Bishop v. Colorado School District 11

Filing 27

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge Michael E. Hegarty on 6/14/2012. (mehcd)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 12-cv-00764-REB-MEH
______________________________________________________________________
BARBARA K. BISHOP,
Plaintiff,
v.
COLORADO SPRINGS SCHOOL DISTRICT 11,
TOM STRAND, in his official capacity,
TOM STRAND, individually,
JAN TANNER, in her official capacity,
JAN TANNER, individually,
JOHN GUDVAGEN, in his official capacity,
JOHN GUDVAGEN, individually
CHARLES BOBBITT, in his official capacity,
CHARLES BOBBITT, individually,
SANDRA MANN, in her official capacity,
SANDRA MANN, individually,
BOB NULL, in his official capacity,
BOB NULL, individually,
TAMI HASLING, in his official capacity,
TAMI HASLING, individually,
Defendants.

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

The parties to this action have stipulated and agreed herein that discovery may
involve production of confidential, trade secret, or other information which is entitled to
protection pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c). In view of this stipulation, the Court finds
that good cause exists for issuance of a Protective Order. Therefore, pursuant to Rule
26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:

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1.

This Stipulated Protective Order (the "Protective Order") governs the

handling of specific designated documents, things, and other information obtained
during the course of discovery in this proceeding, except for records produced by
Defendants under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) (“education
records”) which require separate treatment in accordance with the provisions of federal
law and therefore are governed by a separate protective order entered in this action. All
designated confidential information produced or disclosed in the course of discovery in
this proceeding shall be used by the parties receiving it solely for the purpose of
preparing for and conducting pretrial and trial proceedings in this proceeding, and for no
other purpose.
2.

As used in this Protective Order, the term "Confidential Information"

means information stamped as “Confidential” by a party producing such information (the
"Producing Party") or otherwise clearly designated as confidential by a party and which
is confidential, trade secret, or other information which is entitled to protection pursuant
to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c), whether revealed during a deposition, in a document, in an
interrogatory answer, or otherwise, in connection with this litigation.
3.

A Producing Party may designate any discovery material which is

confidential, trade secret, or other information which is entitled to protection pursuant to
Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c), as Confidential Information under the terms of this Protective
Order by stamping or otherwise clearly identifying the document, or the affected portion
of the document, as “Confidential” at the time of the production of the materials.

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4.

"Confidential" discovery material and information derived therefrom shall

be produced only to counsel of record for the parties in this proceeding and may be
disclosed by such counsel only to the following persons:
a.

The attorneys appearing on behalf of the parties to this proceeding,

their respective firms and employees;
b.

Any person expressly retained by any attorney described in

subparagraph (a) above or by the parties to assist in the preparation of this litigation, to
testify at trial, or for any other purpose in this litigation;
c.

The

parties

to

this

litigation

and

any

employee

and/or

representative designated by a party to act on his, her, or its behalf in connection with
this litigation;
d.

Any person who is questioned as a witness in this litigation at a

deposition or at trial, but only to the extent that the disclosure takes place in the course
of the examination in the presence of opposing counsel;
e.

Any other person whom the Producing Party agrees in writing, or

whom the Court directs, should have access to such material; and
f.

The Court and its representatives and employees.

Additionally, a party may disclose material designated as Confidential Information, or
information derived therefrom, in response to a lawful subpoena in other litigation,
provided that prior to responding to such subpoena a copy of the subpoena shall be
provided to counsel for the opposing party as soon as practicable after having been

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served with the subpoena, and the opposing counsel is allowed time to seek a
protective order.
5.

In the event a party seeks to maintain as confidential pursuant to this

Protective Order all or a portion of any deposition testimony which qualifies for
designation as Confidential Information under the standards set forth in paragraph 2
hereof, such party shall assert such intention in writing no later than 7 business days
after receipt of the transcript of the deposition in question.

All materials in the

deposition transcript will be treated as Confidential Information until the foregoing period
has expired; thereafter, only those portions properly designated as confidential will be
treated as Confidential Information governed by this Protective Order.
6.

If counsel for either party determines to file in or submit to this Court any

discovery material designated as Confidential Information, or information derived
therefrom, or any papers containing or making reference to the specific content of such
material or information, such material, information, or papers may be filed with the Court
only upon entry of an order on a motion to restrict access filed in accordance with
D.C.COLO.LCivR 7.2.B.
7.

