Access Business Group International, LLC et al v. Refresco Beverages US Inc.

Filing 39

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER...regarding procedures to be followed that shall govern the handling of confidential material... SO ORDERED. (Signed by Judge Lorna G. Schofield on 5/9/2022) (kv)

Case 1:21-cv-10779-LGS Document 39 Filed 05/09/22 Page 1 of 7
SO ORDERED.
Dated: May 9, 2022
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
New York, New York
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
--------------------------------------------------------------x
ACCESS BUSINESS GROUP
:
INTERNATIONAL, LLC,and ACCESS
:
BUSINESS GROUP LLC,
:
Case No.: 1:21-cv-10779-LGS
:
_____________
Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants,
:
[PROPOSED] STIPULATED
v
:
PROTECTIVE ORDER
:
REFRESCO BEVERAGES US INC.,
:
:
Defendant/Counter-Plaintiff.
:
--------------------------------------------------------------x
Whereas the Parties having agreed to the following terms of confidentiality, and the Court
having found that good cause exists for the issuance of an appropriately tailored confidentiality
order pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED
AS FOLLOWS:
1.

“Confidential Information” is information of a type contemplated by Rule

26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which a party, in good faith, regards as
proprietary, trade secret(s), or otherwise sensitive non-public information.
2.

A party producing discovery material in this action may designate documents

as Confidential Information and restricted in disclosure under this Order by placing or
affixing the word “Confidential” on the document in a manner that will not interfere with the
legibility of the document. All discovery material designated as “Confidential,” including,
but not limited to, any copies, abstracts, digests, notes, and summaries thereof, shall be
treated as Confidential under the provisions of this Order.
3.

Confidential Information produced in this litigation will be used solely for the

preparation, trial, and appeal of this action (including any action to enforce or set aside an
award entered herein), and shall not be used for any other purpose, including, but not limited
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Case 1:21-cv-10779-LGS Document 39 Filed 05/09/22 Page 2 of 7

to, the preparation or trial of any other action involving these or other parties. Except as
provided in the following paragraph 4, all documents designated as Confidential shall not be
disclosed to any person except the following:
(a)

Parties. Parties to the action, including officers, directors of employees of

any party, or consultants engaged in the regular course by any party (whom, each party shall
instruct, must comply with this Order);
(b)

Counsel. Counsel for the Parties, including outside and in-house counsel,

and employees and agents of counsel, who have responsibility for the preparation and trial
of the action;
(c)

Consultants, Investigators and Experts. Consultants, investigators and

experts retained or consulted by the Parties or counsel for the Parties to assist in the
preparation, trial, and appeal of the action and who have agreed to be bound by this Order by
signing a certification in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A;
(d)

Witnesses. Witnesses at, or in preparation for, their deposition or trial, in

which event such witnesses shall only be shown the Confidential Information and shall not
be allowed to retain copies unless the respective witness has signed a certification in the
form attached hereto as Exhibit A;
(e)

Judicial Officers and Court Personnel. Judicial officers and personnel of

the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (including the
mediator); and
(f)

Court Reporters and Recorders. Stenographic reporters retained by the

parties to transcribe depositions.

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4.

The parties at present do not contemplate that any documents to be

produced will warrant a designation of “For Attorneys’ or Experts’ Eyes Only.” In the
event any party determines that any document(s) it shall produce warrants such
designation, that party shall affix to the document(s) the phrase “Highly Confidential [Proposed] for Attorneys’ or Experts’ Eyes Only”. The parties will thereafter meet and
confer about terms for handling the document(s) so designated, and enter into such
agreement between the parties, or agreement upon a proposed amendment or supplement
to this Order to be submitted to the Court, as they may agree is warranted. In the event
the parties have not reached any such agreement within 14 calendar days after the
document(s) have been produced with the designation “Highly Confidential - [Proposed]
for Attorneys’ or Experts’ Eyes Only”, the party producing the document(s) may, within
seven calendar days after the expiration of that fourteen-day period, file a letter motion
with this Court, in the manner provided in Judge Schofield’s Rule III.C.3, requesting and
amendment or supplement to this Order concerning the document(s). If such a motion is
timely filed, until such motion is decided by the Court the receiving party will not
disclose the document to any person other than its outside or in-house counsel or experts;
if such a motion is not timely filed, the document(s) may be handled and disclosed in the
manner provided in this Order for documents designated “Confidential.”
5.

Persons to whom Confidential Information is shown or disclosed pursuant

to paragraphs 3(c) and 3(d) above shall be advised that the Confidential Information is
subject to this Order and may only be disclosed and used under the terms of this Order.
6.

