Witt v. GC Services Limited Partnership
Filing
76
PROTECTIVE ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Craig B. Shaffer on 12/30/14. ORDERED that when filing restricted documents, parties MUST fully comply with the requirements of D.C.ColoL.CivR. 7.2. (cbssec)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 13-cv-02834-RBJ-CBS
DEBORAH WITT,
Plaintiff,
v.
GC SERVICES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, a Delaware limited partnership,
Defendant.
PROTECTIVE ORDER
Pursuant to stipulation of the parties and in accordance with the provisions of
Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(c),
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
1.
Confidential
information
shall
be
designated
by
stamping
“CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEY EYES ONLY” on the copies of the document
produced. Stamping “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEY EYES ONLY” on the cover of
any multipage document shall designate all pages of the document as Confidential
Material, unless otherwise stated by the producing party.
In the case of deposition
testimony, a party may request at the time a question is asked, or at the end of the
deposition, that any portion of the deposition transcript be designated confidential. A
party may designate any portion of a deposition as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEY
EYES ONLY” after transcription of the deposition, provided that written notice of the
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.
2.
Information shall be designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only after counsel for
the party making the designation has reviewed, or heard, the information and believes,
in good faith and after completing a reasonable investigation to determine that the
information is in fact confidential, that the information is confidential or otherwise entitled
to protection.
3.
Information shall be designated as “ATTORNEY EYES ONLY” only after
counsel for the party making the designation has reviewed, or heard, the information
and believes, in good faith and after completing a reasonable investigation to determine
that the information is in fact sensitive and/or proprietary business information, that the
information is sensitive and/or proprietary business information entitled to the
heightened protection beyond being classified as “CONFIDENTIAL”.
4.
Documents designated as ATTORNEY EYES ONLY shall have the same
protections as CONFIDENTIAL documents under paragraph 5 below except with regard
to third-party disclosures. With regard to third-party disclosures, counsel for the parties
shall not disclose or permit the disclosure of any documents designated ATTORNEY
EYES ONLY under the terms of this Order to any other person or entity except counsel
and employees of counsel for the parties who have responsibility for the preparation
and trial of the lawsuit, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the party who
designated such documents. If counsel intends to use any information designated as
ATTORNEY EYES ONLY during a deposition other than a deposition of the party or
employee(s) of the party designating the information as ATTORNEY EYES ONLY,
counsel must first obtain an acknowledgment (in the form set forth at Attachment 1
hereto) from the deponent that he or she has read and understands the terms of this
Order and is bound by it. If counsel has obtained an acknowledgement, the witness
may see the ATTORNEY EYES ONLY document during the deposition only, and
counsel may examine the witness regarding the document. The witness may identify
the ATTORNEY EYES ONLY document on the record by general description and
numerical production label (such as a Bates label) only. In the event a party intends to
file a document designated as ATTORNEY EYES ONLY with Court, the filing party shall
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file the document in accordance with D.C.Colo.LCivR 7.2 and the Court’s Practice
Standards.
5.
The information designated “CONFIDENTIAL” discussed in ¶1 above, and
all tangible embodiments thereof, all copies thereof, the substance thereof, and all
information contained therein (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Confidential
Material”):
(a)
shall not be disclosed or distributed by counsel, or any other person
receiving, viewing or hearing the Confidential Material (“Receiving Person”) to any
person other than to (1) counsel for either party as identified in ¶10 below, (2) insurance
carriers for either party, (3) partners, employees and agents of counsel for either party,
(4) any consulting or testifying experts hired by counsel for either party, who are
assisting counsel in preparation of this action for trial (subject to ¶5(c) below), (5) the
Court and its employees, and (6) Plaintiff (“Plaintiff”) and Defendant (the “Defendant”),
its officers, directors and employees;
(b)
shall be filed with the Court, should filing be desired or required, in
accordance with D.C.Colo.LCivR 7.2 and the Court’s Practice Standards; and,
(c)
shall not be disclosed to any consulting or testifying expert unless the
party making the disclosure follows the provisions of ¶7 of this Protective Order.
6.
By agreeing to the limited disclosure permitted under this Protective
Order, no party waives its claim that Confidential Material is confidential and/or that
Attorney Eyes Only material is sensitive and proprietary business information. All parties
agree that a disclosure in accordance with this Protective Order does not constitute a
waiver of a party’s claim or position that the information so disclosed is confidential
and/or Attorney Eyes Only. All parties agree that no party will contend that the failure to
mark a particular document “CONFIDENTIAL” AND/OR “ATTORNEY EYES ONLY” or
to designate any portion or a deposition as “CONFIDENTIAL” AND/OR “ATTORNEY
EYES ONLY” constitutes a waiver of the other party’s position, if any, that a document
or a portion of a deposition contains Confidential Material and/or Attorney Eyes Only
Material, unless the party seeking to assert waiver first notifies the other party in writing
3
of its intention to claim waiver and gives the other party three (3) business days within
which to designate as Confidential and/or that Attorney Eyes Only the document or
portion or deposition transcript at issue.
