Brazell v. Vivint, Inc. et al

Filing 23

CONFIDENTIALITY ORDER. Signed by Magistrate Judge Brian K. Epps on 08/30/2018. (jlh)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
DUBLIN DIVISION
RONALD BRAZELL,

)
)
Plaintiff,
) Civil Action File No.
) 3:18-CV-00047-DHB-BKE
vs.
)
)
VIVINT, INC. d/b/a VIVINT SMART
)
HOME and FBCS, INC.,
)
)
Defendants.
)
________________________________________ )
CONFIDENTIALITY ORDER
Having fully considered the parties’ proposed agreed protective order and
for good cause shown, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the agreed order is
GRANTED subject to the following modifications:
(1) The Court and its authorized personnel are not parties to the
agreement and are not bound by its terms; and
(2) Nothing in this protective order shall be construed as relieving any
party from the obligation imposed by Local Rule 79.7 to file a motion
seeking the sealing of confidential documents.

This matter is before the Court on the joint request of Plaintiff and
Defendants Financial Business and Consumer Solutions, Inc. d/b/a FBCS, Inc.
(hereinafter, “FBCS”) and Vivint, Inc. (hereinafter, “Vivint”), collectively referred
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to herein as the “Parties,” to protect certain documents and information exchanged
in this litigation from public disclosure. Upon review of the file and other good
cause shown, the Court hereby finds and ORDERS, that:
1.
The discovery sought by the Parties in this case involves the production of
documents and things containing business, competitive, proprietary, trade secret or
other information of a sensitive nature to the Parties, hereafter referred to as
"Confidential

Information,"

and

potential

witness

testimony

containing

Confidential Information.
2.
Designation of Material. Documents and other things designated in good
faith by a party to the action to contain Confidential Information shall, prior to
production, be marked by the producing party as "Confidential Pursuant To Court
Order." Placement of the "Confidential Pursuant To Court Order" designation on
each protected page or on the initial page of a protected document when it is
produced shall constitute notice and shall designate the entire document as
Confidential material. Copies, extracts, summaries, notes, and other derivatives of
Confidential material also shall be deemed Confidential material and shall be
subject to the provisions of this Order .

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3.
Subsequent Designation. Documents and/or materials produced in the
litigation that are not identified as Confidential Information when they were
initially produced may within a reasonable time thereafter be designated as
Confidential by the producing party, or by the party or Parties receiving the
production, or by a person, by providing written notice to counsel for all other
parties and to any person who may be involved. Each party or person who receives
such written notice shall endeavor to retrieve any Confidential Information that
may have been disseminated, shall affix a "Confidential Pursuant To Court Order"
designation to it, and shall thereafter distribute it only as allowed by this Order. No
distribution prior to the receipt of such written notice shall be deemed a violation
of this Order.
4.
Modification of Designation. The designation of Confidential Information
by the producing party shall not be determinative and may be modified or
eliminated at any time in one of two ways, as explained below .
(a) The producing party may agree in writing to downgrade or eliminate the
Confidential designation concerning any material it produced.

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(b)

If the Parties cannot agree as to the designation of any particular

information or material after good faith discussion, the receiving party may move
the Court to downgrade or eliminate the "Confidential Pursuant To Court Order"
designation. The burden of proving that the information has been properly
designated as protected shall be on the party who made the original designation.
5.
General Access. Except for the Court, including judicial employees and
other necessary personnel, such as court reporters, disclosure and use of
Confidential Information shall be restricted solely to the following persons:
(a) Counsel of record in this Action and such partners, associate attorneys,
paralegal, legal assistants, and stenographic or clerical employees of such
counsel as have been assigned to assist counsel in the prosecution,
defense or settlement of such actions;
(b) Persons designated as witnesses to this Action to the extent reasonably
necessary for such persons to prepare for and to testify; any expert or
consultant, including any employees thereof, used or retained by counsel
or a party as an expert or consultant in this Action, to the extent deemed
necessary by counsel to aid in the prosecution, defense or settlement of