Any party who has received Confidential Information, and who is thereafter

compelled by any law, subpoena, Court order or other compulsory process (collectively,

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“compulsory process”) to disclose such Confidential Information to a person or in a manner
beyond the terms authorized in this Order, will use all reasonable efforts to promptly notify
the producing party of the request for or obligation to provide such disclosure. Any such
party shall also disclose only the particular Confidential Information required to be disclosed
by the compulsory process and shall make all reasonable efforts to protect any remaining
Confidential Information from disclosure in accordance with the terms of this Order.
7.

Confidential Information may be used during testimony in discovery

depositions, hearing and at the trial of this action, subject to the Federal Rules of Evidence
and applicable rulings of the Court, and may be used by the persons designated in Paragraph
3 to prepare for any trial, hearings, or depositions held in this action, under the terms of this
Order. Prior to the time of trial in this matter, counsel for the parties will confer with the
Court for the purpose of deciding how Confidential Information introduced into evidence
will be treated in the Court record and what protective instructions will be given to the jury
regarding the Confidential Information.
8.

Notwithstanding the designation of information as “Confidential” in

discovery, there is no presumption that such information shall be filed with the Court under
seal. Documents may be filed under seal only as provided in Judge Schofield’s Rule I.D.3.
9.

All social security numbers, taxpayer-identification numbers, birth-dates and

financial account numbers should be redacted from any and all Confidential documents
before use in any proceedings in this matter, including, but not limited to, depositions,
dispositive motions, or trial.
10. Any party may, on the record of any deposition or within twenty (20) days
after receipt of a copy of the transcript, designate all or any portion of the testimony or any

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exhibit thereto as Confidential Information under the terms of this Order, and such
testimony or exhibit shall be subject to the terms of this Order as set forth herein. Pending
the expiration of such twenty days, deposition transcripts and exhibits shall be treated as
Confidential Information in their entirety in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
11. Whenever a party objects in writing to the designation of discovery material
as Confidential Information, that party that produced the material may file a letter-motion
with the Court, in the manner provided in Judge Schofield’s Rule III.C.3, within fourteen
days after receipt of the written objection, seeking a ruling that such discovery material shall
be treated as confidential. If such a letter-motion is not filed within that fourteen-day period,
the discovery material shall cease to deemed and treated as Confidential Material. If such a
letter-motion is timely filed, until this Court enters an order changing the designation, the
discovery material shall be treated as Confidential Information as originally designated in
accordance with this Order.
12. The inadvertent or unintentional disclosure of Confidential Information shall
not be deemed a waiver in whole or in part of the confidential nature of the material
disclosed.
13. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 502, the inadvertent disclosure of
privileged communication shall not constitute a waiver of the privilege in this matter
provided the parties follow the steps set forth in Rule 502.
14. Nothing in this Order shall be intended or construed to limit the manner in
which a producing party may use, disclose, store, or otherwise treat its own Confidential
Information for purposes unrelated to this litigation.

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15. The provisions of this Order shall continue in effect with respect to any
Confidential Information unless expressly released by the party who has designated the
discovery material as Confidential Information, and such effectiveness shall survive the
entry of a final judgment in this case. Upon the conclusion of this litigation, all Confidential
Information shall within sixty (60) days either (i) be returned to the producing party, or
(ii) at the option of the receiving party, be destroyed and a certificate of destruction shall be
forwarded to the producing party; provided, however, that counsel for the parties are
permitted to retain in their litigation files copies of briefs, pleadings and other court
submissions, expert reports, and attorney work product, and provided further that all such
documents containing Confidential Information shall continue to be labeled and in
perpetuity be treated as “Confidential” in accordance with the terms and conditions of this
Order. “Conclusion of this litigation” shall be construed as the date thirty (30) days
following entry of a final, non-appealable order disposing of this action.
16. The Parties acknowledge that the Court retains discretion as to whether, in
Orders and Opinions, to afford confidential treatment to information that the parties have
redacted, sealed or designated as Confidential.
SO STIPULATED AND AGREED:
__________________________
Edward J. Bardelli
Attorney for Plaintiffs/
Counter-Defendants

__________________________
Edwin M. Baum
Attorney for Defendant/
Counter-Plaintiff

Dated: _____________

Dated: _____________

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Case 1:21-cv-10779-LGS Document 39 Filed 05/09/22 Page 7 of 7

EXHIBIT A
I have been informed by counsel that certain documents or information to be disclosed to me
in connection with the matter entitled Access Business Group International LLC, et al. v. Refresco
Beverages US Inc., Case No. 1:21-cv-10779-LGS (United States District Court - S.D.N.Y.)
have been designated as confidential. I have been informed that any such documents or information
labeled “Confidential” are confidential by Order of the Court and counsel has made that Order
available for my review.
I understand that I am bound by that Order with respect to the documents or information
labeled as “Confidential”. I hereby agree that I will comply with the terms of that Order and will not
disclose any information contained in such documents to any person other than as expressly
permitted by the Order. I further agree not to use any such information for any purpose other than
this litigation.

Print Name: ______________________
Sign Name: ______________________
Dated: ________

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