D'Anna v. TWC Administration, LLC
Filing
23
CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER - Signed by District Judge Louise Wood Flanagan on 11/14/2013. (Baker, C.)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
SOUTHERN DIVISION
Civil Action No: 7:13-cv-89 FL
JUDITH D’ANNA,
)
)
Plaintiff,
)
v.
)
)
TWC Administration LLC,
)
successor-in-interest to TIME WARNER
)
ENTERTAINMENT-ADVANCE/NEWHOUSE )
PARTNERSHIP,
)
)
Defendant.
)
_________________________________________ )
CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER
Pursuant to E.D.N.C. Local Rule 79.2(e) and Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure, upon joint motion by the parties, with the consent of the parties, and it appearing that
the discovery process in this action may involve the production of information that a party may
contend is confidential and/or proprietary, and it further appearing that good cause exists for the
entry of an Order limiting the disclosure of such information;
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that:
1.
“Confidential Information” as used herein means: personnel information of
Plaintiff and other current or former employees of Defendant; Plaintiff’s personal information,
including medical, financial and tax records; and, all proprietary, business, financial or other
commercially sensitive information, whether documentary or otherwise, designated as
“confidential” and delivered, produced or disclosed by any party in this action, or by a third
party, voluntarily or in response to an interrogatory, a request for production of documents, a
deposition question, subpoena or otherwise. The designation of documents or information as
2240794.1
“Confidential Information” shall not be conclusive for purposes of any substantive issues in this
case.
2.
All documents produced or information provided or disclosed by any party in
discovery in this action or by a third party as identified in paragraph 1 shall be treated as
confidential and the use or disclosure of such documents or information shall be governed by the
terms of this Order, provided that the party or third party producing or otherwise disclosing such
documents or information designates such documents or information as Confidential Information
at the time of production or disclosure or as otherwise provided herein.
3.
Confidential Information, including copies or summaries thereof, shall be used
only for the prosecution or defense of this action (including, but not limited to, any mediation,
arbitration, or other settlement process, as well as appeals of this action) and shall not be used or
employed for any other purpose whatsoever. Confidential Information shall not be disclosed or
made available to anyone except:
a.
the Court;
b.
the parties to this action and officers, directors or employees of the parties
who are actively participating in the prosecution or defense of this action;
c.
counsel for the parties to this action and employees or independent
contractors of said counsel;
d.
experts or consultants specifically retained by the parties or their attorneys
to assist them in the preparation of this case or to serve as expert witnesses at the trial of
this action;
e.
third party witnesses or potential witnesses whom counsel reasonably
deem necessary for the preparation and trial of this action;
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f.
court reporters engaged to record depositions, hearings or trials in this
action; and
g.
4.
mediators assigned to this case or selected by agreement of the parties.
Disclosure of Confidential Information pursuant to this Order shall be handled as
follows:
a.
Any person described in subparagraphs 3(a), (b), (c), (f) and (g) of this
Order is bound by the provisions of this Order without the necessity of executing a
confidentiality agreement;
b.
Before Confidential Information is disclosed to any person set forth in
subparagraphs 3(d) and (e) of this Order, the party disclosing the information shall inform
the person to whom the disclosure is to be made that Confidential Information shall be
used for the purposes of the prosecution or defense of this action only, and shall obtain
from the person to whom the disclosure is to be made a signed confidentiality agreement
in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A; and
c.
As long as Confidential Information is handled in accordance with this
Order, this Order shall not be construed as prohibiting or restricting the use of
Confidential Information during depositions, any hearing, the trial of this matter, or any
appellate proceeding. Similarly, no party shall be deemed to have waived any objections
as to the admissibility of any Confidential Information into evidence in connection with
any proceeding in this action.
5.
Any Confidential Information which is filed with the Court shall be filed under
seal pursuant to the Case Management Order in this action. Each time a party seeks to file under
seal Confidential Information, said party shall accompany the request with a motion to seal and a
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supporting memorandum of law specifying: (a) the exact documents, things, and/or information,
or portions thereof, for which filing under seal is requested; (b) where it is necessary for the court
to determine the source of the public’s right to access before a request to seal may be evaluated,
whether any such request to seal seeks to overcome the common law or the First Amendment
presumption to access; (c) the specific qualities of the material at issue which justify sealing such
material, taking into account the balance of competing interests in access; (d) the reasons why
alternatives to sealing are inadequate; and, (e) whether there is consent to the motion. Finally, in
addition to the motion and supporting memorandum, said party must set out such findings in a
proposed order to seal for the court.