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this Action, provided that each such expert has read this Order in advance
of disclosure and agrees to be bound by its terms.
(c) Any person designated by the Court in this Action in the interest of
justice, upon such terms as the Court may deem proper;
(d) Any court reporter or typist recording or transcribing testimony in this
Action and any outside independent reproduction firm;
(e) Any person who was the author, recipient or copy recipient of a
document;
(f) Any person whom the Parties have agreed to use as a mediator in this
Action;
(g) Parties to this Action;
(h) Law enforcement official requesting such documents or information
pursuant to official investigation in this Action; and
(i) Investigators retained to assist in this Action.
Nothing herein shall prevent the producing party from showing the
documents or information to an employee of that party.
6.
No Copies/Notes. Except for internal use by counsel of record in this action,
for Court and deposition copies, and for such use as is expressly permitted under

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the terms hereof, no person granted access to Confidential Information shall make
copies, reproductions, transcripts, or facsimiles of the same or any portion thereof
or shall take notes or otherwise summarize the contents of such Confidential
Information.
7.
Use in this Litigation Only. Each person to whom the disclosure of any
Confidential Information is made shall not, directly or indirectly, use, disclose, or
disseminate, or attempt to use, disclose, or disseminate, any of the same except as
expressly provided herein .
8.
Use at Depositions. If Confidential Information is to be discussed or
disclosed during a deposition, the producing party shall have the right to exclude
from attendance at the deposition, during the time the Confidential Information is
to be discussed, any person not entitled under this Order to receive the Confidential
Information.
9.
Use at Court Hearings and Trial. Subject to the Federal Rules of
Evidence, Confidential Information may be offered into evidence at trial or at any
hearing or oral argument, provided that the proponent of the evidence containing

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Confidential Information gives reasonable advance written notice (not less than 10
days) to the Court and all counsel of record in this case for the producing or
designating party. Any party may move the Court for an order that the evidence be
received in-camera or under other conditions to prevent unnecessary disclosure.
10.
Filing Under Seal. Each document to be filed with the Court that contains
any Confidential Information, upon showing of good cause and if permitted by the
Court, shall be filed in a sealed envelope or other appropriate sealed container on
which shall be set forth the title and number of this action, a general description or
title of the contents of the envelope, and a statement that the contents are
Confidential and subject to a Protective Order and that the envelope is not to be
opened nor the contents thereof revealed except to counsel of record in the
litigation or court personnel, or pursuant to order of the Court. Copies of such
documents served on counsel for other parties shall be marked as Confidential
Pursuant To Court Order.
11.
Reasonable Precautions. Counsel of record for each party shall take all
reasonable precautions to prevent unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of any
Confidential Information.

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12.
Not an Admission. Nothing in this Order shall constitute an admission by
the party that information designated as Confidential is actually Confidential
Information. Furthermore, nothing contained herein shall preclude the Parties or a
person from raising any available objection , or seeking any available protection
with respect to any Confidential Information, including but not limited to the
grounds of admissibility of evidence, materiality, trial preparation materials and
privilege.
13.
Miscellaneous. This Order shall apply to the production of all materials
whether or not such materials are informally produced or produced in response to a
formal discovery request or a Court order in this litigation. This order shall survive
the dismissal of this action. Any party may petition the Court for relief for
violations of this order.
SO ORDERED this 30th day of August, 2018, at Augusta, Georgia.

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AGREED TO BY:
BEDARD LAW GROUP, P.C.

MORGAN & MORGAN, P.A.

/s/Michael K. Chapman
Michael K. Chapman
Georgia Bar No. 322145
4855 River Green Parkway, Suite 310
Duluth, Georgia, 30096
Telephone: [phone]
[e-mail]
Counsel for Defendant,
Financial Business and Consumer
Solutions, Inc. d/b/a FBCS, Inc.

/s/ Octavio Gomez__________
Octavio “Tav” Gomez, Esq.
Georgia Bar No. 617963
201 N. Franklin Street, Suite 700
Tampa, Florida 33602
Telephone: [phone]
[e-mail]
Counsel for Plaintiff,
Ronald Brazell

MAC MURRAY & SHUSTER, LLP
/s/ Helen H. MacMurray
Helen H. Mac Murray
6530 W. Campus Oval, Suite 210
New Albany, Ohio 43054
Telephone: [phone]
[e-mail]
Counsel for Defendant,
Vivint, Inc.

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