Hopkins v. General Motors, L.L.C.

Filing 46

PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge Kathleen M. Tafoya on 4/6/16. (sgrim)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 1:15-CV-02322-CMA-KMT
KRISTIN HOPKINS
Plaintiff,
v.
GENERAL MOTORS, L.L.C.
Defendant.

AGREED PROTECTIVE ORDER
Upon a showing of good cause in support of the entry of a protective order to protect the
discovery and dissemination of confidential information or information which 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 which contains trade secrets other confidential research, development, or
commercial information. CONFIDENTIAL information shall not be disclosed or used for any
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purpose except the preparation and trial of this case.
4.

GM may produce and designate as being “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” under

this Protective Order design information that is produced by GM in a three-dimensional
electronic CAD data format.

Plaintiff may produce and designate as being “HIGHLY

CONFIDENTIAL” under this Protective Order all of Plaintiff’s psychiatric and psychological
medical records. Such information designated by the parties as “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” is
not subject to the “sharing” provision of this Protective Order contained in Paragraph 5(h),
below.
5.

CONFIDENTIAL or HIGHLY 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;

(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;

(h)

counsel of record involved in pending litigation against General Motors
LLC which involves:

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(i)

an alleged defect in the Body Control Module of 2004-2012
Chevrolet Malibu, 2004-2007 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx 2005-2010
Pontiac G6 and 2007-2010 Saturn Aura vehicles; and/or

(ii)

an alleged defect in the electric power steering system of 20042012 Chevrolet Malibu, 2004-2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx, 20052010 Pontiac G6, and 2007-2009 Saturn Aura vehicles.

Documents designated by the parties as HIGHLY
CONFIDENTIAL are not subject to this sharing provision of the
Protective Order.
(i)
6.

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.
7.

Documents are designated as CONFIDENTIAL or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL by

placing or affixing on them (in a manner that will not interfere with their legibility) the following
or other appropriate notice: “CONFIDENTIAL,” “SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER,” or
“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL.”
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

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given to all counsel of record within thirty (30) days after notice by the court reporter of the
completion of the transcript.
9.

A party may object to the designation of particular CONFIDENTIAL or HIGHLY

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.
10.

Confidential Discovery Materials shall not be filed with the Clerk except when

required in connection with matters pending before the Court. If lodged or filed in connection
with discovery motions or proceedings, and all pleadings and memoranda purporting to
reproduce or paraphrase such Confidential Discovery Information, shall be lodged or filed in a
sealed envelope, which shall bear the word “Confidential” and a statement substantially in the
following form:

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“THIS ENVELOPE IS SEALED PURSUANT TO ORDER OF
THE
COURT,
CONTAINS
CONFIDENTIAL
INFORMATION AND IS NOT TO BE OPENED OR THE
CONTENTS REVEALED, EXCEPT BY ORDER OF THE
COURT OR AGREEMENT BY THE PARTIES.”
and shall remain sealed while in the office of the Clerk for so long as they retain their status as
Confidential Discovery Materials. Said Confidential Discovery Materials shall be kept under seal
until further order of the Court; however, said Confidential Discovery Materials and other papers
filed under seal shall be available to the Court, to counsel of record, and to all other persons
entitled to receive the confidential information contained therein under the terms of this Order.
11.

A party that files with the Court materials designated as Confidential Information,

and who seeks to have the record containing such information sealed, shall submit to the Court a
motion or an application to seal, pursuant to Local Rule 7.2 of the United States District Court
for the District of Colorado.1
12.

A party that files with the Court, materials designated as Confidential Information

by anyone other than itself, and who does not seek to have the record containing such
information sealed, shall comply with either of the following requirements:
(a)

At least fourteen days prior to the filing or use of the Confidential

Information, the submitting party shall give notice to all other parties, and to any nonparty that designated the materials as Confidential Information pursuant to this Order, of
the submitting party’s intention to file or use the Confidential Information, including
specific identification of the Confidential Information. Any affected party or non-party
may then file a Motion to Restrict, pursuant to Local Rule 7.2(c) of the United States
District Court for the District of Colorado; or

1

 http://www.cod.uscourts.gov/CourtOperations/RulesProcedures/LocalRules/CivilLocalRules.aspx  

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(b)

At the time of filing or desiring to use the Confidential Information, the

submitting party shall submit the materials pursuant to the Motion to Restrict provision of
Local Rule 7.2(e) of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Any
affected party or non-party may then file a motion to restrict, pursuant to Local Rule
7.2(c) of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado), within fourteen
days after such lodging. Documents lodged pursuant to Local Rule 7.2 of the United
States District Court for the District of Colorado shall bear a legend stating that such
materials shall be unsealed upon expiration of fourteen (14) days, absent the filing of a
motion to seal pursuant to Local Rule 7.2(e) or Court order filed under seal shall be
available to the Court, to counsel of record, and to all other persons entitled to receive the
confidential information contained therein under the terms of this Order.
13. Use of confidential documents or information covered by this Protective Order at
trial or in other proceedings shall be addressed by the court at such times.
14.

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.
15. If any party wishes to modify this Order, the parties shall first request such
modification from each other, and, if no satisfactory agreement is reached, may petition the
Court for modification at any time prior to the termination of this lawsuit. Modification of this
Order after termination of this lawsuit by judgment, settlement, or otherwise, shall not be
permitted. Until modification is granted by agreement or order, the terms of this Protective Order

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will govern. Provision for the use of such information at trial shall be similarly made by
agreement or by pretrial order governing the use and protection of the record.
16..

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.
SIGNED AND ENTERED this 6th day of April, 2016.

___________________________________
Honorable Kathleen M. Tafoya
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
DISTRICT OF COLORADO

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APPROVED AS TO FORM:

/s/ Kurt Zaner
Kurt Zaner
[e-mail]
Elliot Singer
[e-mail]
Donald H. Slavik
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Plaintiff

/s/ James Andrew Richardson
Mary Quinn Cooper
[e-mail]
James Andrew Richardson
[e-mail]
Lee A. Mickus
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Defendant
General Motors LLC

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