6.
If a party or witness desires to designate any portion of a deposition as
Confidential Information, the designating party or witness shall have thirty (30) days after receipt
of the transcript to designate portions of the transcript or exhibits thereto as Confidential
Information and inform counsel of record in writing of such designation.
7.
Nothing in this Order shall prevent the disclosure of Confidential Information
beyond the terms of this Order if the party or third party that produced the information consents
in advance in writing.
8.
This order shall not limit or in any way restrict the right of any person or entity to
use, disseminate, dispose of, or otherwise benefit from documents or information obtained (i)
other than through discovery in this action, or (ii) from any person or entity with authority to
provide such documents or information independent of any confidentiality requirement imposed
by this Order.
9.
If any party hereto disagrees with the designation of any documents or
information as Confidential Information, counsel shall attempt to resolve the disagreement on an
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informal basis. If it is necessary to present the dispute to the Court for resolution, the material in
question shall continue to be treated as confidential under the terms of this Order unless and until
the Court issues a final ruling that the material is not of a confidential nature. In the event of any
such dispute, the party who designated the documents or information as Confidential Information
shall have the burden of proving the confidential nature of such documents or information.
10.
This Order is without prejudice to the right of any party or witness to seek
modification or amendment of the Order by motion to the Court, or to seek and obtain additional
protection with respect to Confidential Information as such party may consider appropriate.
11.
This Order shall remain in effect for the period of this litigation and subsequent to
its termination so as to protect the confidentiality of the Confidential Information.
12.
Ultimate disposition of materials and information protected by this Order is
subject to a final order of the Court upon completion of litigation. However, in the absence of a
final order of the Court addressing the disposition of Confidential Information, the parties agree
that counsel for each party shall, not later than thirty (30) days after the termination of this
litigation, collect from any experts, consultants or third party witnesses to whom any documents
containing Confidential Information were disclosed pursuant to the terms of this Order, any and
all documents containing Confidential Information, including without limitation, any copies or
excerpts of such documents. Counsel of record for each party shall be permitted to retain in their
files a copy of all documents containing information subject to this Order obtained during the
course of this litigation; provided, however, the prohibitions against the use or disclosure of
Confidential Information as set forth above shall continue to apply to said counsel.
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It is so ordered this 14th day of November, 2013.
__________________________________________
Louise W. Flanagan
United States District Judge
CONSENTED TO:
/s/ Katherine Lewis Parker
Katherine Lewis Parker
N.C. State Bar No. 36263
/s/ Shalanna L. Pirtle
Shalanna L. Pirtle
N.C. State Bar No. 36996
TIN FULTON WALKER AND OWEN,
PLLC
228 North Front Street, Suite 201
Wilmington, North Carolina 28401
Telephone: (910) 228-5200
Facsimile: (910) 401-1155
Email: kparker@tinfulton.com
PARKER POE ADAMS & BERNSTEIN LLP
Three Wells Fargo Center
401 South Tryon Street, Suite 3000
Charlotte, North Carolina 28202
Telephone: (704) 335-6628
Facsimile: (704) 335-4486
Email: shalannapirtle@parkerpoe.com
Attorney for Plaintiff
Attorney for Defendant
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EXHIBIT 1
EXHIBIT A
CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
I have read and am familiar with the terms of the Protective Order governing the
disclosure of confidential information in the case of Judith D’Anna v. TWC Administration
LLC, successor-in-interest to Time Warner Entertainment-Advance/Newhouse
Partnership and I agree to abide by all the terms of said Order and not to reveal or otherwise
communicate any of the information disclosed to me pursuant thereto to anyone except in
accordance with the terms of said Order. I agree not to make use of any information or material
obtained pursuant to that Order other than for purposes of this litigation.
I also agree to return to counsel of record not later than thirty (30) days after the
termination of this litigation any and all documents in my possession containing information
which is the subject of said Order (whether such information is in the form of notes, memoranda,
reports or other written or electronic communications or documents prepared by any person at
any time containing information covered by the terms of said Order).
Name: ____________________________________
Date: ____________________________________
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