Evans v. Village Green Care Center, Ltd. et al

Filing 49

CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROTECTIVE ORDER - Signed by Chief Judge James C. Dever III on 5/18/2018. Sent to Jacqueline Evans at 260 Falling Leaf Dr. Raeford, NC 28376 via US Mail. (Briggeman, N.)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA

WESTERN DIVISION
NO. 5:16-cv-861-D
JACQUELINE EV ANS,
Plaintiff,

v.
VILLAGE GREEN CARE CENTER, LTD;
VILLAGE GREEN REAL ESTATE AND
DEVELOPMENT LLC; VILLAGE GREEN
REHABILITATION.
Defendants.

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CONFID.ENTIALITY AND
PROTECTIVE ORDER

THIS MATIER is before the Court upon the parties' Joint Motion for Confidentiality
and Protective Order, seeking a }Jrotective order to facilitate the discovery and disclosure of

confidential business, financial, personnel, and personal information in this action.
THE COURT, having considered the Motion and other appropriate matters of record,
hereby GRANTS the Motion.
Pursuant to Rule 26(c)(l) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and upon agreement of
the parties, and deeming it just and proper to do so, it is hereby ORDERED that:
1.

Scope of Order. This Order governs the handling and disclosure of aU materials

produced, given, exchanged, or filed herein by any party or witness during discovery and other
proceedings· in this action (which includes but i-:; not limited to all claims against all parties,
including third party claims, and mediation, arbitration, or other alternative dispute resolution

process, settlement proceedings and/or appeals) designated as "Confidential Information."

2.

Agreement on Use of Confidential Information. All Confidential Infonnation, as

defined and designated in acc9rdance with this Order, shall be used solely in the prosecution or
defense of this action, as defined above, and shall not be used or disclosed by any person for any
other purpose.

3.

"Document." When used in this Order, the term "document" means all vvritings,

·drawings, graphs, charts, recordings, computer disks and tapes, audiotapes, videotapes, and any
other documents as defined in Rule 34 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
4.

"Material.". When used in this Order, the term "material" means any document,

any answer to any interrogatory or other discovery request in this action, any portion of any

deposition (including deposition exhibits) in this action, and any other information produced,
given, or filed in this action.

5.

"Confidential Information." When used in this Order, the term "Confidential

Information" means a trade secret or other confidential or proprietary information including, but
not limited to, medical records, personnel and payroll records and files, :financial records and
data, business records and data, b.usiness policies and procedures, any information that would
place the party producing such infom1atio11 at a competitive disadvantage in the event such
information were released to competitors or to the general public, and any other information
which shall be designated as confidential pursuant to this Protective Order.
6.

Designation of Confidential Material.

A party or witness in this action may

designate material produced in the course of discovery by that party or witness as "Confidential
Information." The production or disclosure pursuant to the terms of this Order of Confidential
Information by a person shall not waive or prejudice the right of that person to object to the
.

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production or admissibility of documents or information in this or any other action. Any party

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who produces Confidential Information as defined in this Order or who designates material as
Confidential Information as set fort11 in this Paragraph shall be referred to as the "Designating
Paity." Any party who seeks to disclose to another party any material deemed to be Confidential
Infonnation pursuant to this Order shall be referred to as the "Disclosing Party."
Designation of material as Confidential 1nfom1ation shall be made as follows:
a.

In the case of documents furnished by the Designating Party, by writing,
typing, o.r stamping on the face of such document the legend
"CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION";

b.

In the case of discovery re8ponses, by responding separately to the
requests which elicit Confidential Information and by writing, typing or
stainping on each such page of such separate responses, or on the title or
cover page, the legend "CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION"; and

c.

In the case of deposition testimony, either by (i) designating the question
asked or the testimony given, at the time asked and/or given, as
Confidential Information, (if the confidential portion of a trfil1script cannot
be conveniently segregated then the- entire transcript or pleading shall be
deemed confidential), or (ii) by giving notice in writing to the reporter and
counsel of record for all parties within thirty (30) days after receipt of the
transcript 6f the portions containing Confidential Information, in which
event all paiiies shall appropriately mark their copies of the transcript.
Prior to the conclusion of this thirty (30) day period a.11d the party's
notification pursuant to this paragraph, both Plaintiff ai1d Defendant shall
maintain the deposition and all of its exhibits in strict confidence.

d.

