Starkey v. Amber Enterprises, Inc. et al

Filing 29

PROTECTIVE ORDER - This matter is before the Court on the parties' Joint Stipulation and Motion for Protective Order. (Filing No. 28 .) The motion is granted. Ordered by Magistrate Judge Susan M. Bazis. (KLF)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA
LANA L. STARKEY,
Plaintiff,

8:17CV29

vs.
PROTECTIVE ORDER
AMBER ENTERPRISES, INC., a Corporation;
HY-VEE, INC., a Corporation; and MIKE
AGOSTINO, Individually;
Defendants.
This matter is before the Court on the parties’ Joint Stipulation and Motion for Protective
Order. (Filing No. 28.) The motion is granted.

Accordingly,

IT IS ORDERED that confidential information and documents received and produced
by the parties in this case may be utilized in the preparation of the case, but the parties must do
so in accordance with the following terms:

1.

Confidential Information.

“Confidential Information” as used herein means

private and confidential information pertaining to the parties, and other unpublished and
confidential information relating to the parties. Such information may include any type or
classification of information which is designated as “Confidential Information” by the supplying
party, whether revealed during a deposition, in a document, in an interrogatory answer or
otherwise. “Document” as used herein refers to any written, graphic, or electronic information,
no matter how produced, recorded, stored or reproduced and includes recordings or other
electronically stored data, together with the programming instructions and other written material
necessary to understand such recordings and data. In designating information as Confidential
Information the supplying party will make such designation only as to that information which
that party in good faith believes to be confidential. All documents and every portion thereof
designated as confidential shall constitute confidential information for the purposes of this Order

and shall be used by the receiving party only for the preparation for and conduct of proceedings
herein and not for any business or other purpose whatsoever.

2.

Qualified Recipients. For the purposes of this Order, and subject to the provisions

of this paragraph, the persons authorized to receive “Confidential Information” (hereinafter
“qualified recipient”) shall include only:

a) The named parties and officers, directors, board members, and in-house legal counsel, of
the parties;
b) Legal counsel representing the Defendants and legal counsel representing the Plaintiff,
and members of the paralegal, secretarial, or clerical staff who are employed by, retained
by, or assisting such counsel;
c) The Court, court reporters who take and transcribe testimony, as well as necessary law
clerks and administrative assistants;
d) Consulting or testifying expert witnesses who assist counsel in the preparation of this
case;
e) Any mediator retained by the parties in an effort to mediate and/or settle the claims made
in this action;
f) Any assistant, paralegal, stenographic, secretarial or clerical personnel employed by,
retained by, or assisting a qualified person in this case;
g) Any other persons agreed to by the parties in writing, either as to all or any confidential
information in this case.

Except as provided herein, Confidential Information produced in this case shall be
disclosed by the receiving party only to Qualified Persons who shall have read this Protective
Order. Provided, however, that nothing herein shall prevent disclosure beyond the terms of this
Protective Order if the party claiming confidentiality consents in writing to such disclosure.
Requests by a party to disclose Confidential Information which would otherwise be in violation
of the terms of this Protective Order shall be made in writing.

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3.

Maintenance of Confidentiality. Confidential information shall be maintained

confidentially by each qualified recipient to whom it is disclosed, 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,
including at depositions, hearings, and 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 the Court. However,
nothing herein shall restrict a qualified recipient from making working copies, abstracts, digests,
and analyses of confidential information which shall be maintained confidentially under the
terms of this Order.

5.

Filing Confidential Information. All documents of any nature including, but not

limited to, index of evidence, briefs, motions, memoranda, transcripts, and the like, that are filed
with the Court for any purpose and that contain confidential information shall be filed in
accordance with NEGenR 1.3(a)(1)(B) as appropriate for restricted or sealed documents.

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 and the deposition transcript shall
be designated as confidential information.
c) Material designated as confidential may be used at a nonparty deposition
only if necessary to the testimony of the witness and after a written request as set forth in
this Protective Order.

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d) During a deposition, a confidential designation may be made at any time
when counsel reasonably believes that testimony regarding confidential information is
about to be provided, or alternatively, has been provided. If a party fails to designate
deposition testimony as confidential during a deposition, counsel shall nevertheless have
ten (10) days following receipt of the deposition transcript to designate the transcript as
confidential.

7.

Trial. Prior to the trial of this action, the attorneys for the parties shall meet and

attempt to agree on an appropriate proposed order to submit to the Court regarding the
confidential status, if any, to be 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 Qualified Recipient 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, their legal counsel, and qualified
recipients 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 any additional protective order, or to relax or rescind any restrictions
imposed by this Protective Order when convenience or necessity requires. The existence of this
Protective Order shall not be used by any party as a basis for discovery that is not otherwise
proper under applicable law and rules of discovery. Inadvertent production by a party or third
party of privileged discovery material is not intended to waive any applicable privilege. A party
notified by another party or third party of inadvertent production of privileged discovery material
will return all copies of such material to the party claiming the privilege within seven (7) days of
the receipt of the notification of the inadvertent disclosure. If the receiving party disputes the
claim of privilege or the claim the disclosure was inadvertent, the burden is on the receiving

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party to seek a ruling from the Court on the applicability of the privilege before the materials can
be used in any way. In the event of a dispute about the applicability of a privilege, the material
shall be treated as Confidential Information under the terms of this Protective Order pending the
resolution of the dispute.

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 its counsel has executed and, at the request of any party, filed with the Court, its agreement to
be fully bound by this Stipulated Order.
Dated this 9th day of November, 2017.

BY THE COURT:

s/ Susan M. Bazis
United States Magistrate Judge

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