Thorton v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Co.

Filing 36

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER regarding Joint Motion for Protective Order 35 . The Protective Order shall be entered pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Ordered by Magistrate Judge Cheryl R. Zwart. (JAB)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
JAMES THORNTON,
Plaintiff,

CASE NO. 4:10-cv-003243

v.
WAL-MART STORES, INC.,

JOINT MOTION FOR ENTRY OF
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

Defendant.

Pursuant to the parties’ Joint Motion for Protective Order (Filing No. 35), the
parties to this action, Defendant Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (“Wal-Mart” or “Defendant”) and
Plaintiff James Thornton (“Thornton” or “Plaintiff”), by their respective counsel, hereby
stipulate and request that the Court enter a mutual protective order pursuant to Fed. R.
Civ. P. 26 as follows:
1.

The Protective Order shall be entered pursuant to the Federal Rules of

Civil Procedure.
2.

The Protective Order shall govern all materials deemed to be “Confidential

Information.” Such Confidential Information shall include the following:
(a)

Any and all documents referring or related to confidential and proprietary
human resources or business information; financial records of the parties;
compensation of Defendant's current or former personnel; policies,
procedures and/or training materials of Defendant; and/or Defendant's
organizational structure;

(b)

Any documents from the personnel, medical or workers’ compensation file
of any current or former employee or contractor;

(c)

Any documents relating to the medical and/or health information of any of
Defendant's current or former employees or contractors;

(d)

Any portions of depositions (audio or video) where Confidential
Information is disclosed or used as exhibits.

3.

In the case of documents and the information contained therein,

designation of Confidential Information produced shall be made by placing the following
label or designation on the face of the document and each page so designated
“CONFIDENTIAL” or otherwise expressly identified as confidential. Defendant will use
its best efforts to limit the number of documents designated Confidential.
4.

Confidential Information shall be held in confidence by each qualified

recipient to whom it is disclosed, shall be used only for purposes of this action, shall not
be used for any business purpose, and shall not be disclosed to any person who is not
a qualified recipient. All produced Confidential Information shall be carefully maintained
so as to preclude access by persons who are not qualified recipients.
5.

Qualified recipients shall include only the following:
(a)

In-house counsel and law firms for each party and the secretarial,
clerical and paralegal staff of each;

(b)

Deposition notaries and staff;

(c)

Persons other than legal counsel who have been retained or
specially employed by a party as an expert witness for purposes of
this lawsuit or to perform investigative work or fact research;

(d)

Deponents during the course of their depositions or potential
witnesses of this case;

(e)

The parties to this litigation, their officers and professional
employees.

(f)

Persons who appear on the face of the Confidential information as
an author, addressee, or recipient of the Confidential Information;

(g)

The court and any of its staff and personnel; and

(h)

Court reporters.

6.

Each counsel shall be responsible for providing notice of the Protective

Order and the terms therein to persons to whom they disclose “Confidential
Information,” as defined by the terms of the Protective Order.
Persons to whom confidential information is shown shall be informed of the terms
of this Order and advised that its breach may be punished or sanctioned as contempt of
the Court. Such deponents may be shown Confidential materials during their deposition
but shall not be permitted to keep copies of said Confidential materials nor any portion
of the deposition transcript reflecting the Confidential Information.
If either party objects to the claims that information should be deemed
Confidential, that party’s counsel shall inform opposing counsel in writing within (90)
days that the information should not be so deemed, and the parties shall attempt first to
dispose of such disputes in good faith and on an informal basis. If the parties are
unable to resolve their dispute, they may present a motion to the Court objecting to such
status. The information shall continue to have Confidential status during the pendency
of any such motion.
7.

No copies of Confidential Information shall be made except by or on

behalf of attorneys of record, in-house counsel or the parties in this action. Any person
making copies of such information shall maintain all copies within their possession or
the possession of those entitled to access to such information under the Protective
Order.
8.

All information produced in this action, whether deemed Confidential or

not, shall be used only for purposes of this litigation and not for any other purpose.
However, counsel agree that all information produced in this action may be used for the

purpose of defending an action against said counsel or responding to a disciplinary
complaint against said counsel.
9.

The termination of this action shall not relieve the parties and persons

obligated hereunder from their responsibility to maintain the confidentiality of information
designated confidential pursuant to this Order.
10.

Upon termination of this action by entry of a final judgment (inclusive of

any appeals or petitions for review), the parties may request the return of all previously
furnished Confidential Information, including any copies thereof, and each person or
party to whom such Confidential Information has been furnished or produced shall be
obligated to return it within thirty (30) days of said request.
11.

Nothing in this Order shall be construed as an admission as to the

relevance, authenticity, foundation or admissibility of any document, material, transcript,
or other information.
12.

Nothing in the Protective Order shall be deemed to preclude any party

from seeking and obtaining, on an appropriate showing, a modification of this Order.
SO ORDERED this 19th day of August, 2011.

BY THE COURT:

s/ Cheryl R. Zwart
United States Magistrate Judge

Stipulated and agreed to by the following counsel:
August 19, 2011

August 19, 2011

JAMES THORNTON, Plaintiff,

WAL-MART STORES, INC., Defendant,

.
By: s/John Rehm
John Rehm (NE# 23097)
Rehm, Bennett & Moore, P.C., L.L.O.
3701 Union Dr, #200
Lincoln, NE 68516
402-474-2300
[e-mail]

By: s/Heidi A. Guttau-Fox
Heidi A. Guttau-Fox (NE#21570)
of
BAIRD HOLM LLP
1500 Woodmen Tower
1700 Farnam Street
Omaha, NE 68102-2068
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]

DOCS/1055739.1