Gillette v. Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners et al

Filing 15

PROTECTIVE ORDER: by Magistrate Judge Boyd N. Boland on 9/12/11. (bnbcd, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 11-cv-00816-LTB-BNB

SHANE GILLETTE,
Plaintiff,
v.
THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF THE COUNTY OF ARAPAHOE,
DONALD KLEMME, individually and in his official capacity,
Defendant.

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
Upon a showing of good cause in support of the entry of a protective order to protect the
discovery and dissemination of confidential information or information that (1) may be entitled
to confidential treatment under the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a; (2) may otherwise intrude on
the privacy interests of third parties; or (3) which will improperly annoy, embarrass, or oppress
any party, witness, third party, or person providing discovery in this case,
IT IS ORDERED:
1.

This Protective Order shall apply to all documents, materials, and information, including
without limitation, documents produced, answers to interrogatories, responses to requests
for admission, deposition testimony, and other information disclosed pursuant to the
disclosure or discovery duties created by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
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2.

As used in this Protective Order, "document" is defined as provided in Fed. R. Civ. P.
34(a). A draft or non-identical copy is a separate document within the meaning of this
term.

3.

Documents, material and information designated "CONFIDENTIAL" shall be
documents, material and information that is confidential or implicates common law or
statutory privacy interests, including confidential or private medical and/or mental health
information, financial or tax information, information on discipline or termination from
employment, information protected under the Colorado Open Records Act or the
Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act, information contained in personnel files of
individuals who are not parties to this lawsuit, or arrest and criminal records information
of (a) Plaintiff, and; (b) Defendant and current or former employees of the Defendant;
and (c) all third parties to this action. Confidential information shall not be disclosed or
used for any purpose except the preparation and trial of this case, and except as
authorized by the strict terms of this Protective Order.

4.

The parties note that some confidential and/or private information may have been
previously disclosed or produced, or discovered informally in this case. The parties shall
have thirty (30) business days after the Court issues this Proposed Protective Order to
specifically identify and designate, in writing, by description and by Bates number, if
available, all previously disclosed, produced, and/or discovered CONFIDENTIAL
information. During this thirty (30) business day period, all information that has been
previously disclosed or produced, or discovered informally or through deposition in this
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case, shall be presumed to be CONFIDENTIAL information. Any such information that
has not been identified and designated, in writing, as CONFIDENTIAL information at
the expiration of this thirty (30) business day period shall lose its presumptive
characterization as CONFIDENTIAL information.
5.

CONFIDENTIAL

documents,

materials,

and/or

information

(collectively

"CONFIDENTIAL information") identified in accordance with paragraph 3 of this
Protective Order shall not, without the consent of the party producing it or further Order
of the Court, be disclosed except that such information may be disclosed to:
(a) attorneys actively working on this case and attorneys employed by Plaintiff or
Defendants;
(b) persons regularly employed or associated with the attorneys actively working
on the case whose assistance is required by the attorneys in the preparation for
trial, at trial, or at other proceedings in this case;
(c) the parties, including the employees for the Board of County Commissioners
of the County of Arapahoe, Colorado who have information relevant to the issues
involved in this lawsuit.
(d) expert witnesses and consultants retained in connection with this proceeding,
to the extent such disclosure is necessary for preparation, trial or other
proceedings in this case;
(e) the Court and its employees ("Court Personnel");
(f) court reporters who are engaged in proceedings necessarily incident to the
conduct of this action;

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(g) deponents, witnesses, or potential witnesses; and
(h) other persons by written agreement of the parties.
6.

Prior to disclosing any CONFIDENTIAL information to any person listed above (other
than counsel, persons employed by counsel, Court Personnel and stenographic reporters),
counsel shall provide such person with a copy of this Protective Order and obtain from
such person a written acknowledgment stating that he or she has read this Protective
Order and agrees to be bound by its provisions. All such acknowledgments shall be
retained by counsel and shall be subject to in camera review by the Court if opposing
counsel demonstrates good cause for review as demonstrated by opposing counsel.

7.

Documents are designated as CONFIDENTIAL by placing or affixing on them (in a
manner that will not interfere with their legibility) the following or other appropriate
notice: "CONFIDENTIAL," or as designated pursuant to paragraph 4 above. Any such
designation must first be reviewed by an attorney, and the designation shall be deemed a
certification by the designating party's attorney that the designation as confidential is
based on a good-faith belief that the information is confidential, including without
limitation what is described in this Order or otherwise entitled to protection under
Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(c)(1)(G).

8.

Whenever a deposition involves the disclosure of CONFIDENTIAL information, the
deposition or portions thereof shall be designated as CONFIDENTIAL and shall be
subject to the provisions of this Protective Order. Such designation shall be made on the
record during the deposition whenever possible, but a party may designate portions of
depositions as CONFIDENTIAL after transcription, provided written notice of the

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designation is promptly given to all counsel of record within thirty (30) days after notice
by the court reporter of the completion of the transcript, or within thirty (30) days after
entry of this Order, whichever is later.
9.

A party may object to the designation of particular CONFIDENTIAL information by
giving written notice to the party designating the disputed information. The written
notice shall identify the information to which the objection is made. If the parties cannot
resolve the objection within twenty (20) business days after the time the notice is
received, it shall be the obligation of the party designating the information as
CONFIDENTIAL to file an appropriate motion within 20 business days requesting that
the Court determine whether the disputed information should be subject to the terms of
this Protective Order. If such a motion is timely filed, the disputed information shall be
treated as CONFIDENTIAL under the terms of this Protective Order until the Court rules
on the motion. If the designating party fails to file such a motion within the prescribed
time, the disputed information shall lose its designation as CONFIDENTIAL and shall
not thereafter be treated as CONFIDENTIAL in accordance with this Protective Order.
In connection with a motion filed under this provision, the party designating the
information as CONFIDENTIAL shall bear the burden of establishing that good cause
exists for the disputed information to be treated as CONFIDENTIAL.

10.

Motions to file documents under seal must comply with the requirements of
D.C.COLO.LCivR 7.2.

Should the parties desire to submit to the Court any

CONFIDENTIAL information (whether in a discovery dispute, on the merits, or
otherwise), any such documents or information shall be filed under seal with the Clerk of

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the Court in accordance with D.C.COLO.LCivR 7.2 and 7.3. or any other rules
promulgated by the United States District Court for the District of Colorado in effect at
the time the documents are filed.
11.

At the conclusion of this case and any possible appeal or other judicial review, unless
other arrangements are agreed upon, each document and all copies thereof which have
been designated as CONFIDENTIAL shall be retained in a secure location by the
possessing counsel and continue to be subject to the terms of this Order or such
documents shall be destroyed in a manner mutually agreeable to the parties.

12.

Nothing in this Protective Order may be taken or construed as a ruling or statement
concerning the admissibility of any documents or information.

13.

By executing this Stipulated Protective Order, neither party waives any objection he or it
may have to producing any document or information during disclosure or discovery.

14.

This Protective Order may be modified by the Court at any time for good cause shown
following notice to all parties and an opportunity for them to be heard.
Dated September 12, 2011.
BY THE COURT:
s/ Boyd N. Boland
United States Magistrate Judge

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APPROVED:
s/ David Lichtenstein
David Lichtenstein
1556 Williams Street, Suite 100
Denver, CO 80218-1661
[phone]
[phone] (fax)
[e-mail]
Attorney for Plaintiff

s/ Robin Cochran
Robin Cochran
Asst. Arapahoe County Attorney
5334 S. Prince Street
Littleton, CO 80120-1136
[phone]
[phone] (fax)
[e-mail]
Attorney for Defendants

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