Ortiz v. Police Department of the 25th Precinct et al

Filing 133

STIPULATION AND ORDER OF CONFIDENTIALITY...regarding procedures to be followed that shall govern the handling of confidential material...SO ORDERED. (Signed by Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron on 8/17/2022) (kv)

Case 1:19-cv-03522-LJL-SDA Document 133 Filed 08/17/22 Page 1 of 8

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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08/17/2022
STIPULATION AND ORDER
OF CONFIDENTIALITY

ROBERT ORTIZ,
Plaintiff,

19-CV-3522 (LJL)) (SDA)
-againstTHE CITY OF NEW YORK, NEW YORK CITY
POLICE DEPARTMENT, POLICE DEPARTMENT OF
THE 25TH PRECINCT, DETECTIVE RAYMOND LOW,
in his individual and official capacities, DETECTIVE
XAVIER REYNOSO, in his individual and official
capacities, DETECTIVE MANUEL CORDOVA, in his
individual and official capacities, DETECTIVE
GREGORY CARTY, in his individual and official
capacities,
Defendants.
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WHEREAS, pursuant to Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the
parties in the above-captioned action intend to produce certain documents that they deem to be
confidential or otherwise inappropriate for public disclosure; and
WHEREAS, the parties will only produce these documents if appropriate
protection for their confidentiality is assured; and
WHEREAS, good cause exists for the entry of an order pursuant to Rule 26(c) of
the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure;
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED, by
and among the attorneys for plaintiff and defendants, as follows:
1.

As used herein, “Action” shall mean the pending action between plaintiff

and defendants captioned Robert Ortiz v. City of New York et al., 19-cv-3522 (LJL) (SDA).

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2.

As used herein, “Confidential Materials” shall mean: (a) New York City

Police Department personnel and disciplinary related records, and records of investigations
regarding the conduct of Members of Service of the NYPD conducted by the NYPD, the Civilian
Complaint Review Board, or other agencies; (b) documents that the parties agree in writing
should be designated “Confidential Materials” based on a good faith belief that they should be
treated as “Confidential Materials;” and (c) documents designated by the Court as confidential.
3.

As used herein, “Producing Party” shall mean the party requesting that a

particular document, materials, or the information contained therein be deemed confidential, and
“Receiving Party” shall mean any party who is not the “Producing Party,” as defined herein for
that document or materials.
4.

The documents and information as defined in paragraph “2” shall not be

deemed “Confidential Materials” to the extent, and only to the extent, that they are: (a) obtained
by the Receiving Party from sources other than the Producing Party, or (b) otherwise publicly
available.
5.

In order to designate documents or other material as “Confidential” within

the meaning of this Stipulation of Confidentiality and Protective Order, the Producing Party may
affix the legend “Confidential” to the documents or material in a manner so as not to interfere
with the legibility thereof, and/or may designate such documents by title, Bates number, or other
method reasonably calculated to give notice of the confidentiality designation in a writing
directed to all parties’ counsel.

The Producing Party reserves the right to designate any

document confidential pursuant to this agreement, if necessary, after production of such
documents to the Receiving Party.

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6.

Inadvertent production of any document or information which is

privileged, was prepared in anticipation of litigation, or is otherwise immune from discovery,
shall not constitute a waiver of any privilege or of another ground for objecting to discovery with
respect to that document, or its subject matter, or the information contained therein, or of the
Producing Party’s right to object to the use of any such document or the information contained
therein during any proceeding in this litigation or otherwise.
7.

If the Receiving Party objects to the designation of any particular

document as Confidential Material, the Receiving Party shall state such objection in writing to
the Producing Party, and the parties shall in good faith attempt to resolve such objection. If the
objection cannot be resolved among the parties, the Receiving Party, within 30 days of the initial
objection, may request that the Court remove the designation, in accordance with the Court’s
individual practices. Any such materials or information shall remain Confidential until the
parties resolve the objection or there is a resolution of the designation by the Court.
8.

Counsel for a Receiving Party shall not disclose the Confidential Materials

to any person other than a party, an attorney of record for that party, or any member of the staff
of that attorney’s office, except under the following conditions:
a.

Disclosure may be made for the purpose of preparing or presenting a
party’s claims or defenses in the Action.

b.

Disclosure may also be made to an expert, consultant and/or investigator
who has been retained or specially employed by a party’s attorneys in
anticipation of litigation or preparation for trial of the Action, to a witness
at a deposition or in preparation for testimony at a deposition or trial, or to
the Court.

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c.

Defendants’ attorneys may also disclose the Confidential Materials to the
New York City Police Department, the New York City Comptroller’s
Office, and the New York City Mayor’s Office, solely in connection with
the defense or settlement of this Action.

d.

