Hooker v. Hibbett Sporting Goods, Inc. et al

Filing 16

ORDER granting 14 Motion for Protective Order. Ordered by Magistrate Judge Cheryl R. Zwart. (BHC)

providers, who have treated Plaintiff prior to or after the alleged incidents herein; as well as all
office notes, medical records and reports, correspondence or other records or documents in the
possession of any such health care providers, including mental health care providers, and
including all records regarding psychiatric/ psychological/ behavioral, alcohol and drug abuse, as
well as any open communication regarding such records or treatment provided and (g)
documents, materials or information that are subject to any other protective order or agreement,
confidentiality order or agreement, or any other order, ruling, or agreement preventing or
limiting the disclosure of those documents, materials, or information.
2.

A Party is prohibited from making copies of any Confidential Information, or

portion thereof, except for use in this litigation. Confidential Information shall be held in strictest
confidence, shall be kept securely, and shall be used solely for the purpose of prosecution or defense
of this litigation and not for any other purpose. As used herein the term “disclosing party” shall
refer to the party designating documents or information confidential or protected. The term
“non-disclosing party” shall refer to the party receiving the documents or information designated
as confidential or protected.
3.

A Party may designate as Confidential Information any document, writing,

transcript, or other information produced through formal or informal discovery or otherwise in
the course of this litigation, whether produced by a party to this action or by a non-party, by
stamping the word “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”
on such document. Only materials of a sort described in paragraph 1 may be designated as
“CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such designation
shall be made in good faith.

Without more, a designation as “CONFIDENTIAL” or

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“CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” shall subject the information produced to
the provisions of this Protective Order.
4.

Any material marked or designated “CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS’ EYES

ONLY” will be handled in the manner described in paragraph 2, except that, absent written
permission from the party producing the document or an order from the court, the disclosure of
such materials or the contents therein shall be strictly limited to the undersigned counsel and
staff under counsel’s supervision.
5.

Portions of any transcript mentioning, quoting, or referring to Confidential

Information may be designated “CONFIDENTIAL” when the deposition is taken or within thirty
(30) business days after the receipt of the transcript.

Until the expiration of the 30-day period of

time to make “CONFIDENTIAL” designations, the entire transcript shall be treated as confidential.
6.

Confidential Information shall be made available only to “Qualified Persons.” No

other person shall have access to Confidential Information without approval of the disclosing
party or without approval of the Court, nor shall any such other person be informed of such
Confidential Information by any person having access to it. “Qualified Persons” as used herein
means: (a) counsel for the parties, and their co-counsel, partners, associates, and employees who
actually are assisting in the litigation; (b) experts and consultants retained or employed to consult
with, advise, or assist counsel in the preparation or trial of this action; (c) the parties; (d) the
Court and officers of the Court in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 10; (e) Court
reporters who take and transcribe testimony; (f) deposition witnesses in accordance with the
provisions of this paragraph; and (g) any mediator retained by the parties in an effort to mediate
or settle the claims in this action Confidential Information may be made available to any
deposition witness only during his/her deposition and only after he/she has read and agreed on

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the record to be bound by the provisions of this Protective Order as set forth above. In addition,
any deposition witness will not be permitted to retain copies of any Confidential Information at
the conclusion of any deposition.
7.

The non-disclosing party shall be responsible for limiting distribution of

Confidential Information to those persons who: (i) have a need to know the information; and (ii)
are otherwise authorized to receive the information under this Protective Order. The nondisclosing party shall be prepared to account for the disposition and use of Confidential
Information by those persons. Qualified Persons who testify at a deposition and who receive
Confidential Information shall be advised that they must not reveal or discuss Confidential
Information to or with any person who is not a Qualified Person under this Protective Order.
8.
Confidential

If a disclosing party, through inadvertence produces or provides discovery of any
Information,

without

designating

such

disclosed

information

as

“CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” as provided for in
this Protective Order, the disclosing party may give written notice to the non-disclosing party
that the document, thing, or other information, response, or testimony is Confidential
Information and should be treated as Confidential Information in accordance with the provisions
of this Protective Order.

The non-disclosing party must treat such documents, things,

information, responses, and testimony as Confidential Information from the date such notice is
received, subject to the provisions of paragraphs 3, 4, and 5. Disclosure of such documents,
things, information, responses, or testimony prior to receipt of such notice to persons not
authorized to receive Confidential Information shall not be deemed a violation of this Protective
Order; however, upon receipt of such notice, the non-disclosing party promptly shall retrieve all
such Confidential Information disclosed to anyone who is not entitled to access to Confidential

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Information under this Protective Order, and absent a challenge to the designation of such
Confidential Information, destroy said Confidential Information and notify the disclosing party
that all such Confidential Information has been retrieved and/or destroyed.
9.

