Rouse v. United Healthcare Services, Inc.

Filing 17

STIPULATED CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER. Signed by Senior Judge Graham Mullen on 1/28/2014. (eef)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:13-cv-211-GCM
POINSETTA ROUSE
Plaintiff,
v.
UNITED HEALTHCARE SERVICES,
INC.
Defendant.

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STIPULATED CONSENT
PROTECTIVE ORDER

This matter is before the Court pursuant to the agreement of pro se Plaintiff Poinsetta
Rouse (“Plaintiff”) and counsel for Defendant United Healthcare Services, Inc. (“Defendant”)
for entry of a Stipulated Consent Protective Order pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure. In the course of discovery in this action, the parties will have reason to request
and exchange confidential information, including but not limited to personal, business, financial,
investigatory, and proprietary information with respect to Plaintiff’s and Defendant’s discovery
requests. In addition, the parties will have reason to request and exchange information which
may be confidential pursuant to laws protecting the confidentiality of such information. Plaintiff
and counsel for Defendant have deemed it to be in the best interest of both parties to facilitate the
discovery process by agreeing to maintain such information as Confidential and to restrict the
dissemination of such information.
Accordingly, pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and upon
agreement of Plaintiff and counsel for Defendant, good cause having been shown, and the Court
deeming it just and proper to do so, it is hereby ORDERED that:

1.

This Order governs the handling and disclosure of all materials produced, given,

or filed herein by the parties and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” during the discovery phase
of this action. A separate order will be entered at the appropriate time regarding the use of
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION during the trial or trials of any matter or issue herein. For
purposes of this Order, CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION includes, but is not limited to,
confidential personal, business, financial, and proprietary information with respect to Plaintiff’s
and Defendants’ discovery requests.

For purposes of this Order, CONFIDENTIAL

INFORMATION also includes, but is not limited to, information which is protected from
disclosure by applicable laws.
2.

Definitions.
a.

“Document” means all writings, drawings, graphs, charts, recordings, and

any other documents as defined in the parties’ discovery requests and pursuant to Rule 34 of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
b.

“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.
c.

“Parties” means Plaintiff Poinsetta Rouse and Defendant United Healthcare

Services, Inc.
3.

Procedure for Designating Information as Confidential.
a.

A party or witness may designate as CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

any material or document produced in the course of discovery that contains confidential
information by writing, typing, or stamping on the face of such material the words
“CONFIDENTIAL”, or by otherwise notifying Plaintiff or counsel for the Defendant in writing,

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and, in the case of deposition transcripts and exhibits, also the court reporter, at the time of the
production of the document or within 20 days of receipt of the deposition transcript. In the event
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION is contained in any written response to a discovery request,
in any deposition transcript, or in any exhibit thereto, the confidential portion of such response,
transcript, or exhibit shall be separately and clearly marked, with the words “CONFIDENTIAL”
placed thereon.
b.

In the event confidential, proprietary or sensitive material is inadvertently

produced without placing the designation “CONFIDENTIAL” thereon, the party may,
subsequent to the production (or subsequent to the 20-day period for designating deposition
transcripts), designate the material as CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. In such event, the
material shall be treated in accordance with the terms of this Order from the time of the
designation.
c.

Should a party object to the designation of any material as

CONFIDENTIAL, and provided that there is no agreement with respect to such designation, a
party may appeal to the Court for a ruling that the material shall not be so treated. Until the
Court enters an order, if any, changing the designation of the material, it shall be treated as
CONFIDENTIAL as provided in this Order.
4.

Disclosure and Use of Confidential Information.
a.

Provided that Plaintiff, Defendant, counsel for Plaintiff or counsel for

Defendant shall adhere strictly to the provisions of this Order with respect to all materials
designated as Confidential, Plaintiff or counsel for the Defendant may have access to, inspect
and copy CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION sought through legitimate discovery means
(except as described below), and no objection shall be raised to the production of any

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information or documents, or the answering to any interrogatories or deposition questions, on the
grounds that said information, documents or answers are or may be considered confidential by
the producing party, unless said information was inadvertently produced and/or such information
was intended to be confidential when originally disclosed.
b.

The production or disclosure of CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

pursuant to the terms of this Order by the producing party shall not waive or prejudice the right
of the producing party to object to the production or admissibility of documents or information
on grounds other than confidentiality in this action or on grounds in any other action. It is
specifically agreed that making the materials or documents available for inspection and the
production of the materials or documents shall not constitute a waiver by the parties of any claim
of confidentiality, and the production of such materials or documents shall not be considered as
an acknowledgment that the materials or documents may be admissible into evidence at the trial
of this action.
c.

