Strong v. Weld County, Colorado et al

Filing 12

Stipulated PROTECTIVE ORDER re 11 , by Judge Richard P. Matsch on 4/10/2014. (jsmit)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Case No. 13-cv-03501-RPM
ELIZABETH STRONG, an individual,
Plaintiff,
v.
WELD COUNTY, COLORADO, a governmental entity, BRUCE BARKER, an individual, and
PATRICIA RUSSELL, an individual
Defendants.
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
Upon consideration of the Unopposed Motion for Entry of Stipulated Protective Order,
filed by Plaintiff, Elizabeth Strong, (“Plaintiff”), and upon this Court’s finding that good cause
exists for the issuance of a Stipulated Protective Order, IT IS ORDERED as follows:
1.

This Stipulated Protective Order (“Protective Order”) shall apply to all

information, documents, electronically-stored information, and other materials disclosed,
produced, exchanged, or otherwise disseminated in this case, including without limitation,
documents produced, answers to interrogatories, responses to requests for admission, deposition
testimony, and other information disclosed, produced, or exchanged pursuant to the disclosure or
discovery duties created by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
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.

As used in this Protective Order, “electronically-stored information” means any

type of information that can be stored electronically, and is intended to be broad enough to cover
all current types of electronically-based and computer-based information.
4.

Information, documents, electronically-stored information, and/or other materials

designated as “Confidential” (collectively, “Confidential Information”) shall be information,
documents, electronically-stored information, and/or other materials that are confidential and
meet the requirements set forth in 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4) and (b)(6), such as: (a) personnel records
of current or former employees of Defendants; (b) any non-public personal financial, tax, and
identification information of the Parties, including credit or debit numbers, social security
numbers, drivers’ license numbers, and bank or financial account information or password
information; (c) trade secrets and commercial or financial information that is either privileged or
confidential; (d) medical, mental health, or other information implicating common law and
statutory privacy interests or proprietary interests of the Parties; and (e) any other material
qualifying for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). Any document or
information designated as “Confidential Information” shall be subject to this Protective Order.
5.

Confidential Information shall not, without the consent of the party designating it

as Confidential (the “Designating Party”) or further Order of the Court, be disclosed except that
such information may be disclosed, solely for the purposes of this case to the following:
(a)

attorneys actively working on this case;

(b)

persons regularly employed by or associated with the attorneys actively

working on the case whose assistance is utilized by said attorneys in connection with this
case;
(c)

the Parties, including representatives of defendant Weld County;

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(d)

expert witnesses and consultants retained in connection with this

proceeding and their staff, 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)
(h)
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deponents, witnesses, or potential witnesses; and
other persons by written agreement of the Parties.

Confidential Information shall not be disclosed or used for any purpose except for

the preparation, trial, and any appeal of this case.
7.

Information, documents, electronically-stored information, and/or other materials

are designated as Confidential by the party producing them by placing or affixing (in a manner
that will not interfere with their legibility) the following or other appropriate notice—
“Confidential”—on every page containing Confidential Information. If electronically-stored
information is produced electronically and in a format in which it is not feasible to comply with
the foregoing sentence, then the electronic file containing the information may be designated as
Confidential by incorporating “Confidential” into the file name, or by other means to which the
Parties may agree. With the exception of depositions, which are discussed below in Paragraph 9,
information, documents, electronically-stored information, and/or other materials unintentionally
produced without a “Confidential” designation or produced before the Stipulated Protective
Order is issued, may be retroactively designated in the same manner.
8.

Before any information is designated as “Confidential,” counsel of record for the

Designating Party must first review the information and make a determination, in good faith, that

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the information, documents, electronically-stored information, and/or other materials are
confidential or otherwise are entitled to protection pursuant to Paragraph 4 of this Protective
Order and Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c).
9.

Whenever a deposition involves the disclosure of Confidential Information, the

portions of the deposition containing such information shall be designated as Confidential and
upon such designation 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 twenty-eight (28) days after
notice by the court reporter of the completion of the transcript. Admissibility of the portions of
any deposition designated as Confidential Information will be reserved for and addressed at trial.
10.

A party may object to the designation of particular Confidential Information by

giving written notice to the Designating Party. 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 Designating
Party to file a motion within twenty-eight (28) days after the date the notice is received, seeking
an order that the disputed information is Confidential and subject to this Protective Order. If the
Designating Party timely files such a motion, the Parties shall continue to treat the disputed
information as Confidential until the Court has ruled on the motion. If the Designating Party
does not timely make a motion under this paragraph, then the disputed information shall lose its
status as Confidential Information under the terms of this Protective Order. In connection with
any motion filed under this provision, the Designating Party shall bear the burden of establishing
good cause exists for the disputed information to enjoy the status of Confidential Information.

