Pederson v. American Family Mutual Insurance Company

Filing 32

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge Nina Y. Wang on 11/19/15. (bsimm, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

Civil Action No. 1:15-cv-00961-PAB-NYW
MICHELLE PEDERSON,
Plaintiff,
v.
AMERICAN FAMILY INSURANCE,
Defendant.

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
Magistrate Judge Nina Y. Wang
This matter having come before the Court on the Unopposed Motion for Protective
Order, hereby finds and orders as follows:
1.

In this action, both parties have previously sought and/or will seek Confidential

Information. The Parties also anticipate seeking additional Confidential Information during
discovery and that there will be questioning concerning Confidential Information in the course of
depositions. The Parties assert the disclosure of such information outside the scope of this
litigation could result in significant injury to the interests of the Parties. The Protective Order is
entered for the purpose of preventing the disclosure and use of Confidential Information except
as set forth herein.
2.

“Confidential Information” means any document certified by counsel as

confidential based on a good faith belief that the information is confidential or otherwise entitled

to protection under confidentiality or privacy protections recognized by rule, statute or
common law and labeled on each page of the document with the word “confidential”. The
term “document” is defined as provided in Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(a).
3.

American Family Mutual Insurance Company may produce certain documents

that it considers proprietary, confidential, and competitively sensitive and/or trade secrets of
Defendant or its related entities or which implicate an individual’s common law or statutory
privacy interests.
4.

Plaintiff may produce Plaintiffs’ medical and other health care records during this

litigation that contain Plaintiffs’ social security numbers and private medical information.
5.

All Confidential Information provided by a Party shall be subject to the following

restrictions:
a.

It shall be used only for the purpose of this litigation and not for any business or

other purpose whatsoever;
b.

It 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:
i.

attorneys actively working on this case;

ii.

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;

iii.

the parties, including designated representatives for the entity defendant;

iv.

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;

v.
vi.

the Court and its employees (“Court Personnel”);
stenographic reporters who are engaged in proceedings necessarily incident to the
conduct of this action;

vii.

deponents, witnesses, or potential witnesses; and

viii.

other persons by written agreement of the parties.

5.

Individuals authorized to review Confidential Information pursuant to this

Protective Order shall hold Confidential Information in confidence and shall not divulge the
Confidential Information, either verbally or in writing, to any other person, entity or government
agency unless authorized to do so by court order.
6.

The Party’s counsel who discloses Confidential Information shall be responsible

for assuring compliance with the terms of this Protective Order with respect to persons to whom
such Confidential Information is disclosed and shall obtain and retain the original agreements in
the form of Exhibit A signed by qualified recipients of Confidential Information, and shall
maintain a list of all persons to whom any Confidential Information is disclosed.
7.

During the pendency of this action, opposing counsel may upon court order or

agreement of the parties, inspect the list maintained by counsel pursuant to paragraph 6 above
upon a showing of substantial need in order to establish the source of an unauthorized disclosure
of Confidential Information and that opposing counsel are unable otherwise to identify the
source of the disclosure. If counsel disagrees with opposing counsel’s showing of substantial
need, then counsel may seek a court order requiring inspection under terms and conditions
deemed appropriate by the Court.

8.

No copies of Confidential Information shall be made except by or on behalf of

counsel in this litigation and such copies shall be made and used solely for purposes of this
litigation.
9.

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

giving written notice to the party designating the disputed information within fourteen days of
the date of production. The written notice shall identify the information to which the objection is
made. If the parties cannot resolve the objection within fourteen days after the time the notice is
received, it shall be the obligation of the party designating the information as Confidential to file
the 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 the 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.

Use of Confidential Information in Court Proceedings: In the event Confidential

Information is used in any court filing or proceeding in this action, including but not limited to
its use at trial, it shall not lose its confidential status as between the parties through such use. Any
motion requesting leave to file documents under seal shall comply with the requirements of
D.C.COLO.LCivR 7.2.

11.

The termination of this action shall not relieve counsel or other persons obligated

hereunder from their responsibility to maintain the confidentiality of Confidential Information
pursuant to this Protective Order, and the Court shall retain continuing jurisdiction to enforce the
terms of this Protective Order.
12.

By agreeing to the entry of this Protective Order, the Parties adopt no position as

to the authenticity or admissibility of documents produced subject to it.
13.

Upon termination of this litigation, including any appeals, each Party’s counsel

shall be responsible for the destruction of all Confidential Information provided to third parties
subject to this Protective Order, and all electronic copies, PDF documents, extracts, abstracts,
charts, summaries, notes or copies made therefrom.
14.

Any request to restrict access must comply with the requirements of

D.C.Colo.LCivR 7.2. Particularly, any documents containing Confidential information that are
to be filed with the Court by either party must be filed as a restricted document in accordance
with D.C.Colo.LCivR 7.2(D). The filing party must simultaneously give written notice to the
opposing party when filing Confidential information. Any party may file a motion to restrict
access in accordance with D.C.Colo.LCivR 7.2(D). Confidential information filed with the
Court or used in any court proceeding in connection with this action shall not lose its status
through such use. To the extent that the requirements of this paragraph are inconsistent with any
applicable local rules concerning the filing of restricted documents, then the local rules shall
govern.
15.

The production of documents or information by the parties shall not constitute a

waiver of any privilege, or claim or right of withholding, or confidentiality.

16.

This Protective Order survives this case for the purpose of enforcement.

Dated this 19th day of November, 2015.

BY THE COURT:
s/Nina Y. Wang
United States District Court Magistrate Judge

COUNSEL FOR THE PLAINITIFF:

s/ James Pagano
James Pagano
Cook & Pagano, P.C.
5390 Manhattan Circle, 2nd Floor
Boulder, CO 80303

COUNSEL FOR THE DEFENDANT:

s/ Jacquelyn S. Booker
Jacquelyn S. Booker
Sutton | Booker | P.C.
4949 South Syracuse Street, Ste 520
Denver, Colorado 80237

Michelle Pederson v. American Family Mutual Insurance Company
No. 1:15-cv-00961-PAB
COMMITMENT OF QUALIFIED PERSON PURSUANT
TO CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
My full name is:
My address is:
My present employer is:
My present occupation or job description is:
I hereby affirm that:
1.

I have received or reviewed documents stamped CONFIDENTIAL. I will not
reproduce or transfer any of the documents I reviewed or received;

2.

I have received and read a copy of the Stipulated Protective Order entered in the
action entitled Michelle Pederson v. American Family Mutual Insurance
Company, Case Number: No. 1:15-cv-00961-PAB-NYW;

3.

I understand the terms and agree to be bound thereby. I will not disclose any
information from the documents. I will use any such information only with
respect to this case;

4.

I will return all documents that come into my possession and all documents or
things which I have prepared which contain such information to any attorney
representing the party that has employed or retained me; and

5.

I am aware that a violation of such an agreement may result in civil liability. I
submit to the jurisdiction of this Court for the purposes of enforcement of the
Protective Order.

DATED this

day of

, 2015.

By:
Exhibit A