De France v. Western World Insurance Co. et al

Filing 28

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Signed by Judge Brian Morris on 4/13/2017. (ELL)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA
BUTTE DIVISION

LINDA DE FRANCE,
Plaintiff,
vs.
WESTERN WORLD INSURANCE
COMPANY, INC., R. WEED
SPRAYING, LLC, P. WEED
SPRAYING, LLC, and JOHN DOES
1-10,
Defendants.

) Cause No. CV16-57-BU-BMM
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) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
) ORDER
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The discovery sought in the above-styled case involves the production of
documents, information and things containing business financial, or other
information of a sensitive, private and confidential nature about the party (or of
another person which information the party is under a duty to maintain in
confidence), hereafter referred to as “Confidential Information,” and witness
testimony containing Confidential Information. Accordingly, the parties have
agreed to enter into this Stipulated Protective Order (“the Order”) to govern the
production of documents, provision of information, and testimony that contains
Confidential Information, and for good cause shown, the Court GRANTS the Joint
Unopposed Motion for Stipulated Protective Order and ORDERS as follows:

DESIGNATION OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
1.

Designation of Material. Documents and other things claimed to be

or to contain Confidential Information shall, prior to production, be marked by the
producing party as “Confidential.” Placement of the “Confidential” 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 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.
2.

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” 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.
3.

Designation of Depositions. Depositions or portions thereof upon oral

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or written questions may be classified as Confidential Information either by an
examining party's attorney or by an attorney defending or attending the deposition.
A party claiming that a deposition or any portion thereof is Confidential
Information shall give notice of such claim to the other affected parties and persons
either prior to or during the deposition, or within twenty-eight (28) days after
receipt of the deposition transcript, and the testimony taken and the transcript of
such deposition or portion thereof shall be designated as Confidential.
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.
(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” designation. The burden of
proving that the information has been properly designated as protected shall be on
the party who made the original designation.
ACCESS TO CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
5.

General Access. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein or

ordered by the Court, Confidential Information may be revealed only as follows:

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(a)

To outside counsel for a party hereto (and secretaries, paralegals, and

other staff employed in the offices of such outside counsel who are working on the
litigation), provided that outside counsel who are not of record must first sign and
deliver to counsel of record for each other party or parties a letter in the form of
Exhibit A hereto.
(b)

To the parties after they have been given a copy of this Confidentiality

Stipulation by their outside counsel and signed a letter in the form of Exhibit A.
(c)

To court reporters transcribing a deposition, hearing, or other

proceeding in this matter.
(d)

To independent experts and independent consultants (meaning a

person who is not an employee, officer, director, or owner in any capacity of a
party and who is retained by a party or a party’s outside counsel in good faith for
the purpose of assisting in this litigation) who sign Exhibit A attached hereto.
6.

No Copies/Notes. Except for internal use by outside counsel for the

parties hereto, for Court and deposition copies, and for such use as is expressly
permitted under 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.

Disputes over Access. If a dispute arises as to whether a particular

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person should be granted access to Confidential Information, the party seeking
disclosure may move the Court to permit the disclosure and must obtain an order
of the Court before disclosing the information.
USE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
8.

Use in this Litigation Only. Confidential Information may be used

only for purposes of this litigation. 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.
9.

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.
10.

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
Confidential Information gives reasonable advance notice to the Court and counsel
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

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unnecessary disclosure. If presented at trial, the status of evidence as Confidential
Information shall not be disclosed to the finder of fact.
11.

Filing Under Seal. Each document filed with the Court that contains

any Confidential Information 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.
12.

Reasonable Precautions. Counsel for each party shall take all

reasonable precautions to prevent unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of any
Confidential Information.
13.

Return After Litigation. Within thirty (30) days of the final

termination of this litigation by judgment, appeal, settlement, or otherwise, or
sooner if so ordered by the Court, counsel for each party shall return to counsel for
the party who furnished the same all items constituting, containing, or reflecting
the other party's Confidential Information.

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OTHER PROVISIONS
14.

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.
15.

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 may be used to protect the confidentiality of the residential addresses and
social security numbers of the parties and of any and all current or former
employees of either of the parties or their affiliates.

DATED this13th day of April, 2017.

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DECLARATION OF INTENT TO COMPLY WITH PROTECTIVE
ORDER REGARDING CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
This is to certify that I have read and understand the attached Protective
Order.
As a condition of my review or examination of certain materials marked or
otherwise designated as Confidential Information, I hereby agree to comply with
the provisions of the Protective Order and, specifically not to disclose or use any
Confidential Information except as authorized therein. I understand that failure to
abide fully by the terms of the Protective Order may result in legal action against
me personally, including being held in contempt of court and liability for monetary
damages.

Occupation -job title

Name

Home address

Employer

Employer address

Work telephone number

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