Nothing herein shall preclude a party from seeking relief from the protections

provided by this Protective Order or from challenging the designation of any document as
“CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” on such notice as
appropriate under the circumstances, or seeking such other relief as may be appropriate. Any
party hereto may apply to the Court by motion for modification of or release from this Protective
Order.
Should counsel for the non-disclosing party object to the designation by the disclosing
party of any particular material as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’
EYES ONLY” such counsel at any time may notify counsel for the disclosing party in writing
that he or she objects to the designation, specifying with particularity the material he or she
believes has been improperly classified and the basis for his or her contention that said document
should not be designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL- ATTORNEYS’ EYES
ONLY.” Upon receipt by the disclosing party of such written objection, counsel shall negotiate
and attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute as to the designation. If counsel are unable to
resolve such a dispute, then counsel for the disclosing party may file with the Court a motion
regarding the designation of such material as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL –
ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” If counsel for the disclosing party does not file such a motion
within 30 days of service of said objection, the documents at issue will no longer be considered
Confidential Information. Otherwise, during the pendency of any such objection, dispute, or

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motion, the material in question shall remain Confidential Information and be handled in
accordance with the terms of this Protective Order.
10.

Without losing the confidentiality of any Confidential Information, any material

stamped “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” under this
Protective Order may be redacted so as to eliminate the stamp before the material is shown to the
jury. Confidential Information used as exhibits at trial shall otherwise be handled in accordance
with the requirements and procedures of the Court. Failure to so designate any document or thing
shall not constitute a waiver of any claim outside this litigation that such document or thing
contains confidential information. Prior to any trial in this case, counsel for the parties shall
endeavor to reach agreement on the handling of confidential material at that trial, so as to
provide the maximum protection possible against public disclosure without in any way infringing
on the rights of all parties to present all evidence they deem necessary at such trial.
11.

Upon termination of this action, including appeal, counsel for each party, upon

written request by the disclosing party, shall, within 60 days of said request, destroy (and certify
such destruction) or return to counsel for the disclosing party all Confidential Information and all
copies thereof, which had been produced by the disclosing party.

Notwithstanding this

paragraph, counsel may for professional purposes retain copies of transcripts, court filings,
correspondence and other attorney work product that incorporate “CONFIDENTIAL” or
“CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Documents, but any such documents shall
remain Confidential Information and subject to the restrictions contained in this Protective
Order. In addition, the Clerk may return to counsel or destroy any sealed material in its
possession upon such time as all proceedings are complete, including any final appeals. Should a
non-disclosing party become subject to a motion to disclose information designated

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“confidential” pursuant to this order, they shall promptly notify the disclosing party of the
motion so that the disclosing party may have an opportunity to appear and be heard on whether
that information should be disclosed. Nothing contained in this Protective Order, nor any action
taken in compliance with it, shall operate as an admission by any party that any particular
document or information is, or is not: (a) relevant to the issues involved in this litigation; (b)
properly produced or subject to production during discovery; (c) admissible in evidence at the
trial of this action; (d) subject to a claim of privilege; or (e) any other recognized objection to
discovery.
12.

Non-waiver of privilege for inadvertently disclosed materials: The inadvertent

disclosure of any document that is subject to a legitimate claim that the document is subject to the
attorney-client privilege or the work-product protection shall not waive the protection or the privilege
for either that document or for the subject matter of that document.
13.

Return of inadvertently disclosed materials: Except in the event that the requesting

party disputes the claim, any documents the producing party deems to have been inadvertently
disclosed and to be subject to the attorney-client privilege or the work-product protection shall be,
upon written request, promptly returned to the producing party, or destroyed, at that party’s option.
If the claim is disputed, a single copy of the materials may be retained by the requesting party for
the exclusive purpose of seeking judicial determination of the matter. Disputes arising under this
Protective Order shall be resolved by the U.S. District Court of Nebraska.
14.

No part of the restrictions imposed by this Protective Order may be terminated,

except by a writing executed by counsel of record for all parties or by an order of the Court.
15.

Nothing herein shall be deemed to restrict any parties or their counsel with respect

to their own documents or information. Failure to enforce any term of this Protective Order shall

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not constitute a waiver of any rights or deprive the disclosing party of the right to insist thereafter
upon strict adherence to that or any other term of this Protective Order, nor shall a waiver of any
breach of this Protective Order constitute a waiver of any preceding or succeeding breach. No
waiver of a right under any provision of this Protective Order shall occur except as provided in
this document. Further, nothing herein shall restrict the parties in any way from seeking stricter
protections or refusing production of a document because the protections afforded hereunder are
insufficient in one or more ways or from seeking to modify this Protective Order, by way of
motion or otherwise, or from seeking further and/or additional protections from the Court
regarding Confidential Information.
16.

This Order shall survive the final conclusion of the action, and this Court retains

jurisdiction of the parties hereto indefinitely as to any dispute between them regarding improper
use of Confidential Information pursuant to this Order.
DATED this ____ day of December, 2014.
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_________________________________
s/ Cheryl R. Zwart
Judge, U.S. District Court of Nebraska
Respectfully submitted and stipulated,
HIBBETT SPORTING GOODS, INC.,
a foreign corporation, TIFFANY HURT,
TINA GARDNER, BLAKE FRICKE,
and JASON ALLEN, Defendants.
_/s/ Chad P. Richter____________
Chad P. Richter #22001
JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
10050 Regency Circle, Suite 400
Omaha, Nebraska 68114
[phone]
[phone] FAX
[e-mail]
Attorney for Defendants
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Meghan M. Hooker, Plaintiff.
By: /s/ Tanya J. Hansen
Tanya J. Hansen
Leininger, Smith, Johnson, Baack, Placzek & Allen
104 North Wheeler
PO Box 790
Grand Island, Nebraska 68802-0790
Attorney for Plaintiff

4841-5611-3695, v. 2

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