Disclosure of medical records deemed “Confidential” under this
Stipulation may also be made to any individual who provided the
treatment described in the records or to a member of the staff of the
hospital, doctor’s office, or medical provider where the treatment was
rendered.

e.

Before any disclosure is made to a person listed in subparagraph (b) above
(other than to the Court), the Receiving Party’s counsel shall provide each
such person with a copy of this Protective Order, and such person shall
consent, in writing, in the form annexed hereto as Exhibit A, not to use the
Confidential Materials for any purpose other than in connection with the
prosecution, defense or settlement of the action and not to make further
disclosure of the Confidential Materials, except in testimony taken in the
action. The counsel for a Receiving Party making such disclosure shall
retain the signed consent and furnish a copy to the Producing Party’s
counsel upon request at a deposition or immediately before trial, although
the name of an expert that the Receiving Party does not intend to call as a
trial witness may be redacted from such a consent before it is produced.

9.

The Producing Party may designate deposition exhibits or portions of

deposition transcripts as Confidential either by: (a) indicating on the record during the deposition

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that a question relates to Confidential Materials, in which event the reporter will bind the
transcript of the designated testimony in a separate volume and mark it as “Confidential
Information Governed by Protective Order;” or (b) notifying the reporter and all counsel of
record, in writing, within 30 days of receipt of the transcript, of the specific pages and lines of
the transcript that are to be designated “Confidential,” in which event all counsel receiving the
transcript will be responsible for marking the copies of the designated transcript in their
possession or under their control as directed by defendants or that party’s counsel.
10.

Any party seeking to file papers with the Court that incorporate

Confidential Materials or reveal the contents thereof shall first give all other parties a reasonable
opportunity to review the Confidential Materials or confidential information that the party seeks
to file. If the parties agree in writing to the public filing of the Confidential Materials or
confidential information, such information will no longer be subjected to the instant protective
order. If, however, after reviewing the Confidential Materials or information, any party believes
that such documents or information should be filed under seal, that party shall, in accordance
with the Local Rules and the Court’s individual practices, make an application to Court
requesting that the Confidential Materials or confidential information be filed under seal. In any
event, no materials shall be filed under seal unless the Court has issued an order approving the
filing, in which event the filing shall follow the District Court rules applicable to filing under
seal.
11.

Nothing in this Stipulation shall be construed to limit a producing party’s

use of their own Confidential Materials in any manner, or to limit the use of Confidential
Materials or their contents to the extent that they are publicly available or have been provided to
the producing party through other lawful means, such as a FOIL request.

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12.

This Stipulation shall be binding upon the parties immediately upon

signature and shall be submitted to the Court for entry as an Order.
13.

This Stipulation will survive the termination of the litigation and will

continue to be binding upon all persons to whom Confidential Materials are produced or
disclosed. All documents or information that have been deemed confidential pursuant to this
order, including all copies and non-conforming copies thereof, shall remain confidential for all
time. Once the Action has been resolved, including all appeals, the Confidential Materials,
including all copies and non-conforming copies thereof, shall not be used by the Receiving Party
for any purpose without prior Court approval.
14.

The Court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the terms of this protective

order and any party may move the Court for expedited relief for an alleged breach of the terms of
this protective order.
15.

This Stipulation and Order of Confidentiality and Protective Order may be

executed in counterparts (including emailed .pdf or facsimile), each of which will be deemed an
original, and all of which, when taken together, will be deemed the complete agreement.

Dated:

August 16
___________,
2022
New York, New York

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CHRISTOPHER J. CASSAR, ESQ.
The Cassar Law Firm, P.C.
Attorney for Plaintiff
13 East Carver Street
Huntington Village, New York 11743

By:

/s/ Christopher J. Cassar
Christopher J. Cassar

HON. SYLVIA O. HINDS-RADIX
Corporation Counsel of the
City of New York
Attorney for Defendants City of New York,
Low, Reynoso, Cordova and Carty
100 Church Street, Room 3-166
New York, New York 10007
By: /s/ Katherine J. Weall
Katherine J. Weall
___________________________________
Senior Counsel

SO ORDERED:

HON. STEWART D. AARON
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Dated: _______________,
2022
August 17

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EXHIBIT A
The undersigned hereby acknowledges that (s)he has read the Stipulation and Order of
Confidentiality entered in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
dated _____________________, in the action entitled Robert Ortiz v. City of New York et al.,
19-cv-3522 (LJL) (SDA), and understands the terms thereof. The undersigned agrees not to use
the Confidential Materials defined therein for any purpose other than in connection with the
prosecution of this case, and will not further disclose the Confidential Materials except in
testimony taken in this case.

_________________________

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Date

Signature

______________________________
Print Name

______________________________
Occupation

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