Clark-Copeland et al v. Hardy et al

Filing 18

CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER. Signed by Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer on 4/24/2014. (eef)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
Civil Action No.: 3:13-cv-00635-RJC-DSC
Lena Clark Copeland, Sandi Shear,
Sherien Hardy and Makena Dixon,
Plaintiffs,
-vsBank of America, NA,
Defendant,

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CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER
Pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“Fed. R. Civ. P.”), and
upon stipulation of the parties, as evidenced by the endorsement of counsel herein, and with the
concurrence of the Court,
1.

Whereas plaintiffs’ Complaint includes, inter alia, claims arising under the

Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 1201, et seq., Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. (“Title VII”), and claims in violation
of the FMLA, 29 U.S.C. § 2615.
2.

Whereas the parties herein represent to the Court that it will be necessary for both

parties to utilize documents containing personal, confidential, and proprietary information,
including medical information regarding, among other things, plaintiffs’ alleged disability.
3.

Whereas the Court concurs that the parties have an important interest in protecting

the confidentiality of that information given its sensitive, proprietary and personal nature.

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It is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED that:
4.

Defendant may designate as “Confidential” any document or information it

produces or receives in this matter which contains information regarding the personnel records of
defendant’s employees, as well as any document or information containing proprietary business
information or sensitive customer information.
5.

Plaintiffs may designate as “Confidential” any document or information they

produce or receive in this matter which contains information regarding medical information, tax
or wage records or other sensitive financial employment or personnel information.
6.

Any document or information designated as “Confidential” shall be used by the

parties only in connection with the above-captioned action and shall not be disclosed to, or used
by, any person other than those identified hereafter under the conditions and limitations
described herein.
7.

Any document or information designated as “Confidential” may only be disclosed

by either party to:
a. the Court, as long as such document or information is filed under seal and the
Clerk is hereby directed to accept such documents or information under seal;
b. counsel of record in this action and their client(s);
c. law clerks, paralegals, legal assistants, stenographic and clerical employees of
the parties’ counsel who are assisting in the prosecution of this matter and are
operating under the direct supervision of counsel;
d. independent and internal experts working on behalf of one of the parties for
the purposes of this litigation;
e. court reporters and support personnel of such court reporters retained in
connection with depositions taken;
f. any mediator engaged by the named parties to this action; and
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g. a witness or deponent in this action when the Confidential information is
related to the witness or deponent’s testimony or knowledge of the matters in
this lawsuit and the witness or deponent agrees to the terms of this Order.
8.

If any “Confidential” document or information is used during a deposition, parties

may designate the portion of the transcript (including exhibits) that contains “Confidential”
material by making a statement to such effect on the record in the course of the deposition. The
parties also may designate as “Confidential” any portions of the transcript (including exhibits
thereto) by written notice to the other party’s counsel within twenty (20) days following receipt
of the transcript of such deposition.
9.

Any person to whom either party discloses documents or information pursuant to

this Order shall receive or be shown a photocopy of this Order and shall agree to abide by its
provisions.
10.

Each person examining any information or document designated as

“Confidential” and disclosed by either party hereby agrees to be subject to the jurisdiction of this
Court for contempt and any other appropriate proceedings in the event of any violation of this
Order.
11.

No person who examines any document or information designated “Confidential”

and disclosed by either party shall disseminate orally, in writing, or by any other means the
document or any information contained therein to any other person not also authorized to
examine the document or information.
12.

All documents and information designated as “Confidential” shall retain that

designation and shall remain subject to this Order until such time, if ever, as the Court renders a
decision that the document or information designated as “Confidential” shall not be covered by

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the terms of this Order and all proceedings and appeals challenging such decisions have been
concluded.
13.

Upon request, no later than thirty (30) days after this Court (or subsequent

appellate court, whichever is later) enters a Final order in this action, each party shall retrieve all
copies of materials designated “Confidential” from their or its own files, and from experts or
other persons to whom they or it has provided such materials consistent with this Protective
Order, and shall do one of the following: (1) return the materials, including all copies thereof, to
the producing party; (2) certify in writing to the producing party that all such material has been
destroyed; or (3) certify in writing to the producing party that all such material has been retained
only by the attorneys appearing in this action and has been segregated from the other information
and used for no purposes other than to preserve a record of this litigation.
14.

If a party objects to a “Confidential” designation under this Order, the objecting

party shall notify the disclosing party in writing. The party designating the material objected to as
Protected shall then have the burden of demonstrating the basis for such designation. Within ten
(10) business days of the receipt of such written notice, or at such other time as agreed upon by
counsel for the parties, counsel for the disclosing party and the objecting party shall meet-andconfer in an effort to resolve their differences. If the parties cannot resolve their disagreement, the
objecting party may apply to the Court for a ruling on the disclosing party’s designation of
“Confidential”, and the disclosing party will continue to bear the burden of proving that the
materials at issue are entitled to Confidential status. While any such application is pending, the
documents or materials subject to that application will remain Confidential until the Court rules.
Nothing in this Order shall be construed as preventing any party from objecting to the designation

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of any documents as Confidential or preventing any party from seeking further protection for any
material it produces in discovery.
15.

Nothing in this Protective Order shall limit the parties’ ability to use or disclose

any documents or information in the ordinary course of business. The parties may file under seal
any documents or information designated as “Confidential.”
16.

Nothing in this Protective Order shall limit the parties’ ability to use any

documents or information designated as “Confidential” at trial in this action, and both parties
reserve their right to seek further protection from the Court regarding the use of confidential
information at trial.
17.

Nothing in this Protective Order shall be construed to require any party to notify

or obtain permission from the other party before introducing materials designated as
“Confidential” at trial or examining witnesses about materials designated privileged or
“Confidential” during depositions or at trial, beyond the notice required by the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure, Local Rules or order of the Court.
18.

The Clerk hereby is directed to accept as filed under seal all documents or

information designated as “Confidential” and filed as such using the Court’s CM/ECF system.
19.

Nothing herein shall prejudice plaintiffs’ or defendant’s right or ability to petition

the Court for additional or different relief.
20.

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

the Court upon completion of the litigation.

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SO ORDERED.
Signed: April 24, 2014

Consented to:
/s/ John E. Rogers, II________________
John E. Rogers, II (N.C. Bar No. 35811)
P.O. Box 5663
233 S. Pine Street
Spartanburg, SC 29304
864.591.2365
864.585.3090 (Facsimile)
T. Ryan Langley (pro hac vice pending)
Hodge & Langley Law Firm
PO Box 2765
Spartanburg, SC 29304
864.585.3873
864.585.6485 (Facsimile)

/s/ Bruce M. Steen__________________
Bruce M. Steen (N.C. Bar No. 30222)
[e-mail]
Susan P. Dion (N.C. Bar No. 28032)
[e-mail]
McGuireWoods LLP
201 North Tryon Street, Suite 3000
Charlotte, North Carolina 28202
704.353.6244
704.353.6200 (Facsimile)
ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANT

ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFFS

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