7.
Before disclosing any Confidential Material to any consulting or testifying
expert, counsel for the disclosing party or parties shall have the consulting or testifying
expert read this Protective Order and shall explain the contents of this Protective Order
to that person. The consulting or testifying expert shall agree to be bound to the terms
of this Protective Order and shall execute a declaration identical to Exhibit “1” attached
hereto.
8.
During any deposition, Confidential Material may be disclosed to any
deponent. Before that disclosure is made, the disclosing party shall advise the deponent
(as well as counsel, if any, representing the deponent) that the information about to be
disclosed is subject to this Protective Order and that any further disclosure of the
Confidential Material by the deponent (or by his or her counsel) shall constitute a
violation of the Protective Order.
9.
Before trial, the parties will address the method for protecting the
confidentiality of the Confidential Material and/or Attorney Eyes Only Material during
trial.
10.
In accordance with this Protective Order, counsel for the parties are:
A. In the case of Plaintiff: David M. Larson, Esq.
B. In the case of Defendant: William S. Helfand, Esq. and Michael W.
Twomey, Esq.
It is the responsibility of the attorneys whose signatures appear below to ensure
that their partners, employees and agents who may have access to Confidential
Information and/or Attorney Eyes Only Information shall be apprised of, and adhere to,
this Protective Order.
11.
A party may object to the designation of particular Confidential Material
and/or Attorney Eyes Only Material by giving written notice to the party designating the
disputed information.
The written notice shall identify the information to which the
4
objection is made. If the parties cannot resolve the objection within ten (10) business
days after the time the notice is received, the party designating the information as
CONFIDENTIAL AND/OR ATTORNEY EYES ONLY shall have the obligation 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, the disputed information shall be treated as CONFIDENTIAL AND/OR
ATTORNEY EYES ONLY 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/OR
ATTORNEY EYES ONLY and shall not thereafter be treated as CONFIDENTIAL
AND/OR ATTORNEY EYES ONLY in accordance with this Protective Order.
In
connection with a motion filed under this provision, the party designating the information
as CONFIDENTIAL AND/OR ATTORNEY EYES ONLY shall bear the burden of
establishing that good cause exists for the disputed information to be treated as
CONFIDENTIAL AND/OR ATTORNEY EYES ONLY.
12.
The termination of proceedings in this action shall not relieve any person
to whom Confidential Material and/or Attorney Eyes Only Material was disclosed from
the obligation of maintaining the confidentiality of such material in accordance with the
provisions of this Protective Order.
13.
Upon final termination of this action, including any appeal, each party shall
assemble and shall destroy all items designated as Confidential Material and/or
Attorney Eyes Only Material by the other party in accordance with the Colorado Rules of
Professional Conduct.
14.
This Protective Order shall be without prejudice to the right of the parties:
a) to bring before the Court at any time the question of whether any particular document
or information is Confidential Material and/or Attorney Eyes Only Material or whether its
use should be restricted; or, b) to present a motion to the Court under Fed.R.Civ.P. Rule
26(c) for a separate protective order as to any particular document or information,
including restriction differing from those as specified herein.
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15.
This Protective Order shall not be deemed to prejudice the parties in any
way from making future application to this Court for modification of this Order.
16.
This Protective Order is entered solely for the purpose of facilitating the
exchange of documents and information between the parties to this action without
unnecessarily involving the Court in the process. Nothing in this Protective Order, nor
the production of any information or document under the terms of this Protective Order,
nor any proceeding pursuant to this Protective Order shall be deemed to be an
admission or waiver by either party, or to be an alteration of the confidentiality or nonconfidentiality or the discoverability or non-discoverability or the admissibility or
inadmissibility of any such document or information, or to be an alteration of any
existing obligation of any party or the absence of any such obligation.
17.
The existence of this Protective Order, including the fact that it was
entered into by the parties shall not be admissible at trial of the present action, nor shall
it be admissible in any other court, administrative agency or tribunal for any party, with
the exception of a proceeding to enforce or interpret the terms of this Protective Order.
18.
To the extent that any discovery is taken from any person who is not a
party to this action (“Third Party”), and in the event such Third Party contends the
discovery sought involves Confidential Material and/or Attorney Eyes Only Material,
then such Third Party may agree to execute and be bound by this Protective Order.
DATED at Denver, Colorado, on December 30, 2014.
BY THE COURT:
s/Craig B. Shaffer
Craig B. Shaffer
United States Magistrate Judge
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ACCEPTED AND APPROVED AS TO FORM:
s/ David M. Larson
s/ Michael W. Twomey
David M. Larson, Esq.
88 Inverness Circle East, Suite E-102
Englewood, Colorado 80112
Telephone: (303) 799-6895
Attorney for the Plaintiff
Michael W. Twomey, Esq.
Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White,
Williams & Aughtry, PC
1200 Smith Street, Suite 1400
Houston, TX 77002
Telephone: (713) 658-1818
Attorney(s) for the Defendant
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