Hunt v. Johns et al

Filing 27

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER granting 26 Motion for Protective Order. Ordered by Magistrate Judge Susan M. Bazis. (ADB)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
LARRY HUNT,
Plaintiff,
vs.
RON JOHNS AS AN INDIVIDUAL AND
IN HIS CAPACITY AS DIRECTOR OF
THE
SCOTTS
BLUFF
COUNTY
DETENTION CENTER, and SCOTTS
BLUFF COUNTY, and MONUMENT
VISION, PC, and OREGON TRAIL EYE
CENTER, PC, and JOHN DOES 1-99,
Defendants.

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Case No. 4:17-cv-3023

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

This matter is before the Court on the parties’ Motion for Protection Order. (Filing No.
26.) The motion is granted.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED:
1)

This Protective Order shall apply to all documents, materials, and information,

including without limitation, documents produced, answers to interrogatories, responses to
requests for admission, deposition testimony, video files, audio files, and other information
disclosed pursuant to the disclosure or discovery duties created by the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure. It will not apply to any documents, or information, produced prior to the execution of
this agreement unless a party designates such documents or information in accordance with and
pursuant to the terms of this Order. Upon any such designation, this Order shall apply to all such
documents or information so designated from the date of designation forward.

2)

As used in this Protective Order, “document” is defined as provided in

Fed.R.Civ.P. 34(a). A draft or non-identical copy is a separate document within the meaning of
this term.
3)

Information designated “CONFIDENTIAL” shall be information that is

confidential and implicates common law and statutory privacy interests of any party or third
party to these proceedings. CONFIDENTIAL information shall not be disclosed or used for any
purpose except the preparation and trial of this case. Third-parties disclosing any
CONFIDENTIAL information may designate such CONFIDENTIAL information as
CONFIDENTIAL per this Protective Order and any party to this Protective Order may designate
CONFIDENTIAL information produced by a third-party as CONFIDENTIAL per this Protective
Order.
4)

CONFIDENTIAL documents, materials, and/or information (collectively

“CONFIDENTIAL information”) shall not, without the consent of the party producing it or
further Order of the Court, be disclosed except that such information may be disclosed to:
a)

attorneys actively working on this case and their staff engaged in day-today legal or clerical work on this case;

b)

persons regularly employed or associated with the attorneys actively
working on the case whose assistance is required by said attorneys in the
preparation for trial, at trial, or at other proceedings in this case;

c)

the parties;

d)

expert witnesses and consultants retained in connection with this
proceeding, to the extent such disclosure is necessary for preparation, trial
or other proceedings in this case;

e)

the Court and its employees (“Court Personnel”);

f)

stenographic reporters who are engaged in proceedings necessarily
incident to the conduct of this action;

g)

persons whom counsel reasonably believes to be the authors, senders,
addressees, and/or copy recipients of such CONFIDENTIAL information,
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current management-level employees of the parties, or any other person
with actual knowledge of the information contained therein so long as: (i)
those persons have been identified in Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a) disclosures (or
amendments thereto); and (ii) they have agreed to abide by the terms of
this Protective Order pursuant to Paragraph 5, below;
h)
i)
5)

witnesses or deponents with actual knowledge of the contents of the
documents or information designated as CONFIDENTIAL; and
other persons by written agreement of the parties.

Prior to disclosing any CONFIDENTIAL information to any person listed above

(other than counsel, persons employed by counsel, Court Personnel and stenographic reporters),
counsel shall provide such person with a copy of this Protective Order and obtain from such
person a written acknowledgment stating that he or she has read this Protective Order and agrees
to be bound by its provisions. See Exhibit 1, Acknowledgment Form.
6)

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) privacy rule

prevents disclosure of “protected health information,” as that term is defined under HIPAA, with
certain exceptions. 45 C.F.R. § 164.101 et seq. One of those exceptions is disclosure in the
course of litigation. 45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1) et seq. To insure compliance with HIPAA as
now enacted or as may be modified in the future, and in addition to the other protections
provided herein, it is specifically ordered that:
a)

b)

7)

The parties and any other person obtaining protected health information
pursuant to this Order are prohibited from using or disclosing protected
health information for any purpose other than the litigation; and
The parties and any other person obtaining protected health information
pursuant to this Order are required to return or destroy any protected
health information at the conclusion of the litigation.

Documents are designated as CONFIDENTIAL by placing or affixing on them

(in a manner that will not interfere with their legibility) the following or other appropriate notice:
“CONFIDENTIAL.”

