Pace v. Wells Fargo Bank N.A.

Filing 21

PROTECTIVE ORDER. Signed by Magistrate Judge Donald G. Wilkerson on 7/10/14.(sgp)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
LORIANN M. PACE,
Plaintiff,
No. 3:14-cv-00234-MJR-DGW
v.
WELLS FARGO BANK N.A.,
Defendant.
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
Upon the stipulation and agreement of the Parties (as this term is defined below), and it
appearing to the Court that:
A.

The Parties will engage in discovery in this case that may require the production of

documents, the inspection of tangible things, the answering of interrogatories and requests to admit,
and the taking of oral and/or written depositions;
B.

In the course of discovery, confidential financial or other confidential business-

related information is likely to be produced by the Parties or other Persons or entities;
C.

The Parties are interested in permitting discovery to proceed without delay

occasioned by possible disputes about the confidential nature of the documents and/or information
being produced;
D.

The Parties, by agreement, have applied to the Court for this Agreed Protective Order

limiting the disclosure of confidential documents and/or information produced in this matter and
have stipulated hereto;
E.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) provides for the issuance of a protective order

limiting the disclosure and use of information and documents for good cause; and
F.

Good cause exists for the issuance of this Agreed Protective Order.
Page 1 of 7

THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
1.

The following definitions shall apply for purposes of this Agreed Protective Order:

(a)

The term “CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION” shall mean all documents, data,

interrogatory answers, admissions or other discovery materials produced or obtained as a result of
discovery concerning the claims and defenses in this litigation (including deposition transcripts and
including discovery obtained from third parties) designated by any Party as “Confidential” in some
manner and containing or comprising of:
(i)

confidential personnel and financial information of plaintiff Loriann Pace

(“Plaintiff”);
(ii)

confidential personnel and financial information of employees of Wells Fargo Bank,

N.A.(“Defendant”);
(iii)

confidential non-public financial records, confidential or private information

concerning trade secrets or proprietary information of Defendant, and information Defendant is
required to keep private by applicable law or regulations; and
iv)

confidential medical information regarding Loriann Pace

(b)

The term “Person” shall mean any natural person and any corporation, partnership,

association, or other entity.
(c)

The term “Party” or “Parties” shall mean: Plaintiff, Defendant, and any other Person

who may become a named party to this case.
(d)

The term “Designating Person” shall mean the Person or Party responsible for

producing any material that is designated as confidential.
2.

Except with the prior written consent of the Designating Person, CONFIDENTIAL

INFORMATION may not be copied and/or disclosed to any Person other than:
(a)

A Party, including any officer, director, employee, agent, or representative of or

attorney for a Party;
Page 2 of 7

(b)

The Judge presiding in this case, the Judge’s staff, and employees of the Clerk of

(c)

Counsel of record for a Party and their associates, paralegals, and office staff;

(d)

In-house counsel for a Party and their paralegals and office staff;

(e)

Any independent document reproduction services or document recording and

Court;

retrieval services;
(f)

Outside experts, consultants, advisors, and analysts retained or consulted for the

purpose of assisting a Party in the preparation and trial of this case. This category of individuals does
not include Persons informally consulted for assistance with preparation and trial of this case and is
instead limited solely to Persons that are formally retained and consulted, such as licensed attorneys,
financial advisors and analysts, or others whose primary expertise or employment is to provide
assistance or consulting of the nature requested or provided;
(g)

Employees of a Party whose job responsibilities and special knowledge relate to the

subject matter of that CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION;
(h)

Witnesses being deposed;

(i)

Any witness, provided counsel has a good faith belief the witness needs to review the

confidential document (except that any such witness will not be given a copy of the confidential
document);
(j)

Any other person from whom testimony is to be taken or is taken, but only in

preparation for or during his or her testimony and only to the extent necessary for such preparation or
testimony and for the subsequent review of said testimony;
(k)

Any mediator agreed to by the parties; and

(l)

Any individual not listed herein, but agreed to by the Parties.

3.

To the extent any CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION is disclosed to a non-Party as

provided in Sections 2(e) through 2(l) above, said individual shall be provided with a copy of this
Page 3 of 7

Protective Order prior to review of any CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION and shall be required to
execute an “Acknowledgement” in the form attached as Exhibit A, attesting that they have reviewed
the Protective Order, understand its contents, and agree to abide by the same confidentiality
obligations, limitations, and restrictions to which the Parties have agreed.
4.

All CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION shall be used and disclosed solely for

purposes of the preparation and trial of this case and shall not be used or disclosed for any other
purpose, unless ordered by this Court, or another Court with jurisdiction, or any administrative
agency with jurisdiction. The Parties agree, however, that upon written notice to the producing
Party, CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION may be used to defend ethical or other complaints arising
after the final resolution of this matter as long as the confidential status and the use of such
documents is subject to protections substantially the same as those set forth in this Order.
5.