Each of the persons listed in paragraph 4 (b), (c), (d), or (e) above who in

the course of this litigation is given access to discovery material designated as
Confidential Information or information derived therefrom shall be advised that the
material or information is being disclosed pursuant to and subject to the terms of this
Protective Order and may not be disclosed other than pursuant to the terms hereof.

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8.

Before any person described in paragraph 4 (b), (c), (d), or (e) above is

given access to any of the discovery materials designated as Confidential Information,
he or she shall be given a signed copy of this Protective Order, and he or she shall sign
a statement acknowledging receipt of a copy of this order, consenting to the jurisdiction
of this Court, and agreeing to abide by its terms. A copy of the signed statement
promptly shall be served on all counsel of record.
9.

Entering into, agreeing to, and/or complying with the terms of this

Protective Order shall not prejudice in any way the right of a party to seek a Court
determination (i) whether particular discovery material should be produced, or (ii) if
produced, whether such material properly can be considered Confidential Information
which should be subject to the terms of this Protective Order.
10.

Within 30 days after the termination of this proceeding, all discovery

material designated as Confidential Information and all copies thereof shall be returned
to the Producing Party, or such confidential discovery material shall be certified to have
been destroyed.
11.

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 ten (10) 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 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,

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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.
12.

Subject to all proper evidentiary objections, any party may use in

depositions and at trial any of the information which has been designated as
Confidential pursuant to the terms of this Protective Order; provided that all parties
reserve their respective rights to request the Court to take appropriate measures for
depositions and at trial to preserve the confidentiality of such information should such
party believe that additional measures are necessary or appropriate.
13.

This Protective Order shall be entered of record with the Court and have

the force and effect of an Order of the Court. It shall continue fully in effect after the
termination of this litigation and may be modified only in writing by further order of the
Court.
14. By stipulating to this Protective Order, no party waives any right it may
have to withhold or redact information protected from disclosure by the attorney-client
privilege or other applicable privilege, the work-product doctrine, or any other protection,

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law, or regulation, or to seek appropriate protective orders respecting documents
asserted to be subject to any such privilege, protection, law, or regulation.
15.

Nothing in this Protective Order shall limit any party’s right to disclose to

any person, or use for any purpose, its own information and documents.
16.

If a party inadvertently produces Confidential Information without the

required “Confidential” stamp, the Producing Party shall, within five business days of
discovery of the inadvertent omission, inform the receiving party in writing of the
inadvertent omission and the specific material at issue. Upon receipt of such notice, the
receiving party shall treat the material identified in the notice as Confidential Information
until (a) the parties agree to non-confidential treatment of the subject material, or (b) the
Court, on motion of either party made within ten (10) days of the date of the written
notice regarding inadvertent omission, issues an order addressing the appropriate
treatment of the subject material. A party shall not be deemed to have waived any right
to designate material as Confidential Information by allowing inspection of such material
prior to a designation of such material as “Confidential” or by inadvertently failing to
mark a document as “Confidential” prior to its disclosure.
17.

This Protective Order shall not apply to the disclosure of Confidential

Information or the information contained therein at the time of trial, through the receipt of
Confidential Information into evidence or through the testimony of witnesses, or in any
alternative dispute resolution proceeding including arbitration and mediation.

The

closure of trial proceedings and sealing of the record of a trial involve considerations not

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presently before the Court. These issues may be taken up as a separate matter upon
the motion of any of the parties at the threshold of the trial.
18.

Except by order of the Court, this Protective Order may not be waived,

modified, abandoned, or terminated, in whole or in part, except by an instrument in
writing signed by the parties. If any provision of this Protective Order shall be held
invalid for any reason whatsoever, the remaining provisions shall not be affected
thereby.
19.

This Protective Order shall be binding upon the parties hereto, upon their

attorneys, and upon the parties’ and their attorneys’ successors, assigns, subsidiaries,
divisions,

employees,

agents,

independent

contractors,

or

other

organizations over which they have control.

Dated at Denver, Colorado, this 14th day of June, 2012.
BY THE COURT:

Michael E. Hegarty
United States Magistrate Judge

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persons

or

STIPULATED AND AGREED TO:

Plaintiff Barbara K. Bishop

s/ Joel W. Cantrick
Joel W. Cantrick
Jones & Keller, P.C.
1999 Broadway, Suite 3150
Denver, CO 80202

Defendants Colorado Springs
School District 11 et al
s/ Brent E. Rychener
Brent E. Rychener
Deborah S. Menkins
Bryan Cave HRO
90 South Cascade Avenue, Suite 1300
Colorado Springs, CO 80903

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