Stanley v. Cottrell, Inc.

Filing 48

PROTECTIVE ORDER re: 29 Amended MOTION for Protective Order and Memorandum in Support filed by Defendant Cottrell, Inc. Signed by Honorable Henry E. Autrey on 10/18/11. (CLA)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION

LUTHER STANLEY,

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Plaintiff,
V.

COTTRELL, INC.
Defendant.

Case No. 4:10-cv-01505 HEA
(Removed from the Circuit Court
for the County of St. Louis,
State of Missouri,
Case No. 10 SL-0002405)

PROTECTIVE ORDER
In this case, plaintiff has sought discovery documents which Cottrell has shown to
the Court, via affidavit, to contain confidential and trade secret materials, as
contemplated by Fed.R.Civ.P 26:
1. Trade-secret specifications for equipment designed/manufactured by
Cottrell;
2. Blueprints and design drawings for equipment designed/manufactured by
Cottrell;
3. Purchase Orders (if any), sales records, and invoices for the rig at issue;
4. Confidential pricing information for equipment sold by Cottrell to its
customers, as well as pricing information for components Cottrell purchased from its
vendors for use in manufacturing its equipment; and
5. Testing information for equipment designed and manufactured by Cottrell.
Hereinafter, these materials will be referred to as the "subject materials." Due to

the confidential, proprietary, and otherwise sensitive nature of the subject materials, and
the potential harm to Cottrell's business if the subject materials were permitted in the
public domain, the Court hereby enters a Protective Order limiting disclosure of the
subject materials. Therefore, pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court
HEREBY ORDERS:
1. Cottrell shall stamp the subject materials "Confidential."
2. The subject materials shall not be given, shown, made available, discussed,
summarized or communicated to any person except (i) the parties and counsel of record
for the parties, and, where appropriate, attorney support staff; (ii) experts retained to
assist counsel for the parties; (iii) the officer taking or reporting the deposition and
employees of such reporter to the extent necessary to prepare the transcript of the
deposition; and (iv) the Court and persons associated with or employed by the Court
whose duties require access to the information. Such disclosure to experts retained to
assist counsel for the parties shall not be made without first securing execution by such
person of a written Non-Disclosure Agreement in the form of Exhibit "A" to this Order.
3. The contents of the subject materials shall not be used for any purpose
other than the prosecution or defense of the above-styled litigation and shall not be
discussed with, or disclosed to, any person except as specifically authorized by this
Order.
4. The parties shall take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that no

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person shall use, disclose or record the subject materials protected by this Order for any
purpose other than those permitted by this Order.
5. Within sixty (60) days after the conclusion of contested proceedings
between any of the parties by mandate following an appeal, judgment if no appeal is
taken, settlement, or otherwise, all originals and reproductions of the subject materials, or
portions thereof, shall either be returned to Cottrell or, if Cottrell agrees, destroyed by the
receiving party and a certification in writing sent to Cottrell stating that such documents
have been destroyed. For purposes of Missouri Rule 4-1.15, the Court hereby orders that
such documents labeled "Confidential" shall not be part of the "client's file" subject to
the 10-year requirement. This Order shall continue to be binding after the conclusion of
this Litigation, except that a party may seek the written permission of Cottrell or further
order of the Court with respect to dissolution or modification of such Protective Order.
6. Upon the conclusion of this Litigation and either (i) the expiration of the
time to file a notice of appeal, if no appeal is filed, or (ii) if an appeal was filed, the filing
of the mandate or final order from the Court of Appeals if the case is not reopened as a
result of the terms of the mandate or order, any copies of the subject materials filed under
seal with the Court shall be returned to Cottrell, provided that if Cottrell fails to remove
the copies after notice, they shall be destroyed to the extent allowed under the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure and the local rules of this Court.
7. In the event that a party wishes to use the subject materials in any affidavit,

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declaration, exhibit, memoranda of law, or other paper of document to be filed with the
Court in this Litigation, the party must file an application with the Court in chambers
requesting permission to file the subject materials under seal along with a proposed order
granting the application.
8. The Clerk of this Court is directed to maintain under seal all information
including, but not limited to, transcripts, exhibits, documents, objects, materials and
papers filed with the Court in this Litigation which have been designated, in whole or in
part, to be filed under seal by Order of the Court. To assist the Clerk, any document or
object with respect to which the Court has granted permission to be filed under seal
pursuant to this Order shall be filed in the Clerk's Office in a sealed envelope or other
appropriate sealed container on which shall be endorsed the title and docket number of
this action, an identification of the nature of the contents of the sealed envelope or
container, the words "CONFIDENTIAL UNDER PROTECTIVE ORDER" and a
statement substantially in the following form:
This envelope contains documents which were filed in this case by [name
of party] and is not to be opened nor the contents hereof to be displayed or
revealed except by order or under direction of the Court.
9. Nothing in this Protective Order shall prevent a party from using the
subject materials at a trial or hearing. However, the manner in which the subject materials
are to be disclosed at a trial or hearing will be determined by the Court or by agreement of

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the parties.
10. All parties reserve the right to petition this Court or any other proper court
for appropriate relief should there be cause to believe that a violation of this Order has
occurred or is about to occur, if any data was improperly classified as protected material,
if this order is in need of modification, or if any document has lost its confidential status.
The parties, however, must first attempt to resolve any dispute on an informal basis
before presenting same to the Court by motion or otherwise pursuant to the local rules.
Nothing herein is to be deemed a shifting of the burdens of proof otherwise applicable.

Counsel and all parties to this action are hereby bound by the terms of this Order.
SO ORDERED this 18th day of October, 2011.

HENRY EDWARD AUTREY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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