Final resolution of this matter, including exhaustion of appellate remedies, shall not

terminate the limitations on use and disclosure imposed by this Order.
6.

Nothing in this Order shall:

(a)

Restrict the right of any Party to disclose any CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

produced or provided by that Party to any other Person;
(b)

Prevent any Party from objecting to discovery that the Party believes is improper for

any reason;
(c)

Preclude any Party from seeking or applying any further or additional protection for

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION not provided in this Order;
(d)

Alter the Parties' requirements to comply with the Administrative Procedures For

Electronic Filing, Signing, And Verifying Pleadings And Papers By Electronic Means In Civil Cases;
or
(e)

Restrict the right of any Party to use any CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION in any

hearing or trial in this case; provided, however, that the Parties agree to cooperate prior to any such
Page 4 of 7

hearing or trial to develop appropriate procedures for the protection of CONFIDENTIAL
INFORMATION from disclosure to the public. Specifically, the Parties agree that:
(i)

They will seek the issuance of an Order providing, to the fullest extent possible, that

the use or disclosure of trial or hearing testimony and trial or hearing exhibits shall be subject to the
same limitations and restrictions as are provided for CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION under this
Order; and
(ii)

Prior to the time of trial or at such earlier time as it becomes necessary for the Parties

to rely upon CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION in connection with a motion or hearing, the Parties
shall attempt in good faith to remove the physical label designation of “Confidential,” “Subject to
Protective Order,” or “Protected Document,” or other labels identifying it as “proprietary” or
“confidential” by the use of these words or other similar language with respect to deposition
transcripts and exhibits thereto to the greatest extent possible.
7.

Any notice to a Party required by this Order may be given by notifying that Party’s

counsel of record in this case or the Party directly if the Party is not represented by counsel. Any act
by a Party required by this Order may be performed by that Party’s counsel of record in this case or
the Party directly if the Party is not represented by counsel.
8.

The following procedures shall relate to the handling of inadvertently produced

documents or information that may be privileged:
(a)

In the event that a Party or third party inadvertently produces information that they

believe is protected by the attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine or any other privilege,
within a reasonable time after the producing Party or third party discovers the inadvertent disclosure,
the producing Party or third party may make a written request to the other Parties to return the
inadvertently produced privileged document. All Persons who received the inadvertently produced
document will return the document to the producing Party or third party immediately upon receipt of
the written request and without reviewing the document;
Page 5 of 7

(b)

If the receiving Party identifies a document that is clearly privileged, said Party shall

immediately stop any review of said document and return it to the disclosing Party or third party;
(c)

The receiving Party must take reasonable steps to retrieve the information if the Party

disclosed it before being notified of the claimed privilege; and
(d)

By returning the document or information, the receiving Party is not conceding that

the document or information is privileged and is not waiving its right to later challenge the
substantive privilege claim, except that the Party may not challenge the privilege claim by arguing
that the inadvertent production waived the privilege. If the Parties disagree as to the privilege
asserted, the receiving Party shall promptly file a motion to compel discovery.
9.

After final resolution of the litigation, including exhaustion of all appellate remedies,

all material not received in evidence and treated as CONFIDENTIAL under this Order must be
returned to the producing Party upon request, or the material may be destroyed, except that a copy of
such materials may be preserved to satisfy any legal or ethical obligations of counsel or for use as
stated herein. These provisions apply to the Parties as well as to non-Parties identified in Paragraph
2 above.

IT IS SO ORDERED
DATED: July 10, 2014

DONALD G. WILKERSON
United States Magistrate Judge

Page 6 of 7

EXHIBIT A
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I, ______________________, declare that:
1.

My address is ____________________, and the address of my present employer is

___________________________.
2.

My present occupation or job description is _____________________.

3.

My present relationship to plaintiff(s)/defendant(s) is ______________________.

4.

I have received a copy of the Protective Order (the “Protective Order”) in this action.

5.

I have carefully read and understand the provisions of the Protective Order, agree to

be bound by it, and specifically agree I will not use or disclose to anyone any of the contents of any
Confidential Information received under the protection of the Protective Order.
6.

I understand that I am to retain all copies of any of the materials that I receive which

have been so designated as Confidential in a container, cabinet, drawer, room, or other safe place in a
manner consistent with the Protective Order and that all copies are to remain in my custody until I
have completed my assigned or legal duties. I will destroy or return to counsel all confidential
documents and things that come into my possession.

I acknowledge that such return or the

subsequent destruction of such materials shall not relieve me from any of the continuing obligations
imposed upon me by the Protective Order.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the state where executed that the
foregoing is true and correct.
Executed

this

______

day

of

_________________,

20___,

in

the

State

____________________________.

__________________________________
Signature

Page 7 of 7

of