Bison Designs, LLC v. Lejon of California, Inc.
Filing
59
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER FOR LITIGATION INVOLVING HIGHLY SENSITIVE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION AND/OR TRADE SECRETS entered by Magistrate Judge Nina Y. Wang on 8/11/15. (bsimm, )
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No.: 14-cv-02885-MSK-NYW
BISON DESIGNS, LLC
Plaintiff,
v.
LEJON OF CALIFORNIA, INC.
Defendant.
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER FOR LITIGATION INVOLVING HIGHLY
SENSITIVE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION AND/OR TRADE SECRETS
Upon consideration of the contents of this instant Stipulated Protective Order for Litigation
Involving Highly Sensitive Confidential Information and/or Trade Secrets, IT IS ORDERED:
1.
PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are likely to involve production of
confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted.
Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the court to enter the following
Stipulated Protective Order (“Order”). The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer
blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords
from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled
to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge,
as set forth in Section 14.4, below, that this Order does not entitle them to file confidential
information under seal; and that they must be follow the standards otherwise required by this
Court that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under
seal.
2.
DEFINITIONS
2.1
Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of
information or items under this Order.
2.2
“CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is generated, stored
or maintained) or tangible things which meets all of the following criteria, and has been reviewed
by counsel of record and designated in good faith pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(g): (i) the
material is not already in the possession of the receiving party or otherwise available to the
receiving party without confidentiality limitations, (ii) it has not been produced to any third party
without similar confidentiality limitations being imposed, (iii) it is not known or reasonably
discernible to the public at large through literature, publications or otherwise, and (iv) it either (a)
constitutes a trade secret of the producing party (or a nonparty under common control of a Party
or an entity having control over a Party), as defined under the Uniform Trade Secret Act, or it
(b) contains proprietary information which, although not a trade secret, includes confidential
research, development, or commercial information including customer, supplier, and distributor
information, sales, profits, and profit margins, which if disclosed to a third party would likely
cause the producing party to either lose a significant competitive advantage or incur a significant
competitive disadvantage and (c) is protectable pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c)(1)(G).
2.3
Counsel (without qualifier): Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as
well as their support staff).
2.4
Designated House Counsel: House Counsel who seek access to “HIGHLY
CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” information in this matter.
2.5
Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items that
it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
2.6
Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the
-2-
medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things,
testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or
responses to discovery in this matter.
2.7
Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter pertinent to
the litigation who (1) has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an expert witness or
as a consultant in this action, (2) is not a past or current employee of a Party or of a Party’s
competitor, and (3) at the time of retention, is not anticipated to become an employee of a Party
or of a Party’s competitor.
2.8
“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or
Items: extremely sensitive information (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained)
or tangible things which meets all of the criteria under this Order to be “CONFIDENTIAL”
Information or Items, and which (i) includes corporate strategy which would likely be
detrimental if divulged to the employees of the other parties, (ii) which provides pricing or cost
data, sales, and/or profits of such party, or (iii) which provides information regarding customer,
distributor, or supplier information or (iv) involves currently pending competitive projects being
pursued by a party which have not been subject to any disclosure beyond that party and which
are maintained in secrecy, disclosure of which to another Party or Non-Party would create a
substantial risk of serious harm that could not be avoided by less restrictive means and has been
reviewed by counsel of record and designated in good faith pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(g).
Such extremely sensitive information (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or
tangible things may be subjected to a higher level of confidentiality and may be designated
"CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" ("Attorneys' Eyes Only Material"), with the
appropriate information contained with the document so marked.
2.9
“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – SOURCE CODE” Information or Items:
computer code and associated comments and revision histories, formulas, engineering
specifications, or schematics that define or otherwise describe in detail the algorithms or
-3-
structure of software or hardware designs, which meets all of the criteria under this Order to be
“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items, disclosure
of which to another Party or Non-Party would create a substantial risk of serious harm that could
not be avoided by less restrictive means.
2.10
House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this action. House
Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel.
2.11
Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal
entity not named as a Party to this action.
2.12
Outside Counsel: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this action but are
retained to represent or advise a party to this action and who have not appeared in this action on
behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party.
2.13
Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this
action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this action and have appeared in this
action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of
that party.
2.14
Party: any party to this action, including all of its officers, directors, employees,
consultants, retained experts, Outside Counsel and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support
staffs).
2.15
Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery
Material in this action.
2.16
Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support services
(e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and
organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and
subcontractors.
2.17
Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as
-4-
“CONFIDENTIAL,” or as “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”
2.18
Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from
a Producing Party.
3.
