Smith v. Bollen

Filing 13

PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge Kathleen M. Tafoya on 7/25/14. (sgrim)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 14-cv-01067-CMA-KMT
ELIZABETH SMITH,
Plaintiff,
v.
TROOPER CHRISTIAN BOLLEN
Defendant.

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
Upon a showing of good cause in support of the entry of a protective order
by and between Plaintiff Elizabeth Smith and Defendant Christian Bollen to
protect the discovery and dissemination of confidential information or
information that 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, “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 “CONFIDENTIAL” shall be information

that is confidential and implicates common law and statutory privacy interests
of any party or third-party to these proceedings. CONFIDENTIAL information
shall not be disclosed or used for any purpose except the preparation and trial of
this case. Third-parties disclosing any CONFIDENTIAL information may
designate such CONFIDENTIAL information as CONFIDENTIAL per this
Protective Order.
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;

(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;
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(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)

persons whom counsel reasonably believes to be the authors,

senders, addressees, and copy recipients of, persons mentioned in such
CONFIDENTIAL information, current or former employees of the producing
person and other persons with knowledge relating to the information contained
therein so long as (i) those persons have been identified in Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)
disclosures (or amendments thereto) and (ii) have agreed to abide by the terms
of this Protective Order pursuant to Paragraph 6, below;
(h)
(i)
5.

deponents, witnesses, or potential witnesses; and
other persons by written agreement of the parties.

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.

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6.

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.”
7.

Any information designated by a party as CONFIDENTIAL will

first be reviewed by counsel who will certify that the designation as
CONFIDENTIAL is based on a good faith belief that the information is
confidential or otherwise entitled to protection.
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 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.
9.

Any party may attempt to introduce into evidence relevant

CONFIDENTIAL information at the trial of this action, subject to whatever
further protective orders the trial court imposes at the time of the offer. If any
CONFIDENTIAL information is incorporated into a court filing, the filing party
will move in accordance with District of Colorado Local Civil Rule 7.2 for leave to
file the evidence with the Clerk of the Court under seal. Where possible, only
CONFIDENTIAL portions of the filings with the Court shall be under seal. To
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the extent that the requirements of this paragraph are inconsistent with any
applicable local rules concerning the filing of materials under seal, then the local
rules shall govern.
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 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.
11.

In the event of an inadvertent disclosure of CONFIDENTIAL

information, or privileged documents or information, by any party to this
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agreement, the parties agree that the right to designate such materials as
CONFIDENTIAL or to assert privilege will not be waived where the producing
party notifies the other party of the inadvertent disclosure within a reasonable
period of time following discovery of the inadvertent disclosure. Upon
notification of an inadvertent disclosure of CONFIDENTIAL or privileged
documents or information, the producing party shall notify the receiving party of
the inadvertent disclosure. Upon notification, the receiving party shall promptly
return or destroy the requested privileged materials and any copies thereof.
12.

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

upon, each document and all copies thereof 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.

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13.

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 25th day of July, 2014.

Kathleen M. Tafoya
United States Magistrate Judge

STIPULATED AND AGREED TO THIS 25TH DAY OF JULY, 2014, BY:
s/ Alison Ruttenberg
Alison Ruttenberg, Esq.
P.O. Box 19857
Boulder, CO 80308
[e-mail]

Counsel for Plaintiff

s/ Skip Spear
Skippere Spear
Senior Assistant Attorney General
Colorado Judicial Center
1300 Broadway, 10th Floor
Denver CO 80203
Telephone: [phone]
Fax [phone]
[e-mail]

Counsel for Defendant

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s/ Jamie Wynn
Jamie D. Wynn
Bruno, Colin, & Lowe, P.C.
1999 Broadway, Suite 3100
Denver, CO 80202
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]

Counsel for Defendant in His Individual Capacity

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