Novas v. School District No.1 in the City and County of Denver, State of Colorado

Filing 52

PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge Kathleen M. Tafoya on 9/5/14. (sgrim)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
IN AND FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Case No: 13-cv-03035-RM-KMT
ANA NOVAS,
Plaintiff,
v.
SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1 IN THE COUNTY OF DENVER AND STATE OF COLORADO;
TRENT SHARP, in his individual capacity;
SCOTT BARNES, in his individual capacity; and
JOHN DOES 1-5,
Defendants.

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 which will improperly
annoy, embarrass, or oppress any party, witness, 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.
2.

As used in this Protective Order, a “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.

Information designated by a party as “CONFIDENTIAL” shall be information that

is confidential pursuant to federal or state law, or which implicates common law privacy interests
of current and/or former School District employees, including Plaintiff, and current and former
School District students, and may include, without limitation, personnel records, student records,
and personal information related to the Plaintiff (e.g. financial and medical records). See, e.g., 22
U.S.C. § 1232g and 34 C.F.R. § 99.3 (prohibiting an educational institution from disclosing
personally identifiable information regarding students); Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-72-204(3)(a)(II)(A)
(prohibiting a public entity from disclosing personnel records). Neither party shall designate as
confidential documents which are public record, nor is either party permitted to designate as
confidential documents which do not implicate the interests sought to be protected herein.
Wholesale designation of all documents as confidential is not permitted. CONFIDENTIAL
information shall not be disclosed or used for any purpose except the preparation and trial of this
case and any related litigation or proceedings involving the parties to this lawsuit.
4.

CONFIDENTIAL documents, materials, and/or information (collectively

“CONFIDENTIAL information”) 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;

b.

persons regularly employed or associated with the attorneys actively working on

the case whose assistance is required by said attorneys in the preparation for trial, at trial, or at
other proceedings in this case;
c.

the parties, including designated representatives for the defendant;

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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.

stenographic reporters who are engaged in proceedings necessarily incident to the

conduct of this action;
g.

deponents, witnesses, or potential witnesses; and

h.

other persons by written agreement of the parties.

5.

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 good cause for review is demonstrated by opposing
counsel.
6.

CONFIDENTIAL documents, materials, and/or information will not be copied or

retained by any person other than the parties’ counsel, subject to Paragraph 11 below. If any
CONFIDENTIAL materials are provided to the persons listed in Paragraph 4(c), (d), (g) or (h)
above, at the close of litigation such persons will either return the Confidential information to
counsel who provided it or will provide written notification that the confidential material has been
destroyed.
7.

If CONFIDENTIAL materials are filed with the Court, the parties shall seek leave

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to file such materials under seal pursuant to Local Rule 7.2, or with appropriate redactions made.
8.

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 by informing opposing counsel in writing of any documents to be treated
as CONFIDENTIAL and subject to this protective order.
9.

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 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.
10.

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 treated as
CONFIDENTIAL under the terms of this Protective Order until the Court rules on the motion. 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

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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 unless otherwise deemed CONFIDENTIAL as a matter of law.

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.
11.

At the conclusion of this case, unless other arrangements are agreed upon, each

document, all copies thereof, or any summary of documents containing CONFIDENTIAL
information, other than attorney work product, which have been designated as CONFIDENTIAL
shall be returned to the party that designated it CONFIDENTIAL, or the parties may elect to
destroy CONFIDENTIAL documents. Where the parties agree to destroy CONFIDENTIAL
documents, the destroying party shall provide all parties with an affidavit confirming the
destruction.
12.

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 this 5th day of September, 2014.

______________________________________
Kathleen M. Tafoya
United States Magistrate Judge

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AFFIDAVIT
STATE OF COLORADO
COUNTY OF

)
)ss
)

_____________________________, swears or affirms and states under penalty of perjury:
1.
I have read the Protective Order in Novas v. School District No. 1 in the County of
Denver and State of Colorado, et al,. Civil Action No. 13-cv-03035-RM-KMT, a copy of which is
attached to this Affidavit.
2.
I have been informed by __________________, Esq., counsel for
_____________________, that the materials described in the list attached to this Affidavit are
Confidential Information as defined in the Protective Order.
3.
I promise that I have not and will not divulge or undertake to divulge to any person
or recording device any Confidential Information shown or told to me except as authorized in the
Protective Order. I will not use the Confidential Information for any purpose other than this
litigation.
4.
For the purpose of enforcing the terms of the Protective Order, I hereby submit
myself to the jurisdiction of the court in the civil action referenced above.
5.

I will abide by the terms of the Protective Order.

_________________________________________
(Signature)
_________________________________________
(Print or Type Name)
Address:
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this ______________ day of
___________________________, 2014, by_______________________________.
WITNESS my hand and official seal.
_____________________________
Notary Public
My commission expires:________________
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