SCOPE
The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected
Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected
Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any
testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal
Protected Material. However, the protections conferred by this Order do not cover the
following information: (a) any information that is in the public domain at the time of disclosure
to a Receiving Party or becomes part of the public domain after its disclosure to a Receiving
Party as a result of publication not involving a violation of this Order, including becoming part
of the public record through trial or otherwise; and (b) any information known to the Receiving
Party prior to the disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the disclosure from a
source who obtained the information lawfully and under no obligation of confidentiality to the
Designating Party; and (c) any information used by the Parties in filings made with the court, to
the extent that such filings are not ordered restricted by the court pursuant to D.C.COLO.LCivR
7.2. Nothing in this Order requires the court to restrict any pleading or paper, even if information
from a restricted documents is contained therein.
This Order does not apply to the use of any Confidential or Attorneys' Eyes Only
Material at trial or in any hearing otherwise conducted in open court. Any designation of
materials as Attorneys' Eyes Only Material will automatically be discontinued and become
ineffective following the Trial Preparation Conference or deadline to designate trial exhibits,
whichever date is sooner, with respect to any material designated by the parties as a trial exhibit,
and with respect to any materials used, presented, or referenced during trial of this matter. To
the extent that a party wishes to close the court for consideration of Confidential or Attorneys'
-5-
Eyes Only Material during the trial of this action or in a hearing before the Court, the party
must follow the procedures for such a closure request under D.COLO.LCivR 7.2. The fact that
certain information has previously been marked Confidential or Attorneys' Eyes Only Material
shall not be controlling with respect to whether the courtroom will be closed for a hearing or at
trial. To the extent a party who has received material that has been designated Confidential or
Attorneys' Eyes Only Material intends to use such material at trial or in a hearing that would
otherwise be open to the public, the receiving party shall so notify the party who designated the
material as Confidential or Attorneys' Eyes Only Material so that the producing party may
determine whether it wishes to move to close the court under D.COLO.LCivR 7.2. Nothing in
this Order obligates the court to close the court, even if some of the information to be discussed
has been designated Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Material.
4.
DURATION
Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by
this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court
order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all
claims and defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after
the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this
action, including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time
pursuant to applicable law.
5.
DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
5.1
Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each Party
or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order must take care
to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards.
As discussed above, any document designated as Confidential must be reviewed by an attorney
and must be based on a good faith belief that the information is confidential or otherwise
entitled to protection, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c)(1)(G) and as set forth in Gillard v. Boulder
Valley School District, 196 F.R.D. 382 (D. Colo. 2000). To the extent it is practical to do so, the
Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items,
-6-
or oral or written communications that qualify – so that other portions of the material,
documents, items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are
shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to
unnecessarily encumber or retard the case development process or to impose unnecessary
expenses and burdens on other parties) expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it designated
for protection do not qualify for protection at all or do not qualify for the level of protection
initially asserted, that Designating Party must promptly notify all other parties that it is
withdrawing the mistaken designation and the Parties must confer in good faith regarding the
propriety of the designation.
5.2
Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this Order
(see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered,
Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so
designated before the material is disclosed or produced. Designation of Confidential information
must be made by an attorney either: (1) by stamping, placing, or affixing the word
“CONFIDENTIAL” on the document in a manner which will not interfere with its legibility, or
(2) by providing to the Receiving Party a summary document which specifically identifies
and incorporates by reference the Bates Numbers of all documents that are to be deemed
“CONFIDENTIAL.”said summary document may be updated by the Producing Party upon
written notice to all Parties.
Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
(a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but
excluding transcripts of depositions or hearings), that the Producing Party affix the legend
“CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” to each
page that contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
-7-
qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)
(e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins) and must specify, for each portion, the
level of protection being asserted.
A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or materials available for inspection
need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which
material it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all
of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –
ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants
copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof,
qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the
Producing Party must affix the appropriate legend (“CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”) to each page that contains Protected
Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the
Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
appropriate markings in the margins) and must specify, for each portion, the level of protection
being asserted.