7.

A party that fails to mark an item a~ CONFIDENTIAL INFOR1\1ATION ·
at the time of production may later correct its failure in writing,
accompanied by substitute copies of each document bearing the
appropriate confidentiality legend. Within five (5) days of receipt of the
substitute copies, Ille receiving party shall return, .certify the destruction
of, or mark as confidential the previously unmarked documents and all
copies, and shall subsequently treat such substituted documents as
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.

Scope of Pem1itted Disclosure. Except upon further order of the Court>

Confidential Information shall be disclosed only to the following persons:
a.

parties to this action;

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b.

the officers, directors, in-house counsel and their. staff, and employees of
the Defendant who are participating in the prosecution or defense of this
action (including but not limited to any mediation, arbitration, or any other
settlement process and appeals), or who o11lerwise have a need to know of
the Confidential Infonnation for purposes of the lawsuit;

c.

law films of record of the parties to this action and such firms' attorneys
and office staff;

d.

independent experts and consultants (including in-house experts and
consultants) consulted by or assisting a party in this action;

e.

a deponent, witness, or potential witness whom a party or a party's
counsel in good faith believes may have information relevant to this
action, not covered under Paragraphs 7(a) and 7(b), where the Confidential
Information is related to ·the questions asked to or the testimony of such
deponent or witness;
··

f.

court reporters, the Court, the staff of the Court, mediators, and the·
members of the jury.
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8.

Conditions of Disclosure to Experts or Witnesses. Prior to disclosure of

Confidential Infonnation to any person set forth in Paragrr;iphs 7(d) and 7(e) of this Order the

Disclosing Party shall inform such person that Confidential Information shall be used for the
purposes of tl1e prosecution or defense of this action only. The Disclosing Party also shall
present a copy of this Confidentiality Order to such person and have such person sign a statement
acknowledging that he/she is to be bound by the terms of said Order in the form of Exhibit A,
attached hereto. Any person described in Paragraphs 7(a), 7(b) and 7(c) of this Order is bound
by the provisions of this Order without the necessity of executing a Confidentiality Agreement.
All such persons shall be bound by the terms of the Confidentiality Order, and shall not permit
disclosure of Confidential Information other than pursuant to the tenns of this Confidentiality
Order. Parties shall keep a record of all persons to whom disclosure of Confidential Infom1ation
is made pursuant to Paragraphs 7(d) and 7(e), and parties shall retain in their possession, custody,
and control all Confidentiality Agreements signed by such persons. For good cause shown,

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parties shall make such records and Confidentiality Agreements available for inspection upon
reasonable request of any other party to this Order.

9.

Conditions of Other Disclosure. If a party des:ires to disclose any Confidential

Information to any person not described in Paragraph 7 of this Order, counsel for the Disclosing

Party shall infonn in writing the Designating Party at least ten (10) days in advance of such
disclosure (or such other time as agreed t~ by the parties

in writing) of the intent so to disclose,

including a general description of the materials to be disclosed, the designation given to such
material, and the name and address of the person to whom the disclosure is to be made. If the
Designating Party gives noti.ce of objection to such disclosure within the prescribed ten (10) day
period, such objection must be .resolved by the Court before the disclosure may be made. In the
event of any such objection, the Disclosing Party shall bear the burden of moving for resolution
of the dispute by the Court.
10.

Objection Procedure. Any dispute as to the designation of any materials as

confidential shall be resolved, by the Court upon motion of either party. The Desig'nating Party
shall bear the burden of showing good cause for the designation under Rule 26(c)(7) of the Rules
of Civil Procedure and this Order. During the period between the initial designation of the
material by the Designating Party and the Court's determination of the objecting-pruty's motion,
such material shall be treated as Confidential Information under this Agreement.
11.

Filing with Court. Before filing any information that has been designated

"CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION" with the Court, or any pleadings, motions or other papers
that disclose any such infonnation, parties shall confer with the party that produced the
information so designated about how it should be filed.

