Duchow v. Government Employees Insurance Company

Filing 17

PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge Kathleen M. Tafoya on 11/17/15. (sgrim)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

Civil Action No. 15-cv-01957-KMT

LAURA DUCHOW,

Plaintiff,
V.

GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY,

Defendant.

STIPULATED CONFIDENTIALITY ORDER

Upon a showing a good cause in support of entry of a confidentiality order to expedite the
flow of discovery material, facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality, and
protect material required by law or otherwise entitled or required to be kept confidential, IT IS
ORDERED that the following provisions shall govern the Parties' claims of confidentiality in this
proceeding:
1.

"Confidential" or "Confidential Information" or "Confidential Documents" as used

herein, means any information of any type, kind or character which a party reasonably believes to
be confidential and which is designated as "Confidential" by Plaintiff or Defendant_. whether it be a
document as defined by Fed.R.Civ.P. 34(a), information contained in a document, information
revealed during a deposition, information revealed in a discovery answer or otherwise, which
information has not been made available to the public at large and which includes, but is not limited
to, information otherwise protected under Rule 26(c), such as confidential, nonpublic,
commercially-sensitive financial, business, or analytical information, proprietary information and

data and other private health information.

2.

In the event that materials containing Confidential Information are produced and/or

disclosed, all such materials, including documents produced or exchanged in the course of this
litigation, pleadings, motions, interrogatory answers, other discovery responses and testimony given
in depositions, shall be deemed Confidential Information pursuant to the terms of this Order.
Confidential Information shall be used solely for the purposes of this litigation only, and no other
litigation or claim, and shall not be revealed, disclosed or made available for inspection or copying
to any person except under the terms of this Order or as required to be disclosed by the Court.

3.

As used in this Order, the "producing party" means any party who either produces

Confidential Information or asserts a confidentiality interest in information produced by another in
this action. Parties will only label or identify documents or information as Confidential which they,
in good faith, believe falls within the definition of Confidential set forth in paragraph 1 above. The
opposing party's failure to challenge the propriety of a designation by the producing party
immediately shall not preclude a subsequent challenge by the opposing party. Confidential
Documents or parts thereof will be designated by marking each page of the document as
"Confidential." Electronic information may be marked Confidential in a manner consistent with the
manner in which the information is maintained.

4.

No person other than (a) the parties to this case, (b) counsel ofrecord (which shall be

deemed to include other persons regularly employed by or associated with the attorneys actively
working on this civil action whose assistance is required in preparation for trial or at other

2

proceedings in this action), (c) any person (and his or her counsel) from whom testimony under oath
is taken at a deposition, trial or other evidentiary hearing in connection with this case, (d) the Court,
court personnel and court reporters, (e) consultants or experts retained or consulted by any party in
connection with this case and persons working directly under their supervision, (f) any independent
contractors retained by a party or their counsel to work on this case, (g) mediators utilized by the
Parties in the litigation of this matter, and (h) witnesses or potential witnesses to the extent
reasonably necessary, including the authors, recipients or sources of the information shall be
permitted to have access to any information designated as Confidential under the terms of this Order
without the prior written consent of the producing party or its counsel or by order of the Court. Prior
to disclosing any Confidential Information or Document to any person identified in categories c, e,
f, g and h of this paragraph, counsel shall first require such persons to review a copy of this
Stipulated Confidentiality Order and execute an Acknowledgement in the form attached to this
Order as Exhibit "A." Signed Acknowledgment forms shall be kept by the disclosing attorney.

5.

If a party believes that a document or information designated Confidential by the

producing party does not warrant such designation, the Parties shall first make a good faith effort to
resolve the dispute. Disputes which cannot be resolved informally shall be presented for resolution
to the Court by motion within twenty one (21) days after the parties determine that the matter cannot
be resolved informally or the designation of confidentiality shall be lost. The burden rests on the
party claiming confidentiality to file an appropriate motion with the Court and to demonstrate that
such designation is proper.

3

6.

Notice of objection to a Confidentiality designation can also be made at a deposition

when information is designated at a deposition as Confidential. At the time of deposition or within
30 days after receipt of the deposition transcript, a party may designate as Confidential specific
portions of the transcript which contain Confidential matters under the standards set forth in
paragraph 1 above. Tbis designation shall be in writing and served upon opposing counsel. No
objection shall be interposed at deposition that an answer would elicit Confidential information.
Transcripts will be treated as Confidential for this 30 day period. Any portions of a transcript
designated Confidential shall thereafter be treated as Confidential in accordance with this Stipulated
Confidentiality Order.

7.

In filing materials with the Court in pretrial proceedings, counsel shall file

confidential materials as required under D.C.Colo.L.CivR 7.2. Counsel shall undertake compliance
with this provision in good faith and seek to restrict access or redact only those specific documents
and that deposition testimony designated Confidential, and only those specific portions of briefs,
applications, and other filings that contain Confidential Information or Documents, or that set forth
the substance of such Confidential Information, in addition to information otherwise protected by
Fed.R.Civ.P. 5.2.