(b) for testimony given in deposition or hearings , that the Designating Party
identify on the record, before the close of the deposition, hearing, or other proceeding, all
protected testimony and specify the level of protection being asserted. When it is impractical to
identify separately each portion of testimony that is entitled to protection and it appears that
substantial portions of the testimony may qualify for protection, the Designating Party may
invoke on the record (before the deposition, hearing, or other proceeding is concluded) a right to
have up to 21 days to identify the specific portions of the testimony as to which protection is
sought and to specify the level of protection being asserted. Only those portions of the testimony
that are appropriately designated for protection within the 21 days shall be covered by the
provisions of this Stipulated Protective Order. Alternatively, a Designating Party may specify, at
-8-
the deposition or up to 21 days afterwards if that period is properly invoked, that the entire
transcript shall be treated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –
ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
Parties shall give the other parties notice if they reasonably expect a deposition, hearing
or other proceeding to include Protected Material so that the other parties can ensure that only
authorized individuals who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
(Exhibit A) are present at those proceedings. The use of a document as an exhibit at a deposition
shall not in any way affect its designation as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
Transcripts containing Protected Material shall have an obvious legend on the title page
that the transcript contains Protected Material, and the title page shall be followed by a list of all
pages (including line numbers as appropriate) that have been designated as Protected Material
and the level of protection being asserted by the Designating Party. The Designating Party shall
inform the court reporter of these requirements. Any transcript that is prepared before the
expiration of a 21-day period for designation shall be treated during that period as if it had been
designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” in its entirety unless
otherwise agreed. After the expiration of that period, the transcript shall be treated only as
actually designated.
(c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any
other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the
container or containers in which the information or item is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL”
or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” If only a portion or portions
of the information or item warrant protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall
identify the protected portion(s) and specify the level of protection being asserted.
5.3
Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to
-9-
designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s
right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a
designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is
treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
6.
CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
6.1
Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of
confidentiality at any time. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s confidentiality
designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial unfairness, unnecessary economic
burdens, or a significant disruption or delay of the litigation, a Party does not waive its right to
challenge a confidentiality designation by electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the
original designation is disclosed.
6.2
Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution
process by providing written notice of each designation it is challenging and describing the basis
for each challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to whether a challenge has been made, the written
notice must recite that the challenge to confidentiality is being made in accordance with this
specific paragraph of the Protective Order. The parties shall attempt to resolve each challenge in
good faith and must begin the process by conferring directly (in voice to voice dialogue; other
forms of communication are not sufficient) within 14 days of the date of service of notice. In
conferring, the Challenging Party must explain the basis for its belief that the confidentiality
designation was not proper and must give the Designating Party an opportunity to review the
designated material, to reconsider the circumstances, and, if no change in designation is offered,
to explain the basis for the chosen designation. A Challenging Party may proceed to the next
stage of the challenge process only if it has engaged in this meet and confer process first or
establishes that the Designating Party is unwilling to participate in the meet and confer process in
a timely manner.
- 10 -
6.3
Judicial Intervention. If the Parties cannot resolve a challenge without court
intervention, the Designating Party shall file and serve a motion to retain confidentiality with the
Magistrate Judge the court within 21 days of the initial notice of challenge or within 14 days of
the parties agreeing that the meet and confer process will not resolve their dispute, whichever is
earlier. Each such motion must be accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the
movant has complied with the meet and confer requirements imposed in the preceding
paragraph. Failure by the Designating Party to make such a motion including the required
declaration within 21 days (or 14 days, if applicable) shall automatically waive the
confidentiality designation for each challenged designation. In addition, the Challenging Party
may file a motion challenging a confidentiality designation at any time if there is good cause for
doing so, including a challenge to the designation of a deposition transcript or any portions
thereof. Any motion brought pursuant to this provision must be accompanied by a competent
declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the meet and confer requirements
imposed by the preceding paragraph.
The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating
Party. Frivolous challenges and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose
unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to
sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived the confidentiality designation by failing to
file a motion to retain confidentiality as described above, all parties shall continue to afford the
material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s
designation until the court rules on the challenge.
7.
ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
7.1
Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed
or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this case only for
prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this litigation. Such Protected Material may be
- 11 -
disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order.
When the litigation has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of
section 15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and
in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under this Order.
7.2
Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise
ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may
disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
(a) ) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel or Outside Counsel of Record in this
action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel or Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is
reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this litigation and who have signed the
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A;
(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have
signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
(c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is
reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and
Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
(d) the court and its personnel;
(e) court reporters and their staff, professional jury or trial consultants, and
Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who
have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
(f) ) during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is
reasonably necessary and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
(Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of
- 12 -
transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material must be
separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted
under this Order.
(g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.
7.3
Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”
Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the
Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL
– SOURCE CODE” only to:
(a) ) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel or Outside Counsel of Record in this
action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel or Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is
reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this litigation and who have signed the
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A;
(b) Experts of the Receiving Party (1) to whom disclosure is reasonably
necessary for this litigation, (2) who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
Bound” (Exhibit A), and (3) as to whom the procedures set forth in paragraph 7.4(a)(2), below,
have been followed];
(c) ) the court and its personnel;
(d) court reporters and their staff, professional jury or trial consultants, and
Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who
have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); and
(e) ) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.