If the party that produced the

information so designated desires that the materials be filed under seal, then the filing party shall

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file the materials in accordance with Local Civil Rule 79.2, EDNC, with notice served upon the
producing party.
however.

The filing of the materials under seal sha11 not be binding on the Court,

Within l 0 days of service of such notice, the party desiring that the materials be

maintained under seal shall file with the Court a Motion to. Seal and supporting memorandum of
law specifying the interests which would be served by restricting public access to the
infonnation. The party that initially filed the materials need not file any such Motion to Seal or
otherwise defend another party's desire that the materials remain sealed. The Court will grant
the Motion to Seal only after providing adequate notice to the public and opportunity for
interested parties to object, after carefully weighing the interests advanced by the movant and
those interests favoring public access to judicial documents and records, and upon finding that
the interests advanced by the movant ovenide any common

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or constitutional right of public

access which may attach to the information. Documents submitted under seal in accordance with
this paragraph will remain under seal pending the Court's ruling. If the party desiring that the
information be maintained under seal does not timely file a Motion to Seal, then the materials

will be deemed unsealed, without need for order of the Court.
A public version of the brief or affidavit containing or attachlng Confidential In:fonnation
with said Confidential Inf01mation having been redacted shall be filed with the Clerk with a
notation made on the cover sheet and the first page of the brief or affidavit that certain pages of
the brief or affidavit are filed under seal, subject to this Confidentiality Order, and have been

deleted from the public version of the document.
12.

Nothing in this Order shall prohibit disclosure of a document which has been

designated Confidential Infonnation to the author of such document or any person(s) who
received such document.

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13.

Trial. This Order is concerned only with procedures for the disclosure and use of

A separate order will be

Confidential Information during the pretrial stages of this action.
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entered at the appropriate time regarding the use of Confidential Information during the trial or
trials of any matter or issue herein.
14.

Return of Information. With the exception of material maintained in the files of

the Court, all Confidential Information shall be returned to the party or witness producing such
information within a reasonable period after the final disposition of this action, including the
conclusion of any and all appeals.
15.

Enforcement of Order. Each person who receives Confidential Information in this

action submits himself or herself to the personal jurisdiction of the Court, wherever he or she
shall be found, solely for the purposes of the enforcement of this Order.
16.

Modification in Writing. The parties may modify this Order at any time by an

agreement in writing, signed by both parties. Any such modification shall be put in tho form of
an order modifying this Order and shall become effective upon the date on which it is entered by
the Court. In addition, either patty may move for an order modifying this Order upon good
cause shown. Prior to any such application, the party seeking to modify this Order will confer
with the other party to attempt to reach an agreement with respect to such modification.
17.

Effective Date of Order. It is the intention of the parties to submit this Order for

approval as an Order of this Comt. Nonetheless, the agreement of the terms of this document is
effective as -between the parties immediately upon execution by the parties. Any designation of
confidentiality hereunder shall not be affected by reason of the fa<..'t it may have taken place prior
to or in lieu of a final confirmation of this Order by this Court.

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tv\ ~

IT IS SO ORDERED, this the~ day of

, 2018.

CONSENTED TO BY:

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By:

Jae eline
260 Falli
eaf Dr.
Raeford, NC 28376
Phone: [phone]
Email: jacque-?[e-mail]

Plaintiff

Attorneys for Defendants

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EXHIBIT "A"
AGREEMENT CONCERNING CONJ1,IDENTIAL INll'ORMATION SUBJECT TO
PROTECTIVE ORDER ENTERED IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROI,INA
The undersigned hereby acknowledges that he or she has read the Confidentiality and
Protective Order in the action entitled Jacqueline .Evans v. Village Green Care Center, Ltd, et
al., No. 5: 16-CV-861-D, understands the te1ms thereof and agrees to be bound by those terms as
if a signatory thereto. The undersigned fmther understa11ds that violation of ihe Confidentiality
and Protective Order shall be punishable by the contempt powers of the Court, including
imposition of a fine in the amount of damages sustained by a Designating Patty and an award of
costs and attorneys' fees. ·

(Date)

(Signature)

Name (Print)

Business address:

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