Carroll v. Oakley Trucking, Inc., et al

Filing 21

CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER - Signed by US Magistrate Judge Robert B. Jones, Jr on 11/13/2017. (Briggeman, N.)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
WESTERN DIVISION
File No. 5:17-CV-00357
WENDY G. CARROLL, ADMINISTRATOR
OF THE ESTATE OF THOMAS ANTHONY
CARROLL, DECEASED,
Plaintiff,
vs.

CONSENT PROTECTIVE

OAKLEY TRUCKING, INC., AND THAD
AUSTIN PITTMAN,

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O~ER
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Defendants.

Plaintiff and Defendants (the "Parties") agree that the above action may inv0lve the
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production or disclosure of personal, confidential, sensitive or proprietary business infotmation,
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or trade secrets (collectively referred to as "Confidential Information"), and hereby stipulate,
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subject to approval by the Court, to the following as a Protective Order which shall goyern the
production or disclosure of Confidential Information to ensure continued confidentiality during
the case.
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This Protective Order governs the production or disclosure of all Confidential
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Information produced by the parties during the course of discovery, hearings, or trialI in this
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action. Additionally, any portion of a deposition transcript, pleading, or other docum!ent into
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which Confidential Information is placed or quoted shall also be considered Confidential
Information.

DESIGNATION
In connection with this action, any non-public document, material, or information may be
designated as "CONFIDENTIAL". The producing party shall be obligated to designate only

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documents or information which it believes in good faith to be information within the Lope of
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Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

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The term "CONFIDENTIAL" applies to information,. testimony, documents, and data
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which is determined by the producing party, acting in good faith, to be non-public a~d to be
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proprietary, financial, business confidential information, or protected personal :medical
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information. The term "document" means all written, recorded, graphic, computer mai!ntained,
electronic, or digital data or material, regardless of its means of transmittal.

NOTICE AND MARKINGS
Any documents, material or information may be designated "CONFIDENTD\.L" by
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furnishing a separate written notice to the receiving party specifically identifying the items or
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their designation, or by stamping the legend "CONFIDENTIAL" on each page of the

do~uments,
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material, or information prior to production.
Any party may designate any portion or all of a deposition as Confidential Information by
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notifying the other parties on the record during the deposition or in writing within 15 days of the
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receipt of the transcript. Until expiration of the 15 day period, the entire deposition i will be
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treated as subject to protection against disclosure under this Order. Deponents shall not retain or
copy portions of the transcript of their depositions that contain Confidential Informalion not
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provided by them or the entities they represent or are associated with unless the depon:ent first
executes a written "Acknowledgement" in the form attached. A deponent who is not a p1rty or a
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representative of a party shall be furnished a copy of this Order before being examined about
Confidential Information.

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INADVERTENT FAILURE TO DESIGNATE
Failure to designate or stamp as "CONFIDENTIAL" at the time of production spall not
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be a waiver of the protection for Confidential Information, provided that counsel promptly
notifies the receiving party upon realizing the failure. However, the receiving party shall not be
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in violation of this Protective Order for any disclosure of information made prior to r~ceiving
such notice.
OBJECTION TO DESIGNATION
If a party receiving designated Confidential Information objects to the design~tion, it

shall treat the information as it is designated until the parties resolve the dispute by agreepient or
by order of the Court.
USE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
All Confidential Information as defined herein shall be used solely for the purpose of this
action, or any related appellate proceeding, and not for any other purpose whatsoever, iricluding
without limitation any other litigation, or any business or competitive purpose or function:.
Confidential Information which has been designated "CONFIDENTIAL" s~all be
disclosed only to:
(1)

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The counsel for any party in this action and the counsel's employees or
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contractors (such as photocopy services) who are assisting them in this action, and to any party's
employees, to the extent strictly necessary to prepare this case for this litigation;
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(2)

Consultants and expert witnesses who have been retained by the partY or its

attorneys for this action, provided that each such person first executes a written
"Acknowledgement" in the form attached;