- 13 -
7.4
Procedures for Approving or Objecting to Disclosure of “HIGHLY
CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items to Designated House
Counsel or Experts.1
(a)(1) Unless otherwise ordered by the court or agreed to in writing by the
Designating Party, a Party that seeks to disclose to Designated House Counsel any information
or item that has been designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”
pursuant to paragraph 7.3(b) first must make a written request to the Designating Party that (1)
sets forth the full name of the Designated House Counsel and the city and state of his or her
residence, and (2) describes the Designated House Counsel’s current and reasonably foreseeable
future primary job duties and responsibilities in sufficient detail to determine if House Counsel is
involved, or may become involved, in any competitive decision-making.
(a)(2) Unless otherwise ordered by the court or agreed to in writing by the
Designating Party, a Party that seeks to disclose to an Expert (as defined in this Order) any
information or item that has been designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’
EYES ONLY” pursuant to paragraph 7.3(c) first must make a written request to the Designating
Party that (1) identifies the general categories of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’
EYES ONLY” information that the Receiving Party seeks permission to disclose to the Expert,
(2) sets forth the full name of the Expert and the city and state of his or her primary residence,
(3) attaches a copy of the Expert’s current resume, (4) identifies the Expert’s current
employer(s), (5) identifies each person or entity from whom the Expert has received
compensation or funding for work in his or her areas of expertise or to whom the expert has
provided professional services, including in connection with a litigation, at any time during the
1 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”
information or items may be disclosed to an Expert without disclosure of the identity of the
Expert as long as the Expert is not a current officer, director, or employee of a competitor of a
Party or anticipated to become one.
- 14 -
preceding five years, and (6) identifies (by name and number of the case, filing date, and location
of court) any litigation in connection with which the Expert has offered expert testimony,
including through a declaration, report, or testimony at a deposition or trial, during the preceding
five years.
(b) A Party that makes a request and provides the information specified in the
preceding respective paragraphs may disclose the subject Protected Material to the identified
Designated House Counsel or Expert unless, within 14 days of delivering the request, the Party
receives a written objection from the Designating Party. Any such objection must set forth in
detail the grounds on which it is based.
(c) ) A Party that receives a timely written objection must meet and confer with
the Designating Party (through direct voice to voice dialogue) to try to resolve the matter by
agreement within seven days of the written objection. If no agreement is reached, the Party
seeking to make the disclosure to Designated House Counsel or the Expert may file a motion
with the Magistrate Judge seeking permission from the court to do so. Any such motion must
describe the circumstances with specificity, set forth in detail the reasons why the disclosure to
Designated House Counsel or the Expert is reasonably necessary, assess the risk of harm that the
disclosure would entail, and suggest any additional means that could be used to reduce that risk.
In addition, any such motion must be accompanied by a competent declaration describing the
parties’ efforts to resolve the matter by agreement (i.e., the extent and the content of the meet and
confer discussions) and setting forth the reasons advanced by the Designating Party for its refusal
to approve the disclosure.
In any such proceeding, the Party opposing disclosure to Designated House Counsel or
the Expert shall bear the burden of proving that the risk of harm that the disclosure would entail
(under the safeguards proposed) outweighs the Receiving Party’s need to disclose the Protected
Material to its Designated House Counsel or Expert.
- 15 -
8.
Intentionally Omitted.
9.
Intentionally Omitted.
10.
PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER
LITIGATION
If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels
disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or
“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” that Party must:
(a) ) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue
in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is subject
to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective
Order; and
(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by
the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the
subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as
“CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” before a
determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has
obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and
expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material – and nothing in these
provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this action to
disobey a lawful directive from another court.
11.
A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED IN THIS
LITIGATION
(a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party
- 16 -
in this action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –
ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in connection with
this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these
provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
(b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce a
Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement
with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then the Party shall:
1. promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that
some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a NonParty;
2. promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective
Order in this litigation, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of
the information requested; and
3. make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party.
(c) If the Non-Party fails to object or seek a protective order from the court
Magistrate within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving
Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce
any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with
the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the
Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected
Material.
12.
UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected
Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated Protective
Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the
- 17 -
unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the
Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were
made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
13.
INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE PROTECTED
MATERIAL
When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently
produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the
Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). The
production of privileged or work-product protected documents, electronically stored information
(“ESI”) or information, whether inadvertently or otherwise, is not a waiver of the privilege or
protection from discovery in this case or in any other federal or state proceeding. This Stipulated
Protective Order shall be interpreted to provide the maximum protection allowed by Federal
Rule of Evidence 502(d). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be
established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege review.