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8)

Responses to discovery requests are designated as CONFIDENTIAL by

imprinting the word "CONFIDENTIAL" next to or above the response or, if appropriate, by
placing the word “CONFIDENTIAL” in the footer of each applicable page or pages of a
discovery response indicating that all information contained on that page or pages is so
designated.
9)

Any information designated by a party as CONFIDENTIAL will first be reviewed

by counsel who will certify that the designation as CONFIDENTIAL is based on a good faith
belief that the information is confidential or otherwise entitled to protection.
10)

Whenever a deposition involves the disclosure of CONFIDENTIAL information,

the deposition or portions thereof shall be designated as CONFIDENTIAL and shall be subject to
the provisions of this Protective Order. Such designation shall be made on the record during the
deposition whenever possible, but (1) a party may designate portions of depositions as
CONFIDENTIAL after transcription, provided written notice of the designation is promptly
given to all counsel of record within thirty (30) days after notice by the court reporter of the
completion of the transcript or (2) the parties may stipulate otherwise on the record at a
deposition.
11)

When filing CONFIDENTIAL information with the Court, Parties must file said

CONFIDENTIAL information in accordance with Neb. Civ. R. 7.5.
12)

A party may object to the designation of particular CONFIDENTIAL information

by giving written notice to the party designating the disputed information. The written notice
shall identify the information to which the objection is made. If the parties cannot resolve the
objection within ten (10) business days after the time the notice is received, it shall be the
obligation of the party challenging the designation to file an appropriate motion requesting that
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the Court determine whether the disputed information should be subject to the terms of this
Protective Order. If such a motion is timely filed, the disputed information shall be treated as
CONFIDENTIAL under the terms of this Protective Order until the Court rules on the motion. In
connection with a motion filed under this provision, the party designating the information as
CONFIDENTIAL shall bear the burden of establishing that good cause exists for the disputed
information to be treated as CONFIDENTIAL.
13)

In the event of an inadvertent disclosure of CONFIDENTIAL information, or

privileged documents or information, by any party to this agreement, the parties agree that the
right to designate such materials as CONFIDENTIAL or to assert privilege will not be waived
where the producing party notifies the other party of the inadvertent disclosure within a
reasonable period of time following discovery of the inadvertent disclosure. Upon notification of
an inadvertent disclosure of CONFIDENTIAL or privileged documents or information, the
producing party shall notify the receiving party of the inadvertent disclosure. Upon notification,
the receiving party shall promptly return or destroy the requested privileged materials and any
copies thereof. In the case of CONFIDENTIAL documents or information, the receiving party
shall either mark the documents or information in accordance with this Order and treat the
documents or information accordingly, or return the information to the producing party to be
marked pursuant to this Order. The election to have the documents or information marked,
destroyed or returned shall lie exclusively with the producing party subject to the objection
procedures outlined herein.
14)

At the conclusion of this case, unless other arrangements are agreed upon, each

document and all copies thereof which have been designated as CONFIDENTIAL shall be
returned to the party that designated it CONFIDENTIAL, maintained by counsel in accordance
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with the terms of the Protective Order, or the parties may elect to destroy CONFIDENTIAL
documents. Where the parties agree to destroy CONFIDENTIAL documents, and upon written
request, the destroying party shall provide all parties with an affidavit confirming the destruction.
15)

The restrictions on use of CONFIDENTIAL information set forth in this

Stipulated Protective Order shall survive the conclusion of this litigation.
16)

Neither a party’s designation of information as CONFIDENTIAL under this

Stipulated Protective Order, nor a party’s failure to make or object to such designation, shall be
admissible in evidence as a party admission or otherwise to prove any fact relevant to any claim
or defense.
17)

The parties agree and stipulate that every person who obtains CONFIDENTIAL

information is prohibited from using or disclosing said information for any purpose whatsoever,
except as necessary to assist in the conduct of this litigation.
18)

This Protective Order may be modified by the Court at any time for good cause

shown following notice to all parties and an opportunity for them to be heard.

Dated this 13th day of July, 2017.
BY THE COURT:
s/ Susan M. Bazis
United States Magistrate Judge

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
LARRY HUNT,
Plaintiff,
vs.
RON JOHNS AS AN INDIVIDUAL AND
IN HIS CAPACITY AS DIRECTOR OF
THE SCOTTS BLUFF COUNTY
DETENTION CENTER, and SCOTTS
BLUFF COUNTY, and MONUMENT
VISION, PC, and OREGON TRAIL EYE
CENTER, PC, and JOHN DOES 1-99,
Defendants.

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Case No. 4:17-cv-3023

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF TERMS OF
CONFIDENTIALITY

I hereby acknowledge that I have been advised of the terms of the Stipulated Protective
Order entered in Larry Hunt v. Ron Johns, et al., Civil Action No. 4:17-cv-3023-RGK-SMB,
pending in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska, have been provided with
a copy of said Stipulated Protective Order, have read and understand said Stipulated Protective
Order, agree to be bound by and to comply with the terms of said Stipulated Protective Order,
and agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the District of
Nebraska for the purpose of enforcement of said Stipulated Protective Order.

Dated:________________________________________
Printed Name:__________________________________
Relationship to Lawsuit:__________________________
Address:______________________________________
_____________________________________________
Telephone:____________________________________

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