Carroll v. Gradient Financial Group, LLC et al

Filing 35

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER. The court finds good cause to enter the protective order submitted by the parties. Signed by Magistrate Judge James P. O'Hara on 2/15/2013. (ah)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS
LINDSEY CARROLL,

)
)
Plaintiff,
)
vs.
)
)
GRADIENT FINANCIAL GROUP, LLC;
)
GRADIENT INSURANCE BROKERAGE, INC.; )
APRILLY OBERKROM; and KENT SCHOEN, )
)
Defendants.
)
__________________________________________)

Case No. 12-CV-2477 JAR/JPO

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
In accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c), the parties have conferred in good faith
and have stipulated and agreed to a Protective Order as follows. Upon joint request of the parties
and for good cause shown, the Court enters the following Protective Order:
1.

Facts Establishing Good Cause: Plaintiff brought the above-captioned

lawsuit (the "Litigation") asserting Title VII and FMLA claims for alleged sex discrimination
and violation of the FMLA arising from Plaintiff's employment and termination. Due to the
nature of Plaintiff's allegations, it is anticipated that certain sensitive information may be
requested throughout discovery that the parties wish to protect from disclosure and use outside of
the Litigation, including but not limited to the parties' employment and personnel files,
confidential and proprietary information, alleged trade secrets, current and past business
activities, as well as financial information about the parties and perhaps others, and information
regarding the parties' or other parties' practices, policies, and procedures (hereafter,
"Confidential Information"). Much of this Confidential Information is subject to agreements
regarding the non-disclosure of such Confidential Information that were entered into between the
parties and other third parties before the initiation of the Litigation.

2.

The parties recognize that the public disclosure or unauthorized use of

such Confidential Information may cause injury to a party or third person, and the release of
Confidential Information may affect the privacy of persons or entities who are not parties to this
Litigation. This Order protects the parties to this Litigation, prohibits the public release of
Confidential Information, and prohibits the unauthorized use of the Confidential Information by
any party for any reason besides the Litigation, while allowing the parties access to information
each seeks to discover and minimizing any potential harmful effects on either the parties or
non-parties. The Court finds that the parties seek to protect such Confidential Information as
well as to protect all parties and non-parties from any annoyance or embarrassment that
unrestricted disclosure or unauthorized use may potentially cause.
3.

All documents and other information provided or produced that are

identified in Paragraph 1 above shall be treated as confidential if stamped as such. If material
designated as confidential is used at a deposition, counsel for the party using such material must
provide the witness with a copy of this Order, unless the parties agree otherwise. A party may, at
the time of a deposition, designate all or part of the testimony as confidential if it reveals the
content of documents identified in Paragraph 1 above, in which case the other party shall treat
the testimony as such for a period of ten (10) days after receipt of the transcript. Within ten (10)
days of the receipt of the deposition transcript, the designating party shall identify the deposition
testimony that is to be treated as confidential by stamping only such pages of the transcript as are
to be treated as Confidential Information and serving the designated transcript on all parties.
Pages not so stamped and served will not be treated as confidential. If either party objects to a
confidential designation, the matter shall be resolved by counsel or submitted to the Court for
decision.

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4.

Persons having knowledge of confidential documents and information by

virtue of their participation in the conduct of the Litigation shall use them for that purpose only
and shall not disclose such confidential documents, their contents or any portion or summary
thereof to any person or persons other than the parties described in Paragraph 5, below.
5.

Except upon order of the Court or with the producing party's prior written

consent, documents and information designated as confidential, and all copies, summaries,
excerpts, abstracts, or notes thereof shall not be disclosed or distributed by the other party, their
counsel, or any other person receiving, viewing, or hearing the same (except the Producing Party
and its counsel) to any person other than the following:
(a)

the Court and its officers;

(b)

the trier of fact;

(c)

court reporters;

(d)

party deponents (including agents, employees and representatives of
parties);

(e)

a non-party witness or potential non-party witness to whom Confidential
Information is disclosed in the course, or in preparation, of the witness' or
potential witness' testimony; or

(f)

personnel with a third party commercial copy service to whom documents
are provided solely for purposes of duplicating same; or

(g)

legal counsel and their staff.

6.

A person given access to Confidential Information under the terms of

Paragraph 5(e) or (f) of this Order shall not be granted access thereto until such person has
agreed to be bound by the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and has signed an

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acknowledgment in the form attached hereto as "Exhibit A." Executed copies of "Exhibit A"
shall be maintained by counsel for the party disclosing the Confidential Information to the
persons permitted in Paragraph 5 of this Order. Production of any such Exhibits will be made
only upon proper legal showing of entitlement to such information (including legal briefing for
the Court if necessary).
7.