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on
the effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client
privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the
stipulated protective order submitted to the court. Nothing contained herein is intended to or
shall serve to limit a party’s right to conduct a review of its own documents, ESI or information
(including metadata) for relevance, responsiveness and/or segregation of privileged and/or
protected information before production.
14.
MISCELLANEOUS
14.1
Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to
seek its modification by the court in the future or the court’s ability to enter appropriate orders
under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or the Local Rules of Pracice for the District of
Colorado.
- 18 -
14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Order, no
Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any
information or item on any ground not addressed in this Order. Similarly, no Party waives any
right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Order.
14.3
Export Control. Disclosure of Protected Material shall be subject to all applicable
laws and regulations relating to the export of technical data contained in such Protected Material,
including the release of such technical data to foreign persons or nationals in the United States or
elsewhere. The Producing Party shall be responsible for identifying any such controlled technical
data, and the Receiving Party shall take measures necessary to ensure compliance.
14.4
Filing Protected Material. To the extent that any answers to interrogatories,
transcripts of depositions, responses to requests for admissions, or any other documents or papers
to be filed with the Court include information which has been designated CONFIDENTIAL or
Attorneys' Eyes Only Material, the party desiring to file such materials must submit those
materials as restricted documents pursuant to the provisions of D.COLO.LCivR 7.2(D), and must
address all factors required for restriction pursuant to D.COLO.LCivR 7.2(C). The papers or any
portion or attachment thereof which are to be filed as restricted documents shall be filed
pursuant to the procedures for sealed electronic filings under the Court's ECF/CM procedures.
To the extent that any sealed material is filed in a non-electronic form, the filing party shall
submit the material to the Clerk of Court in an envelope marked "SEALED" with a reference to
this Order on the envelope. As required by D.COLO.LCivR 7.2(B) & (DE), the party that
originally designated such material pursuant to this Order as CONFIDENTIAL or Attorneys'
Eyes Only Material shall, within fourteenseven (147) days of the filing of restricted documents,
file an appropriate motion to restrict access (including therein a statement that the documents
have been marked CONFIDENTIAL or Attorneys' Eyes Only Material), and a proposed order
for the Court to restrict public access to the documents. Nothing in this Order requires the court
to restrict any document, including but not limited to agreement by the Parties to restrict.
15.
FINAL DISPOSITION
Within 60 days after the final disposition of this action, as defined in paragraph 4, each
- 19 -
Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such
material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts,
compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must
submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to
the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where
appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the
Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other
format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this
provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers,
trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and
trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product,
even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4
(DURATION).
PURSUANT TO STIPULATION, IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: August 11, 2015
s/ Nina Y. Wang
Marcia S. Krieger Nina Y. Wang
United States District Court Magistrate Judge
- 20 -
IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
DATED: July 23, 2015
/s/ Scott T. Kannady
Scott T. Kannady, No. 29995
Laura E. Liss, No. 44978 Brown
& Kannady, LLC
2000 S. Colorado Blvd., Suite 2-610
Denver, CO 80222
Phone: (303) 757-3800
Fax: (303) 757-3815
E-mail: scott@brownlegal.com Email: laura@brownlegal.com
Attorneys for Plaintiffs BISON
DESIGNS, LLC
DATED: July 23, 2015
/s/ Susan Meyer
Susan Meyer, No. 204931
smeyer@gordonrees.com
Gordon & Rees LLP
555 Seventeenth Street, Suite 3400
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 534-5160
Craig J. Mariam, Esq.
cmariam@gordonrees.com
Brittany L. McCarthy, Esq.
bmccarthy@gordonrees.com
GORDON & REES LLP
633 West 5th Street, 52nd Floor Los
Angeles, California 90071
Attorneys for Defendants LEJON
OF CALIFORNIA, INC.
- 21 -
EXHIBIT A
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
I,
[print or type full name], of
[print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand
the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the District of
Colorado on May
, 2015 in the case of Bison Designs LLC v. Lejon of California, Inc. Case No. 14-cv-
02885-MSK-NYW. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated
Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to
sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any
manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity
except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the
Northern District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order,
even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action.
I hereby appoint
[print or type full name] of
[print or type full address and telephone number] as my
California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any proceedings related to
enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
Date:
City and State where sworn and signed:
Printed name:
[printed name]
Signature:
[signature]
1100837/23546646v.1
- 22 -
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?