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(3)

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Directors, officers, or employees of the parties and their parent companies who
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require the information to assist in the prosecution or defense of this action, including irt-house
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counsel of any party hereto;
(4)

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The Court and persons associated with or employed by the Court whose duties
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require access to the information;
(5)

Persons having personal knowledge of any such record by virtue of their having

prepared, received and/or reviewed that record prior to this litigation;
(6)

Any witness, but only to the extent that such witness' testimony invol!ves the

matters governed or otherwise affected by information or documents designated as Con:0dential
material, provided that each such witness first executes a written "Acknowledgement':' in the
form attached;
(7)

The officer taking, reporting, or videotaping a deposition and employees iof such

officer to the extent necessary to prepare the transcript of the deposition;
(8)

Any designated mediator who is assigned to hear this matter, and his or her staff;

(9)

Jurors and prospective jurors.

and

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Nothing herein shall restrict the persons identified above from making working c,pies for

use in the case, which working copies shall be automatically designated as "CONFIDENTIAL".
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As to those persons who sign the Acknowledgement form, the party provi9ing the
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Confidential

Information

to

such

persons

is

responsible

for

obtaining

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the , signed

Acknowledgement and shall have the obligation to maintain the Acknowledgement record.

If Confidential Information designated as "CONFIDENTIAL" is sought to be '.used or
introduced at or for a hearing, motion, or trial of this action, counsel for the party seeking to use

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or introduce such Confidential Information shall so advise the Court (such as pursuant to Local
Rule 79.2 for Sealed Documents) and request that the Court take such steps as it deems
appropriate to protect the confidentiality of the information.
All Confidential Information designated as "CONFIDENTIAL'', any copies thereof, and
the information contained therein, shall not be given, shown, made available to, or
communicated in any way to anyone, except those persons listed above, unless ordered by the
Court or done with the prior written consent of producing party's counsel, or as required by law.
The parties to this Order expressly reserve the right to seek any appropriate order
modifying this Order or imposing additional restrictions on discovery in this action, including an
order that production not be had.
If Confidential Information designated as "CONFIDENTIAL" is disclosed to any person

other than in the manner authorized by this Order, the party or counsel responsible for the
improper disclosure must immediately bring all pertinent facts relating to such disclosure to the
attention of the other Parties and their counsel, and without prejudice to the rights and remedies
of the other parties and their respective counsel, shall make every reasonable effort to prevent
further disclosure by them or by the person who was the recipient of such information.
Nothing in this Protective Order shall restrict in any way a designating party's use or
disclosure of its own Confidential Information. Such disclosure shall not waive the protection of
this Protective Order and shall not entitle other parties or their attorneys to disclose such
information in violation of it.
INADVERTENT DISCLOSURE OF PRIVILEGED INFORMATION
If a producing party inadvertently discloses to the receiving party information that is

privileged or otherwise immune from discovery, said producing party shall promptly upon

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discovery of such disclosure so advise the receiving party in writing and request that the item or
items of information be returned. It is further agreed that the receiving party will promptly
return such inadvertently produced item or items of information and all copies thereof upon
either (a) discovery by the receiving party of its inadvertent production, or (b) receiving a written
request for the return of such item or items of information. The party having returned such
inadvertently produced item or items of information may thereafter seek production of any such
documents in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
OBLIGATIONS OF PARTIES
Each of the parties named above and their counsel of record undertakes to abide by and
be bound by the provisions of this Order and to use due care to see that its provisions are known
and adhered to by those under its supervision or control. Nothing in this Protective Order shall
bar counsel from rendering advice to their client with respect to this litigation, and in the course
thereof, relying upon any Confidential Information, provided that in rendering such advice and
otherwise communicating with such clients, counsel shall not make specific disclosure of any
item so designated except as otherwise permitted by this Order.
TERMINATION OF LITIGATION
Within thirty (30) days of the final conclusion or final settlement of this litigation and any
appeal thereof, all parties subject to the terms hereof shall either (a) assemble and return to the
designating party all Confidential Information upon the request and at the option of the party
making the confidentiality designation or (b) destroy all Confidential Information, or the
producing party may waive the requirements of this sentence. The terms of this Protective Order
shall survive and remain in full force after the termination of this lawsuit and the Court shall
have jurisdiction over the parties, the non-parties who have signed and filed the

