Jacobs, et al v. General Motors LLC, et al

Filing 36

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER - Signed by District Judge Louise Wood Flanagan on 07/24/2015. (Baker, C.)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
SOUTHERN DIVISION
Civil Action No. 7:14-cv-00257-FL
MARSHA JACOBS, Administratrix of the
Estate of MITCHELL LEE JACOBS;
KRISTEN L. MOORE, individually, and
H. CLIFTON HESTER, as Guardian Ad Litem
for A.J., a Minor,
Plaintiffs,
v.
GENERAL MOTORS LLC;
GENERAL MOTORS COMPANY;
JTEKT NORTH AMERICA, INC.;
JTEKT AUTOMOTIVE VIRGINIA, INC.; and
JTEKT CORPORATION,
Defendants.

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
The parties, by and through their respective counsel of record, stipulate:
1.
26(c).

Good cause exists for the issuance of a protective order pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P.

This litigation will require the Defendants to disclose confidential engineering and

business information, including but not limited to formulae, patterns, programs, devices,
compilations of information, methods, or processes concerning their respective products which
fall within the definition of a “trade secret” as § 66-152 of the North Carolina Trade Secrets
Protection Act defines that term. Such information, if disclosed, would give competitors an
unfair commercial advantage and would result in substantial economic harm to the Defendants.
Each Defendant, therefore, takes extensive measures to keep this information confidential and
derives value from maintaining that confidentiality.

2.

Defendants may designate items of discovery or other information produced or

disclosed to the parties herein as being confidential and subject to protective order, which
designation shall make such items and all copies, prints, summaries, or other reproductions of
such information subject to this Order. All such documents or other tangible items produced by
any Defendant shall be stamped or labeled clearly to indicate that such material is subject to
protective order, and testimony or other types of information based upon such documents or
tangible items shall be designated similarly in clear terms.
3.

Defendants shall designate as being confidential under protective order such

documents and materials which it has determined in good faith to constitute or contain a trade
secret, competitively sensitive information or other confidential research, development, technical
or commercial information.
4.

Information and documents subject to this Order may be disclosed only to (a) the

parties herein, (b) attorneys for the parties and their paralegal and clerical staffs, (c) experts
retained by the parties for assistance in trial preparation or for testimony. Disclosure shall be
made to such persons only as necessary for the prosecution of this lawsuit and only after the
person to whom disclosure is made has been provided with a copy of this Order and has agreed
to be bound by it. In the case of retained experts, acknowledgment of this Order and of the
expert’s agreement to be bound by it shall be in writing addressed to and maintained by the
retaining counsel. Designated information shall not be disclosed to any person or in any manner
not specified in this Order or used for any purpose other than the prosecution of this lawsuit.
5.

Each time a party seeks to file under seal confidential documents, things, and/or

information, said party shall accompany the request with a motion to seal and a supporting
memorandum of law specifying (a) the exact documents, things, and/or information, or portions

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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.

The parties shall act to preserve the confidentiality of designated information. If

such information is filed with the Court, it shall be filed under seal and with notification of the
application of this Order. This Order shall not be construed to preclude or limit any party’s use
of confidential material at trial, but any such confidential material that is offered as an exhibit at
trial shall either be filed and maintained by the Court under seal or returned to the party who
offered it into evidence and retained by such party until the conclusion of any appeal or the
passing of the deadline for appeal without any appeal having been taken.
7.

In the event that counsel for a party receiving items designated as confidential

under protective order disagrees with the propriety of any Defendant’s designation of any item as
being confidential under protective order, counsel for the receiving party shall serve a written
notice upon that Defendant’s counsel within thirty (30) days after production of the item or items
by any party producing confidential documents, specifying the item or items in question. In the
event that an agreement cannot be reached between counsel concerning the propriety of the
designation, counsel for the receiving party may file a motion seeking court adjudication of the
propriety of the designation under applicable court rules or statutes. Any such item or items

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shall continue to be treated as confidential and subject to this Order until such time as the court
rules upon the motion.
8.

