediator;

b.

Counsel of record for the Parties in this Litigation, including regular
employees who provide assistance for purposes of discovery, preparation for trial,
and/or trial of this case as a part of their regular duties, as well as persons or agents
employed by them and/or under contract with said attorneys' of record;

c.

In-house attorneys for each of the parties;

d.

Independent experts retained by the Parties in connection with this Litigation,
who have a legitimate need to review such Highly Confidential Information for
purposes of this Litigation; and

e.

The Defendants who authored or had authorized access to the Highly
Confidential information during their employment with Schlumberger, but only at
the offices of, and in the presence of their respective counsel of record of at their
depositions. No copies of the Highly Confidential Information shall be sent to
or retained by any Defendant.

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USE OF CONFIDENTIAL OR HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
7.

All Confidential Information and Highly Confidential Information shall be used solely for

the purposes of this Litigation and as permitted by and subject to this Protective Order. Under no
circumstances may Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information be used for nonLitigation purposes, or in any matter, controversy, mediation, arbitration, or litigation now
pending or later filed other than this Litigation.
8.

No Party or person shall make or permit the making of more copies of any

Confidential Information than are reasonably necessary to conduct settlement negotiations,
discovery or litigation relating to the matters referenced herein. Counsel of record for each Party shall
retain custody of all copies of Confidential and High Confidential Information produced to said
attorneys at all times, unless otherwise agreed to by the Producing Party in writing.
9.

No Confidential or Highly Confidential Information shall be filed in an open court file

associated with this Litigation or any other action. The Court shall determine, at a later date and with
the consultation of the Parties' counsel, how to address the admission of Confidential or Highly
Confidential Information offered during open Court proceedings.
DESIGNATION OF CONFIDENTIAL OR HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
10.

The Producing Party shall clearly mark or designate in writing any Litigation

Document, including discovery responses, to be treated as Confidential or Highly Confidential
under the terms of this Protective Order.
11.

Any Party may designate all or any portion of testimony given at a deposition, or

documents attached as exhibits to a deposition, as Confidential or Highly Confidential
Information by indicating on the record at the deposition that the testimony is Confidential or
Highly Confidential. Further, all deposition transcripts shall be deemed Confidential for ten (10)

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days after their receipt by counsel for each of the Parties, during which time the Producing Party
may designate information contained in the transcript as Confidential or Highly Confidential
information by notifying counsel for the Parties in writing of any specific pages and lines of the
transcript which contain Confidential or Highly Confidential Information. The Producing Party
will act in good faith designating information as Confidential or Highly Confidential, and any
dispute regarding said designation will be resolved in accordance with the provisions of
Paragraph 13 herein.
12.

Persons may be deposed regarding Confidential Information or Highly

Confidential Information of which they have knowledge. In the event any Confidential
Information is to be used or discussed in a deposition, any Party shall have the right to exclude
from attendance during such portions of the deposition involving Confidential Information any
person other than the deponent and the persons defined in paragraph 4. In the event any Highly
Confidential Information is to be used or discussed in a deposition, the Producing Party shall
have the right to exclude from attendance during such portions of the deposition involving Highly
Confidential Information any person other than the deponent, counsel for the Parties, the court reporter,
and the persons defined in paragraph 6.
13.

Any document or testimony that is designated as Confidential Information or

Highly Confidential Information which is revealed by or included in any discovery proceeding
(whether formal or informal and whether in the form of depositions, transcripts, discovery answers,
or document production) or in any hearing, motion, pleadings, affidavits, briefs or other documents
submitted to this Court during pretrial matters, shall be subject to this Protective Order. Highly
Confidential Information and Confidential Information included as part of any pleading,
memorandum, or other submission shall be filed in sealed envelopes or other containers on which

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shall be endorsed the title of this action, a general indication of the nature of the contents, and the words
"Highly Confidential Information" or "Confidential Information" (depending on the situation) and
"Subject to a Protective Order" and shall be filed directly with the Judge as though submitted for in
camera review. Subject to this Protective Order and further Order of the Court, nothing herein shall
prevent the use of Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information at hearing or trial.
The Court will hear motions for the closure of limited portions of the hearings or trial of this
matter should any Party deem such closure desirable or necessary.

Before discussing the

substance of any Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information at a hearing or trial, the
Party intending to introduce or use such information into evidence must first notify the Court and counsel
for the other Parties. No party shall disclose the substance of Confidential or Highly Confidential
Information in open court until the Producing Party has been given the opportunity to object or take the
necessary measures to safeguard the confidentiality of such information and obtain a ruling from the
Court. There shall be no mention to the Jury of the fact of designation under this Protective
Order of a document, court paper, or testimony as Confidential Information or Highly
Confidential Information.
Objection to Designation
14.

Any dispute arising under this Protective Order shall be submitted to the Court for

resolution. If any Party disagrees with the designation of any information as Confidential
Information or Highly Confidential Information, the material so designated shall nonetheless be
treated as such unless and until the Producing Party agrees or the Court orders that the
Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information designation shall be removed.

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Return of Discovery Material
15.

Within thirty (30) days after the final termination of this Litigation, whether by

settlement, judgment, or decision on appeal, all originals and copies of Confidential Information
or Highly Confidential Information shall be returned to the Producing Party, unless otherwise
agreed to between the Parties, together with all documents containing data or information
obtained, derived, or generated therefrom. The Producing Party's counsel shall retain such
information for a period of four (4) years following the conclusion of this Litigation. In the
alternative, the Receiving Party may provide counsel for the Producing Party with a certification
attesting that the Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information has been
destroyed, together with all documents containing data or information obtained, derived, or
generated therefrom.
16.

If any Confidential Information or data obtained, derived, or generated therefrom, is

sought through discovery from the Receiving Party by any party in any other judicial or
administrative proceeding or otherwise, the Receiving Party agrees to notify Producing Party in
writing within five (5) days so as to permit the Producing Party to seek a protective order from
the appropriate court or take other appropriate action.
No Waiver
17.

Nothing in this Protective Order shall be construed as a waiver by any Party of its

right to object to the subject matter of any discovery request made in this action. The execution
of this Protective Order shall not be construed as an agreement by any Party to produce any
document or supply any information, and shall not constitute an admission that any designated
material is relevant in any way to the issues raised in the Litigation or as a waiver of any
privilege with respect thereto. Nothing contained in this Order and no designation as

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Confidential or Highly Confidential shall be construed as a finding (preliminarily or otherwise)
that any information designated by or protected by this Order does or does not constitute
confidential, proprietary or trade secret information.
18.

Neither the previsions of this Protective Order nor any disclosure by a Party

pursuant to this Protective Order shall constitute a waiver at any time, or in any litigation relating
to the matters referenced herein or otherwise, of any attorney/client privilege, work product
doctrine, or any other privilege offered by the Federal Rules of Evidence or Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure.
19.

No use by any Party of any Confidential Information or Highly

Confidential Information or documents or any information contained therein or derived
therefrom shall abrogate any of the provisions of this Protective Order with respect to
such Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information or documents or any
information contained therein or derived therefrom.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 7th day of February, 2013.
/s/ Robert T. Dawson
HONORABLE ROBERT T. DAWSON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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