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Acknowledgement, their respective attorneys, and all persons to whom Confidential Information
has been disclosed for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Protective Order and/or
redressing any violation thereof. If the parties need court intervention about the requirements of
this paragraph, the ultimate disposition of the Confidential Information shall be subject to a final
order of the Court on the completion of the litigation.

ADDITIONAL PROTECTION
Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this Protective Order shall be deemed to preclude
any party from seeking and obtaining, on an appropriate showing, additional protection with
respect to the confidentiality of documents or other discovery material, or relief from this
Protective Order with respect to particular material designated hereunder.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina is responsible
for the interpretation and enforcement of this Protective Order.

All disputes concerning

Confidential Information produced under the protection of this Protective Order shall be resolved
by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Every individual
who receives any Confidential Information agrees to subject himself or herself to the jurisdiction
of this Court for the purpose of any proceedings related to performance under, compliance with,
or violation of this Order.

AGREED AND STIPULATED TO:
Respectfully submitted, this the

9th

day of November, 2017.

Isl Guy W Crabtree
GUY W. CRABTREE
NC State Bar# 8234
CRABTREE, CARPENTER & CONNOLLY, PLLC
1011 Broad Street
Durham, North Carolina 27705
Telephone: [phone]
[e-mail]
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THE JERNIGAN LAW FIRM
LEONARD T. JERNIGAN, JR.
State Bar No. 7180
[e-mail]
KRISTINA B. THOMPSON
State Bar No. 38053
[e-mail]
3105 Glenwood Avenue
Suite 300
Raleigh, North Carolina 27612
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
Attorneys for Plaintiff Wendy G. Carroll, Administrator of the Estate of Thomas Anthony
·
Carroll, Deceased
NEXSEN PRUET, PLLC
Isl James W Brvan
JAMES W. BRYAN
N.C. State Bar No. 16575
Jonathan W. Massell
N.C. State Bar No. 46235
P.O. Box 3463
Greensboro, NC 27402
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 336-387-8907
Email: [e-mail]
Email: j [e-mail]
Attorneys for Defendants Oakley Trucking, Inc. and Thad Austin Pittman

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
WESTERN DIVISION
File No. 5: 17-CV-00357
WENDY G. CARROLL, ADMINISTRATOR
OF THE ESTATE OF THOMAS ANTHONY
CARROLL, DECEASED,
Plaintiff,
vs.
OAKLEY TRUCKING, INC., AND THAD
AUSTIN PITTMAN,
Defendants.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, being duly sworn, deposes and says:

1.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (Statement of Employment)

2.
I have read the Consent Protective Order filed
, _ _,as entered
into by the parties in connection with Civil Action No. 5: 17-CV-00357, Eastern District of North
Carolina. I fully understand and agree to the restrictions on my use of the documen~s, records,
and other materials described in that Consent Protective Order and the information contained
herein. I agree to be bound by that Consent Protective Order.
3.
I understand that unauthorized disclosure of confidential information constitutes
contempt of court and may subject me to sanctions and damages.
4.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America;
that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed on: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

(Name - Print)

(Name - Corporate Non-Party)

(Signature)

BY: - - - - - - - - - - (Title)

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ORDER OF APPROVAL
IT IS ORDERED that the foregoing terms of the Consent Protective Order agreed to by
the parties, including the Acknowledgement form are approved, shall be made of record, and
shall govern the disclosure and use of confidential information in this action.

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