8.

Nothing herein shall restrict a party: (a) from using or disclosing Confidential

Documents or Information obtained by such party independent of discovery or disclosure in this
action, whether or not such documents or information is also obtained through discovery or
disclosure in this action; (b) from disclosing its own Confidential Documents or Information as it

4

deems appropriate; or (c) from making disclosures ordered by the Court.

9.

In the event a party knowingly and intentionally chooses to disclose its own

Confidential Documents or Information in a non-confidential manner, it shall be deemed to have
waived the right to claim confidentiality to that specific document or information. The inadvertent
and unintentional disclosure of a Confidential Document or Confidential Information shall not
generally be deemed a waiver, in whole or in part, of any party's claims of confidentiality.

10.

Review of the Confidential Documents or Confidential Information by counsel,

experts, or consultants for the litigants in the litigation shall not waive the confidentiality of the
documents or information or objections to production. Disclosure of Confidential Documents or
Information shall not constitute a waiver by the Parties of any objection which might be raised as to
the admissibility of any evidential materials. This Order shall not prejudice the rights of a party or
person to oppose or object to production of any Confidential Documents or Information for lack of
relevance or for any other ground or reason.

11.

If at any time in the future any person demands by subpoena or other compulsory

process (collectively, "subpoena") the production of Confidential Documents or Confidential
Information governed by this Protective Order, the party served with the non-party subpoena must
notify the party that produced the Confidential Documents and/or Confidential Information within
seven (7) business days of receipt of the subpoena or at least 48 hours prior to the time that the
subpoena is to be complied with, whichever is earlier, in order to provide counsel for the party who

5

produced the Confidential Documents and/or Confidential Information with sufficient information
and an opportunity to protect the interests of the producing party by opposing the subpoena, if and
only if, the party served was given notice by the party issuing the subpoena.

12.

At the conclusion of this case, the originals and all copies of Confidential

Documents or documents referencing Confidential Information, shall be destroyed or shall be given
to the party who produced such Confidential Information or Documents. All individuals who have
received Confidential Documents or Confidential Information shall certify in writing that all such
documents or information has been returned or destroyed. The counsel for the party receiving such
certifications shall maintain copies of the same and shall have them available to provide to the party
whose Confidential Documents or Confidential Information was provided to the individual.

13.

This Stipulated Confidentiality Order shall survive the termination of this case, and

the Court shall retain jurisdiction to enforce the terms of this Confidentiality Order. Any party or
person who received Confidential Information or Confidential Documents covered by this Order
agrees to submit the jurisdiction of this Court with respect to any dispute involving the subject
matter of this Stipulated Confidentiality Order.

Dated this 17th day of November, 2015. 

It IS SO ORDERED.

Kathleen M. Tafoya
United States Magistrate Judge

6

Agreed:

Isl Gregory K. Falls

Gregory K. Falls
Deisch, Marion & Klaus, P.C.
Attorneys for Defendant

Isl Kimberly M Hult

Kimberly M. Hult
Hutchinson Black and Cook, LLC
Attorneys for Plaintiff

7

EXHIBIT A TO STIPULATED CONFIDENTIALITY ORDER
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF STIPULATED CONFIDENTIALITY ORDER

LAURA DUCHOW v. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES INSURANCE COMPANY,
NO. 15-cv-01957-KMT
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

1.

My full name is

_

2.

My address is

3.

My present employer is

4.

My present occupation or job description is

_

_

_

5.
I have received a copy of the Stipulated Confidentiality Order entered in Case No. 15-cv01957-KMT, United States District Court for the District of Colorado. I have carefully read and
understand the provisions of the Stipulated Confidentiality Order. I will comply with all of the
provisions of the Stipulated Confidentiality Order.

6.
I will not disclose any Confidential Documents or Confidential Information to any persons,
except as allowed under this Stipulated Confidentiality Order. I will use any such Confidential
Documents and Confidential Information only with respect to my services in Case No. 15-cv01957-KMT, United States District Court for the District of Colorado.
7.

I will either destroy or return all Confidential Documents and Confidential Information that

8

comes into my possession to the attorney representing the party that has employed or retained me or
who provided such documents to me. I will likewise destroy or provide all documents or notes
which I have prepared which contain or reference such Confidential Documents or Information to
such attorney. I will provide a written statement to such attorney that I have either returned or
destroyed all copies of Confidential Documents or Information along with any notes or documents I
have created which reference said Confidential Documents or Information.

8.
I agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the District of
Colorado, for the purposes of enforcement of this Stipulated Confidentiality Order.

DATED this

day of

, 2015.

Signature -

9