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11.

This Protective Order shall not prohibit the use of Confidential Information in

depositions, pleadings, motions, or trial, provided that such uses are related to the prosecution or
defense of this case. Notwithstanding that Confidential Information may be used, this Stipulated
Protective Order does not waive any right or obligation of any party to file a motion under
D.C.Colo.LCivR 7.2 to restrict access to all or a portion of papers and documents filed with the
Court. In addition, the Parties agree to comply with D.C.Colo.LCivR 7.2 regarding procedures
for restricting access to documents that are marked “Confidential.” In particular, the Parties
agree to confer prior to the filing of Confidential Information to determine what level of
restrictedness the Confidential Information should be filed under, if any, pursuant to
D.C.Colo.LCivR 7.2. If the parties cannot agree, the Confidential Information shall be filed
Level I Restricted and the party seeking to maintain the confidentiality of the documents or
information shall file, within fourteen (14) days, a motion seeking to have the Court permanently
restrict the Confidential Information. In connection with any motion filed under this provision,
the party seeking to maintain the confidentiality of the documents or information shall bear the
burden of establishing that good cause exists for the disputed documents or information to
remain restricted. The use of Confidential Information in any court proceeding shall not
prejudice or limit in any way the rights of any person to petition the Court for such further
protective measures as may be necessary to protect the confidentiality of such material.
12.

The provisions of this Order shall, absent written permission of a Designating

Party or further order of the Court, continue to be binding throughout and after the termination of
this action, including, without limitation, any appeals and any entry of an order, judgment or
decree finally disposing of all litigation.

At the conclusion of this case, unless other

arrangements are agreed upon in writing, all Confidential Information shall be returned to the

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party that produced it or destroyed, except that counsel shall be permitted to retain court filings,
deposition transcripts, exhibits, and work product that contain Confidential Information or
references thereto and a single copy of all documents marked Confidential for archival purposes;
provided that such counsel, and employees of such counsel, shall not disclose such retained
materials to any person or use such retained materials for any purpose unrelated to this action
except pursuant to court order or written agreement with the Designating Party. Notwithstanding
the provisions of this paragraph, the Parties, their counsel, and experts for a party shall not be
required to return or to destroy any Confidential Information to the extent prohibited by law or to
the extent such Confidential Information is (a) stored on media that is generally considered not
reasonably accessible, such as disaster recovery backup tapes or backup hard drives, or (b) only
retrievable through the use of specialized tools or techniques typically used by a forensic expert.
To the extent any Confidential Information is not returned or destroyed in accordance with this
paragraph, such Confidential Information shall remain subject to this Protective Order.
13.

If any person receiving and in the possession, custody, or control of Confidential

Information is served with a subpoena, demand, or any other legal process seeking discovery of
material containing Confidential Information by a nonparty to this action, the receiving party
shall give prompt written notice, by hand or facsimile transmission within two business days of
its receipt of such subpoena, demand or legal process, to the Designating Party, assuming the
provision of such notice is not forbidden by law or legal authorities. The Designating Party shall
be solely responsible for seeking any relief or protection from any subpoena, demand, or legal
process seeking the discovery material and shall also be solely responsible for all of its costs and
attorneys’ fees in any proceedings relating to such subpoena or legal process.

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14.

This Protective Order may be modified by the Court at any time for good cause

shown, following notice to the Parties and an opportunity for them to be heard.
15.

Nothing in this Protective Order shall prevent a party from seeking modification

of this Order or from objecting to discovery the party believes to be improper. Nothing in this
Protective Order shall prejudice the right of any party to contest the alleged relevancy,
authenticity, admissibility, or discoverability of anything designated as Confidential Information.
10th
April
ORDERED this _____ day of ____________, 2014.
BY THE COURT:
s/Richard P. Matsch
_____________________________________
THE HONORABLE RICHARD P. MATSCH

AGREED AND APPROVED:

s/ Brian T. Moore
Brian T. Moore
Jester Gibson & Moore, LLP
1999 Broadway
Suite 3225
Denver, CO 80202
Telephone: [phone]

s/ Thomas J. Lyons
Thomas J. Lyons
Matthew J. Hegarty
Hall & Evans, LLC
1001 17th Street, Suite 300
Denver, CO 80202
Telephone: [phone]

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