Core-Mark International, Inc. v. The Montana Board of Livestock et al

Filing 99

ORDER re 96 Amended MOTION for Protective Order filed by Core-Mark International, Inc. Please review order for complete details. Signed by Judge Sam E Haddon on 4/5/2018. (HEG)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FILED

FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA

APR O5 2018

HELENA DIVISION

Clerk, U.S. District Court
District Of Montana
Helena

CORE-MARK INTERNATIONAL,
INC.,
Plaintiff,

No. CV 15-05-H-SEH

vs.

ORDER
The Montana Board of Livestock, in
its official capacity as head of the
Montana Department of Livestock, et
al.,
Defendants.

Pending before the Court is Plaintiffs Unopposed Motion for Protective
Order 1 ("Motion").
ORDERED:
1.

"Confidential Information" shall include documents, records, data

and materials produced, or to be produced which consist of: (1) names or
addresses of Plaintiffs retail customers; (2) sales reports generated by Plaintiff;
(3) the amount of product ordered by or delivered to Plaintiffs customers; (4)
Plaintiffs wholesale pricing information; or (5) a description of Plaintiffs
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Doc. 96.

distribution process and delivery schedules.
2.

Confidential Information shall be produced by Plaintiffs as provided

in this Order.
3.

This Protective Order governs access to, use, and distribution of

information designated "Confidential Information" by Plaintiff in the course of
discovery. Nothing in this Order allows Plaintiffs to withhold information
otherwise discoverable.
4.

Confidential Information shall be treated as confidential during

the pendency of this action and shall be used by the parties solely for the
purposes of this litigation. Control and distribution of Confidential Information
shall be the responsibility of the attorneys of record.
5.

The documents produced by Plaintiff or a non-party and stamped

Confidential shall be available only to the following individuals and only for the
purposes of conducting this litigation:
a.

The parties and their officers, directors, board members,

employees, independent contractors and agents;
b.

Counsel of record and their office personnel; and

c.

Experts and consultants retained by the parties for the

preparation and trial of this case.
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6.

Confidential Information produced by the Plaintiff shall not be

available to the Plaintiffs competitors or their representatives, including milk
producers, processors, and distributors, unless and until agreed to by the Plaintiff
or ordered by the Court. The parties do not waive, and expressly reserve, their
right to seek further Order of the Court, preserving any objections to such
disclosure.
7.

Each person to whom disclosure of Confidential Information is

permitted shall be advised of this Protective Order and shall be informed (a) not
to use any document or information for any purpose other than in connection
with the prosecution of this action and (b) not to reveal such document or
information to any unauthorized person.
8.

This Protective Order does not preauthorize the filing under

seal of Confidential Information. If a party believes they have cause to file a
redacted version of a document constituting or containing Confidential
information, the party may seek leave to redact under L.R. 26.4(b)(2).
Notwithstanding the provisions of L.R. 26.4(b )( 1), if a party believes they have
cause to file Confidential Information under seal, it may file a motion for leave
to file under seal, as provided for in L.R. 5.1.
9.

All parties understand that documents relied upon by the Court in
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resolving any issue before the Court, including documents now or hereafter
filed under seal, will be made public contemporaneously with the Court's ruling
on the issue. None of the terms or conditions of this agreement shall apply to
any information or documentation which hereafter becomes subject to public
disclosure by order of Court or agreement of the parties.
10.

Nothing in this Protective Order shall affect the admissibility into

evidence of Confidential Information, or abridge the rights of any person to seek
judicial review or to pursue other appropriate judicial action of any ruling made
by the Court concerning the issue of the status of Confidential Information.
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In producing or disclosing information, Plaintiff may invoke this

Protective Order's protection by following the procedures:
a.

The copy of a document, when produced, shall bear the clear

and legible designation "Confidential" on each page as to which the designating
party seeks the protection of this Protective Order. If a document contains some
"Confidential" information and some non-confidential information, Plaintiff
must identify information designated as confidential. Defendants may file nonconfidential information if Confidential Information is redacted from the
document and if leave to redact is given under L.R. 26.4(b )(2).
b.

Specific responses to answers to interrogatories or requests
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for admission containing Confidential Information shall be clearly marked
"Confidential."
c.

Either party may seek to invoke treatment of depositions as

Confidential by: ( 1) declaring the same on the record at the deposition and,
thereafter, by designating the specific portions of testimony as "Confidential"
within thirty (30) days of the receipt of the transcript of the deposition in which
the designations are made; or (2) designating specific portions of testimony as
"Confidential" and serving such designations within thirty (30) days of receipt of
the transcript of the deposition in which the designations are made. Absent Court
order stating otherwise, all deposition transcripts shall be treated as
"Confidential" for the thirty (30) day period following receipt of the transcript.
d.

If information deemed "Confidential" is inadvertently

produced without the designation "Confidential," Plaintiff may timely assert the
confidentiality of the information upon learning of the inadvertent disclosure and
by providing written notice of such to all parties and by producing the
information or documents with the "Confidential" designation. Upon receiving
written notice from Plaintiff, all inadvertently produced privileged material will
either be returned or destroyed, as instructed by the written notice or as
otherwise ordered by the Court.
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12.

If Defendants disagree with the propriety of a "Confidential"

designation as to any document, communication or information, Defendants shall
give the designating party or entity written notice of the disagreement. Plaintiff
shall have twenty (20) days to seek an Order from the Court for the protection of
the information as Confidential. Plaintiff shall bear the burden of establishing the
confidential nature of the material. Any information designated as
"Confidential" shall remain subject to the terms of this Protective Order unless
and until otherwise provided by order of the Court.
13.

If Defendants are requested or required (by oral questions,

interrogatories, requests for information or documents in legal proceedings,
subpoena, civil investigative demand or other similar process or by applicable
laws, rules or regulations) to disclose any information designated "Confidential,"
in any proceeding except the subject litigation, Defendants shall provide Plaintiff
with prompt written notice of the request or requirement within fourteen (14)
days of receipt to permit Plaintiff to seek a protective order or other appropriate
remedy or to waive compliance with the provisions of this Protective Order. If,
in the absence of a protective order or other remedy within fourteen (14) days of
receipt of notice, or the receipt of a waiver by the other parties, Defendants are,
upon advice of counsel, nonetheless legally compelled to disclose "Confidential"
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information, they may, without risk of liability hereunder, disclose that portion
of the "Confidential" information that counsel advises must be disclosed if
timely written notice of the request or requirement has been made within
fourteen (14) days of receipt.
14.

This Order is without prejudice to any party applying to the Court

for a further Protective Order relating to confidential information; or to object to
the production of documents or information; or to apply to the Court for an order
compelling production of documents or information. This Order may be enforced
by either party and any violation may result in the imposition of sanction by the
Court.
DATED this ~-iay of April, 2018.

~""7
United States District Judge

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