If any party wishes to modify this order, the parties shall first request such

modification from each other, and, if no satisfactory agreement is reached, may petition the court
for modification at any time prior to termination of this lawsuit. Modification of this Order after
termination of this lawsuit, by judgment, settlement or otherwise, shall not be permitted. Until
modification is granted by agreement or order, the terms of this Order govern. Provision for use
of such information at trial shall be similarly made by agreement or by pretrial order governing
the use and protection of the record.
9.

This Order shall not preclude the parties from exercising any rights or raising any

objections otherwise available to them under the rules of discovery and evidence.
10.

This Order shall not preclude the court or its personnel from reviewing any

documents or information designated as confidential or proprietary as necessary for the conduct
of this litigation.
11.

Upon reaching agreement concerning settlement terms, or upon termination of

this lawsuit by judgment, settlement or otherwise, parties who have received items designated as
confidential under protective order shall return to each Defendant, through each Defendant’s
counsel of record, all of the documents and information subject to this Order, including all
copies, prints, summaries, and other reproductions of such information, in the possession of the
party, the party’s counsel and staff, and the party’s retained experts. Alternatively, at the option
of counsel for any Defendant, counsel for parties who have received items designated as
confidential under protective order from that Defendant may destroy all documents and
information, in the possession of the party, the party’s counsel and staff, and the party’s retained

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experts. Counsel for the parties who have received from any Defendant items designated as
confidential under protective order will certify in writing to that Defendant’s counsel compliance
with this Order and will disclose the names of all experts to whom such information was
disclosed. Each retained expert will also certify in writing to Defendants’ counsel compliance
with this Order in the form of the affidavit attached hereto as Exhibit A.
IT IS SO STIPULATED.
s/ Matthew J. Dixon
By ___________________________________
Matthew J. Dixon (NCSB No. 24208)
MATTHEW J. DIXON, PLLC
P.O. Box 3090
Elizabethtown, NC 28337
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 910.872.0007
Email: [e-mail]
Attorneys for Plaintiffs

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By s/ Frederick W. Rom
___________________________________
Frederick W. Rom (NCSB No. 26675)
WOMBLE CARLYLE SANDRIDGE
& RICE, LLP
150 Fayetteville Street, Suite 2100
Raleigh, NC 27601
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 919.7553.2150
Email: [e-mail]
Local Rule 83.1 Counsel for Defendants
JTEKT Corporation
JTEKT Automotive North America, Inc, and
JTEKT Automotive of Virginia, Inc.

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s/ Kent B. Hanson
By ___________________________________
Kent B. Hanson (Pro Hac Vice)
Paul E. D. Darsow (Pro Hac Vice)
HANSON BOLKCOM LAW GROUP, LTD.
527 Marquette Avenue, Suite 2300
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 612.342.2899
Email: [e-mail]
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Defendant General Motors LLC
and
Steven C. Lawrence (NCSB No. 12464)
Stacey E. Tally (NCSB No. 39669)
ANDERSON, JOHNSON, LAWRENCE
& BUTLER, L.L.P.
109 Green Street, Suite 204 (28301)
Post Office Drawer 2737
Fayetteville, NC 28302-2737
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 910.483.5005
Email: [e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Local Rule 83.1 Counsel for Defendant
General Motors LLC

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IT IS SO ORDERED this 24th day of July, 2015.
__________________________________________
Honorable Louise W. Flanagan
Judge of the United States District Court

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EXHIBIT A
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
SOUTHERN DIVISION
Civil Action No. 7:14-cv-00257-FL
MARSHA JACOBS, Administratrix of the
Estate of MITCHELL LEE JACOBS;
KRISTEN L. MOORE, individually, and
H. CLIFTON HESTER, as Guardian Ad Litem
for A.J., a Minor,

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Plaintiffs,
v.
GENERAL MOTORS LLC;
GENERAL MOTORS COMPANY;
JTEKT NORTH AMERICA, INC.;
JTEKT AUTOMOTIVE VIRGINIA, INC.; and
JTEKT CORPORATION,
Defendants.

AFFIDAVIT
STATE OF ___________________ )
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COUNTY OF _________________)
I, ___________________________________, hereby affirm that I have read the
foregoing Stipulated Protective Order entered in the above-entitled matter, and agree to be bound
by its terms, and have fully complied with all its terms and provisions.

____________________________________
Affiant
Subscribed to and sworn to before me
this ___ day of ___________, 2015.
____________________________________
Notary Public
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