This Stipulation and Order, insofar as it restricts the communication and

use of confidential documents and information, shall continue to be binding throughout the
duration of the Litigation and shall remain in effect indefinitely after final disposition of the
Litigation.
8.

The Court's jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this Protective Order

shall be terminated upon the final disposition of this case, unless and until a party seeks leave to
reopen the case to enforce the provisions of this Protective Order.
9.

Any party to this Litigation or any interested member of the public may

challenge the secreting of particular documents under this Order by application to the Court. No
party is obligated to challenge the propriety of a confidential designation, and a failure to do so
will not preclude a subsequent attack on the propriety of such designation.
10.

Upon termination of this action and upon request by the supplying party,

each party within thirty (30) days will assemble and return to the supplying party, with the cost
of shipping borne by the supplying party, all documents designated as Confidential Information.
Alternatively, the receiving party may also destroy all such materials within thirty (30) days of
the termination of this action and certify to the supplying party that he or she has done so.
11.

All terms of this Protective Order shall apply to documents and

information produced or disclosed by third parties who produce or disclose discoverable

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materials in this Litigation, provided one or more party requests such material be designated as
confidential.
12.

If any person receiving documents covered by this Order (a) is

subpoenaed in another action, (b) is served with a demand in another action to which he or it is a
party, or (c) is served with any other legal process by one not a party to this lawsuit, seeking
discovery material that was produced or designated as confidential by someone other than the
receiving party, the receiving party must promptly notify the supplying party of receipt of such
subpoena, demand or legal process, and will decline to produce such material unless otherwise
ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction. Should the person seeking access to the
Confidential Information take action against the receiving party or anyone else covered by this
Order to enforce such a subpoena, demand or other legal process, the receiving party will
respond by setting forth the existence of this Order and, other than providing notice pursuant to
the previous sentence, will be under no further obligation to preserve the confidentiality of any
such documents in connection with such subpoena, demand, or legal process. Nothing here may
be construed as requiring the receiving party or anyone else covered by this Order to challenge or
appeal any other requiring production of Confidential Information covered by this Order, or to
subject himself or itself to any penalties for non-compliance with any legal process or order, or
to seek any relief from this Court.
13.

When filing pleadings with the Court, the parties will take reasonable care

to avoid disclosure of the underlying sensitive information which the “Confidential” designation
seeks to protect however, in the event there is not a reasonable method of doing so (i.e.
redaction, using initials), the party will seek an appropriate Order to file such Confidential
Information under Seal, pursuant to the Local Rules of the District of Kansas.

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14.

Inadvertent production of documents subject to work-product, attorney-

client privilege, or other legal privilege protecting information from discovery shall not
constitute a waiver of the immunity or privilege, provided that the producing party shall, upon
discovery of such inadvertent production, promptly notify the receiving party, in writing, of such
inadvertent production. In the event of such an inadvertent production, if the receiving party
disputes the privileged nature or required return of the material, the parties shall confer in good
faith to resolve the dispute. If the dispute cannot be resolved, the party seeking return of the
alleged privileged material shall file an appropriate motion seeking their return with the Court
within fourteen (14) days of notifying the receiving party of the inadvertent production. Failure
to file such a motion shall constitute a waiver of privilege.
IT IS SO ORDERED THIS 15th DAY OF February, 2013.

/s/ James P. O'Hara
United States Magistrate Judge
James P. O'Hara

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APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CONTENT:

/s/Patrick G. Reavy___________________
Patrick G. Reavey
Kevin C. Koc
Reavy Law LLC
Livestock Exchange Building
1600 Genessee, Suite 303
Kansas City, MO 64102
TEL: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF

/s/ Thomas G. Lemon__________________
Thomas G. Lemon - KS-16120
Vincent M. Cox - KS-22051
Cavanaugh & Lemon, P.A.
2942A S.W. Wanamaker Drive
Suite 100
Topeka, Kansas 66614-4135
TEL: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANTS

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EXHIBIT "A"
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS
LINDSEY CARROLL,

)
)
Plaintiff,
)
vs.
)
)
GRADIENT FINANCIAL GROUP, LLC;
)
GRADIENT INSURANCE BROKERAGE, INC.; )
APRILLY OBERKROM; and KENT SCHOEN, )
)
Defendants.
)
__________________________________________)

Case No. 12-CV-2477 JAR/JPO

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The undersigned acknowledges that (s)he has read the Stipulated Protective Order
entered in this action by the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, on ________,
2013, that (s)he understands its terms, and that (s)he agreed to be bound by that Order. The
undersigned further understands the Confidential Information as specified in the Stipulated
Protective Order and any copies that I may make thereof, and any notes or other records that
contain such Confidential Information, shall not be disclosed to others, except with respect to
those persons designated in Paragraph 5 of the Stipulated Protective Order.

Name: _________________________________

7138/Stipulated Protective Order

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Dated: ____________________________