Lucas v. Family Dollar Stores of North Carolina, Inc

Filing 17

PROTECTIVE ORDER on consent. Signed by Magistrate Judge David Keesler on 08/11/2014. (jlk)

IN UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
Civil Action No. 3:14-CV-00209-MOC-DCK

STEPHEN C. LUCAS,
Plaintiff,
v.

CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER

FAMILY DOLLAR STORES OF NORTH
CAROLINA, INC.,
Defendant.
The parties to this action, Defendant Family Dollar Stores of North Carolina, Inc.
(“Family Dollar” or “Defendant”) and Plaintiff Stephen C. Lucas (“Lucas” or “Plaintiff”), by
their respective counsel, hereby stipulate and request that the Court enter a mutual protective
order pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 as follows:
1.

The Protective Order shall be entered pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure.
2.

The Protective Order shall govern all materials deemed to be “Confidential

Information.” Such Confidential Information shall include the following:
(a)

Any and all documents referring or related to confidential and proprietary
human resources or business information; financial records of the parties;
compensation of Defendant’s current or former personnel; policies,
procedures and/or training materials of Defendant; and/or Defendant’s
organizational structure;

(b)

Any documents from the personnel, medical or workers’ compensation
file of any current or former employee or contractor;

(c)

Any documents relating to the medical and/or health information of any of
Defendant’s current or former employees or contractors, including
Plaintiff;

(d)
3.

Any portions of depositions (audio or video) where Confidential
Information is disclosed or used as exhibits.

In the case of documents and the information contained therein, designation of

Confidential Information produced shall be made by placing the following legend on the face of
the document and each page so designated “CONFIDENTIAL” or otherwise expressly identified
as confidential. Defendant will use its best efforts to limit the number of documents designated
Confidential.
4.

Confidential Information shall be held in confidence by each qualified recipient to

whom it is disclosed, shall be used only for purposes of this action, shall not be used for any
business purpose, and shall not be disclosed to any person who is not a qualified recipient. All
produced Confidential Information shall be carefully maintained so as to preclude access by
persons who are not qualified recipients.
5.

Qualified recipients shall include only the following:
(a)
(b)

In-house counsel and law firms for each party and the secretarial, clerical
and paralegal staff of each;

(c)

Deposition notaries and staff;

(d)

Persons other than legal counsel who have been retained or specially
employed by a party as an expert witness for purposes of this lawsuit or to
perform investigative work or fact research;

(e)

Deponents during the course of their depositions or potential witnesses of
this case; and

(f)
6.

Court officials and staff;

The parties to this litigation, their officers and professional employees.

Each counsel shall be responsible for providing notice of the Protective Order and

the terms therein to persons to whom they disclose “Confidential Information,” as defined by the
terms of the Protective Order.

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Persons to whom confidential information is shown shall be informed of the terms of this
Order and advised that its breach may be punished or sanctioned as contempt of the Court. Such
deponents may be shown Confidential materials during their deposition but shall not be
permitted to keep copies of said Confidential materials nor any portion of the deposition
transcript reflecting the Confidential Information.
If either party objects to the claims that information should be deemed Confidential, that
party’s counsel shall inform opposing counsel in writing within thirty (30) days of receipt of the
Confidential materials that the information should not be so deemed, and the parties shall attempt
first to dispose of such disputes in good faith and on an informal basis. If the parties are unable
to resolve their dispute, they may present a motion to the Court objecting to such status. The
information shall continue to have Confidential status during the pendency of any such motion.
7.

Any party wishing to file any Confidential materials, including portions of any

depositions marked Confidential, must first present a motion to seal the Confidential materials,
in accordance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Local Rules. No Party is authorized
to file any document designated as Confidential in the public record without an Order from the
Court stating whether such documents should be filed under seal.
8.

No copies of Confidential Information shall be made except by or on behalf of

attorneys of record, in-house counsel or the parties in this action. Any person making copies of
such information shall maintain all copies within their possession or the possession of those
entitled to access to such information under the Protective Order.
9.

All information produced in this action, whether deemed Confidential or not, shall

be used only for purposes of this litigation and not for any other purpose.

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10.

The termination of this action shall not relieve the parties and persons obligated

hereunder from their responsibility to maintain the confidentiality of information designated
confidential pursuant to this Order.
11.

Upon termination of this action by entry of a final judgment (inclusive of any

appeals or petitions for review), the parties may request the return of all previously furnished
Confidential Information, including any copies thereof, and each person or party to whom such
Confidential Information has been furnished or produced shall be obligated to return it within
thirty (30) days of said request.
12.

Nothing in this Order shall be construed as an admission as to the relevance,

authenticity, foundation or admissibility of any document, material, transcript, or other
information.
13.

Nothing in the Protective Order shall be deemed to preclude any party from

seeking and obtaining, on an appropriate showing, a modification of this Order.
14.

The Clerk of Court will forward a certified copy of the Protective Order to all

counsel of record at the addresses listed in the signature lines below.
SO ORDERED.
Signed: August 11, 2014

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CONSENTED TO BY:
/s/ Kirk J. Angel
Kirk J. Angel, NC Bar No. 33559
Email: [e-mail]
Michael Harman, NC Bar No. 43802
Email: [e-mail]
The Angel Law Firm, PLLC
PO Box 1296
Concord, NC 28026

/ s/ Julie K. Adams_____________
Julie K. Adams, Bar No. 32773
Email: [e-mail]
LITTLER MENDELSON
Bank of America Corporate Center
100 North Tryon Street, Suite 4150
Charlotte, NC 28202
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile:
704.333.4005

Attorneys for Plaintiff
Attorney for Defendant

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