Except

upon

further

order

of

the

Court,

CONFIDENTIAL

INFORMATION, shall be disclosed only to Plaintiff, and counsel for the Defendant in this
action; the Parties, their agents, including but not limited to counsel retained by Plaintiff who
provides material assistance in the legal representation of Plaintiff, Defendant counsel’s legal
assistants and other relevant staff members; outside companies engaged by Plaintiff or
Defendant’s counsel for the parties to photocopy such documents; or current or former
employees of Defendant who provide material assistance in the legal representation of the
Defendant; a deponent in the action (during a deposition or in preparation therefrom) when the
Confidential materials are materially related to the questions asked to or testimony of such
deponent; Defendants’ insurance representatives; any court reporter utilized for depositions in

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the course of this litigation and their staff, for purposes of preparing transcripts; experts
consulted or assisting the parties in this action; mediators, arbitrators, or special masters
attempting to assist in resolving or adjudicating all or any portion of this dispute; and the Court
and its regularly employed staff.
d.

All CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION shall be used solely in the good

faith prosecution or defense of this action and shall not be used or disclosed by any person for
any other purpose.
e.

Any person other than Plaintiff, counsel of record, employees of counsel,

the court, its personnel, court reporters and their staff must execute a form as is attached hereto
as Exhibit A prior to the disclosure of CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. Plaintiff and counsel
for Defendants shall keep a record of all persons to whom disclosures are made and shall retain
in their possession, custody, and control all the written statements signed by those persons. All
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION, and any documents containing information contained
therein, including copies of such documents, shall be returned to Plaintiff, or her counsel, or
counsel for Defendants by persons given access to them.
6.

Procedure for Filing Documents under Seal.

When a party seeks to file

confidential documents, things and/or information, including confidential portions of any
transcript, a party shall submit such materials to the Court consistent with the rules of this Court
for filing Sealed Documents which shall at a minimum be endorsed with the title of this action
and a statement substantially in the following form: “Filed Under Seal Pursuant to Protective
Order”.

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7.

Disposition of Documents.
a.

After the final disposition of this action, including the conclusion of any

and all appeals, all CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION maintained any sealed files of the Court
shall be returned to Plaintiff or counsel for the Defendant filing such CONFIDENTIAL
INFORMATION.
b.

After termination of this action, each receiving party shall return all

documents marked “CONFIDENTIAL” of the conveying party in their possession, custody or
control, except that Plaintiff and counsel for Defendant may retain one copy of each item.
c.

The ultimate disposition of protected materials shall be subject to a final

order of the court upon completion of the litigation.
8.

General Terms.
a.

Each person who receives CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION submits

himself or herself to the personal jurisdiction of the Court, wherever he or she shall be, for the
enforcement of this Order. This jurisdiction shall survive the termination of this action.
b.

Nothing in this protective order shall require disclosure of material which

the conveying party contends is protected from disclosure by the attorney-client privilege, or as
constituting attorney work product materials.
c.

This protective order shall not prevent either party from applying to the

court for relief therefrom, or from applying to the court for further or additional protective
orders, or from agreeing between themselves to modification of this protective order, subject to
the approval of the court.
d.

This protective order may be modified only by further Order of the Court.

It is so ORDERED this 28th day of January, 2014.

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Signed: January 28, 2014

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AGREED TO this 17th day of January, 2014.

/s/ Poinsetta Rouse
Poinsetta Rouse
8615 Panglemont Drive
Charlotte, NC 28269
(980)-272-9381
Pro Se Plaintiff

/s/ Ann H. Smith
Ann H. Smith
N.C. State Bar No. 23090
Jackson Lewis LLP
1400 Crescent Green Drive, Suite 215
Cary, NC 27518
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Attorneys for Defendant

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EXHIBIT A
Agreement concerning material covered by a Consent
Protective Order entered in the United States District Court,
Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division
The undersigned hereby acknowledges that she/he has read the Order entered by the
Court dated __________________, 2014, in the action entitled Poinsetta Rouse v. United
Healthcare Services, Inc., 3:13-cv-211-GCM, understands the terms thereof, and agrees to be
bound by such terms. The undersigned hereby acknowledges that she/he is subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina with
regard to this order and understands (1) the violation of the Order shall subject the offender to
such penalties, damages and other relief as may be permitted by law, and (2) that the jurisdiction
of the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina regarding this
Order survives any settlement, discontinuance, dismissal, judgment, or other disposition of this
action.

_________________________________
(Date)

________________________________________
(Signature)

4830-8040-7576, v. 1

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