Foster v. Department of Agriculture
Filing
26
PROTECTIVE ORDER. By Magistrate Judge Michael E. Hegarty on 10/21/2014. (alowe)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 14-cv-01448-MEH
IRIS FOSTER,
Plaintiff,
v.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, by and through its Secretary
THOMAS J. VILSACK,
Defendant.
______________________________________________________________________________
PROTECTIVE ORDER
______________________________________________________________________________
Upon consideration of the parties’ Motion for Entry of Stipulated Protective Order, and it
appearing to the Court that sufficient cause exists under F.R.C.P. 26(c) for the issuance of a
Protective Order, it is ORDERED as follows:
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.
1.
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.
2.
Information designated “CONFIDENTIAL” shall be information that is
confidential and implicates common law and statutory privacy interests of Defendants’ current or
-1-
former employees or the Plaintiff and confidential and proprietary business information.
CONFIDENTIAL information shall not be disclosed or used for any purpose except for the
preparation and trial of this case.
3.
If Defendant produces to Plaintiff a document that would otherwise be protected
by the Privacy Act, this order is an order of the court pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552a(b)(11), which
allows for such production.
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, and designated representatives for the entity defendant;
(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.
-2-
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.
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.”
Any reproduction of CONFIDENTIAL information (electronic or
otherwise) must retain the mark “CONFIDENTIAL.”
7.
Prior to designating any information as CONFIDENTIAL under this Protective
Order, counsel for the producing party shall review the information to be disclosed and designate
the information it believes in good-faith 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.
-3-
9.
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, within thirty (30) days after the time the notice is received, 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.
10.
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.
11.
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.
-4-
Dated this 21st day of October, 2014, in Denver, Colorado.
BY THE COURT:
Michael E. Hegarty
United States Magistrate Judge
-5-
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?