Agency One Insurance, Inc. et al v. Westport Insurance Corp.

Filing 41

PROTECTIVE ORDER regarding 40 Stipulation and Joint Motion for Entry of Protective Order. Ordered by Magistrate Judge Cheryl R. Zwart. (JSF)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
AGENCY ONE INSURANCE, INC. and
PAMELA A. SIROKY,
Plaintiffs,
vs.
WESTPORT INSURANCE CORP.,
Defendant.

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Case No. 8:13-cv-78

PROTECTIVE ORDER

THIS MATTER is before the Court on the Stipulation and Joint Motion for Entry
of Protective Order which arises out of the defendant’s amended subpoena to the
Nebraska Department of Insurance that seeks all documents regarding Pamela A. Siroky,
Douglas Inlay, and Connie Samek. The parties request that a protective order which sets
forth the rights and responsibilities of the parties with respect to said documents be
entered by the Court.

FACTS
This is a breach of contract/declaratory judgment matter in which plaintiffs’ claim
the defendants improperly failed to defend and indemnify them pursuant to the terms and
conditions of a professional liability insurance policy the defendants issued to plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs seek a judgment that the defendant breached the contract and ask the Court
to declare that defendant is obligated pursuant to the policy to defend and indemnify the
plaintiff.
The defendant denies that it has breached its contract with the plaintiff and asks
the Court to declare that it is not obligated to defend or indemnify the plaintiffs pursuant
to the policy.
The defendant’s attorneys have subpoenaed the Nebraska Department of
Insurance seeking all documents relating to Pamela A. Siroky, Douglas Inlay, and Connie

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Samek. Portions of the information requested is confidential and should be protected as
further set forth herein.
PROTECTIVE ORDER
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the documents received pursuant to the
defendant’s amended subpoena to the Nebraska Department of Insurance regarding
Pamela A. Siroky, Douglas Inlay, and Connie Samek may be utilized in the preparation
of the case, but the parties must do so in accordance with the following terms:
1. Confidential Information. Certain documents and materials produced by the
Nebraska Department of Insurance regarding Pamela A. Siroky, Douglas
Inlay, and Connie Samek shall constitute CONFIDENTIAL information for
the purposes of this Order and shall be used by the recipient only for the
preparation for and conduct of proceedings herein and not for any business or
other purpose whatsoever. Each party will have the right and authority to
designate which specific documents or materials constitute CONFIDENTIAL
information and the parties will label such documents “CONFIDENTIAL”.
2. Qualified Recipients. For purposes of this Order persons authorized to receive
“CONFIDENTIAL” information (hereinafter “qualified recipient”) shall
include only:
a. Legal counsel representing the plaintiff and legal counsel representing the
defendants, and members of the paralegal, secretarial or clerical staff who
are employed by, retained by or assisting such counsel;
b. Personnel of the parties, including, but not limited to, their respective
Board of Directors, in-house attorneys, investigators, employees, experts,
consultants and senior executives, conducting, assisting, monitoring,
reviewing, or making determinations with regard or related to the abovecaptioned action and the insurance policy at issued therein;
c. The Court presiding over the above-captioned action, including, without
limitation, the District Judge, Magistrate Judge, Court personnel, and
jurors;
d. Court reporters who take and transcribe testimony, as well as necessary
secretarial and clerical assistants;
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e. Witnesses, potential witnesses, deponents, and the deponent’s counsel, but
only during the course of a deposition and to the extent reasonably
necessary in the preparation for such deposition;
f. Reinsurers, auditors, or other entities to which the parties may be required
to respond or report in the ordinary course of business regarding the
subject matter of the above-captioned action;
g. Regulators to which the parties may be required to respond or report in the
ordinary course of business regarding the subject matter of the abovecaptioned action;
h. Vendors, consulting or testifying expert witnesses;
i. Any mediator retained by the parties in an effort to mediate and/or settle
the disputes involved in this action; and
j. Any other Person upon order of the Court or upon stipulation of the parties
or upon the express written agreement of the designating party.
3. Maintenance of Confidentiality. CONFIDENTIAL information shall be held
in confidence by each qualified recipient to whom it is disclosed; it shall be
used only for purposes of this action and shall not be disclosed to any person
who is not a qualified recipient. Each party, each qualified recipient and all
counsel representing any party shall use their best efforts to maintain all
produced CONFIDENTIAL information in such a manner as to prevent
access, even at hearing or trial, by individuals who are not qualified recipients.
4. Copies.

CONFIDENTIAL information shall not be copied or otherwise

reproduced by the receiving party, except for transmission to qualified
recipients, without the written permission of the producing party, or, in the
alternative, by further Order of this Court. Nothing herein, however, shall
restrict a qualified recipient from making working copies, abstracts, digests
and analyses of CONFIDENTIAL information under the terms of this Order.
5. Filing Under Seal.

All documents of any nature, including any of the

foregoing documents as well as any other documents, including, but not
limited to, briefs, motions, memoranda, transcripts and the like, that are filed
with the Court for any purpose and that contain CONFIDENTIAL information
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shall be filed in sealed envelopes or other sealed containers marked with the
title of the action and generally identifying each document and thing therein
and bearing a statement substantially in the following form:
CONFIDENTIAL
DO NOT OPEN WITHOUT ORDER OF THE COURT
For the convenience of the parties, the clerk and the Court, any filing which
contains both CONFIDENTIAL information and non-confidential material may be filed
entirely under seal.
6. Depositions. The following procedures shall be followed at all depositions to
protect the integrity of all CONFIDENTIAL information:
a. Only qualified recipients may be present at a deposition in which
CONFIDENTIAL information is disclosed or discussed;
b. All testimony elicited during a deposition at which CONFIDENTIAL
information is disclosed or discussed is deemed to be CONFIDENTIAL
information.
7. Trial. Prior to the trial of this action the attorneys for the parties shall meet
and attempt to agree on an appropriate form of order to submit to the Court
regarding confidential status, if any, to the afforded documents, testimony or
other information disclosed during the course of the trial.
8. Return or Destruction of Documents.

Upon final termination of this

proceeding, including all appeals, each party shall at its option destroy or
return to the producing party all original materials produced and designated as
CONFIDENTIAL information and shall destroy, in whatever form stored or
reproduced, all other materials including, but not limited to, pleadings,
correspondence, memoranda, notes and other work product materials that
contain or refer to CONFIDENTIAL information. This Protective Order shall
survive the final termination of this action, and shall be binding on the parties
and their legal counsel at all times in the future.
9. Modification. This Order is entered without prejudice to the right of any party
to apply to the Court for additional protection, or to relax or rescind any
restrictions imposed by this Order when convenience or necessity requires.
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10. Additional Parties to Litigation. In the event additional parties join or are
joined in this action, they shall not have access to CONFIDENTIAL
information until the newly joined party, by and through his, her or its
counsel, has executed and filed with this Court its agreement to be fully bound
by this stipulated Order.

Dated this

day of

, 2013.

BY THE COURT:

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Magistrate Judge

868958

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