Stivala v. City of Mt. Holly
Filing
12
CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER. Signed by Magistrate Judge David Keesler on 12/16/16. (mga)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
CIVIL ACTION NO.: 3:16-CV-279-RJC-DCK
LENORA STIVALA,
Plaintiff,
v.
CITY OF MOUNT HOLLY,
Defendant.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER
Pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and upon agreement of counsel, and
deeming it just and proper to do so, the Court enters the following Order: This Order governs the handling
and disclosure of all materials produced, given or filed herein by the parties and designated as
“CONFIDENTIAL.” For purposes of this Order, CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION includes, but is not
limited to, confidential personnel information pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160A-168.
WHEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1.
“CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION” as used herein means:
a. All information and documents made confidential by N.C. Gen. Stat. §
160A-
168;
b. Any documents or information which are contained in a personnel file
maintained by any party;
c. Any documents or information derived from a criminal investigative record as
defined by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1.4, except to the extent such information or
documents are deemed public record by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1.4(c).
2.
Any party producing documents may designate the documents as Confidential Information
by marking each page of the document “CONFIDENTIAL.” Alternatively, when producing a multi-page
document, all of which it contends is Confidential Information, a party may designate the entire document
as Confidential Information by marking the cover page “CONFIDENTIAL.” The confidential documents
shall be disclosed only for official use in this action, and for no other purpose.
3.
Certain information disclosed at the deposition of any witness, including any party, may
be designated as Confidential Information by indicating on the record at the deposition that the specific
testimony is Confidential Information subject to the provisions of this Order. Alternatively, a party or
witness may designate information disclosed at such deposition as Confidential Information by notifying
all parties in writing, within thirty (30) days of receipt of the transcript or other date as agreed upon by the
parties, of the specific pages and lines of the transcript which are deemed Confidential Information. Each
party shall attach a copy of such written statement to the face of the transcript and each copy thereof in its
possession, custody or control. All depositions shall be treated as Confidential Information for a period of
thirty (30) days after a full and complete transcript of the deposition is available or other date as agreed
upon by the parties.
4.
The CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION shall not be otherwise reviewed, disclosed or
released to anyone other than:
a. Any party to this action;
b. Counsel for any party, the legal associates, clerical or other support staff of such
counsel assisting in preparation of this action;
c. Agents, representatives and employees of either party, as is necessary to prepare
this case for litigation;
d. Subject to the provision of ¶ 5 below, independent experts employed by counsel
for the purpose of assisting in this action;
e. The court, appellate court, court reporter and courtroom personnel at any
deposition, pretrial hearing, or other proceedings held in connection with this
action;
f.
Subject to ¶ 5 below, any potential witness as necessary to prepare this case for
litigation; provided, that no such person shall be permitted to maintain a copy of
2
any document designated as Confidential Information; and that no Confidential
Information may be disclosed to any person under this paragraph until such person
has read and signed a copy of this Order, thereby indicating his/her willingness to
be bound by its provisions, which shall be maintained in confidence by the
disclosing party subject to any order of disclosure by the court;
g. Any other person or entity to whom the Court orders or allows disclosure after
notice and opportunity for hearing.
5.
Disclosure of CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION pursuant to this Order shall be handled
as follows:
a. Any person described in subparagraphs 3(a), (b), (c), (e), and (g) of this Order is bound by
the provisions of this Order without the necessity of executing a separate confidentiality
agreement;
b. Prior to making disclosures to any person set forth in subparagraph 4(d) and (f) of this
Order, the party disclosing the CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION shall inform any
persons to whom disclosure is made that CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION shall be used
for the purposes of the prosecution or defense of this action only, and that said person shall
be bound by the terms of this Order and shall execute an Agreement to be bound by the
this Order. The parties shall obtain from such persons a written statement in the form of
Exhibit A, attached hereto. A record of all persons to whom disclosures are made shall be
kept and all the written statements signed by those persons shall be retained in the
possession, custody, and control of counsel by whom the person is retained; provided,
however, the disclosing party shall have no obligation to disclose such records to the
opposing party or any other person unless ordered to do so by the Court.
All
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION, and any documents containing information derived
therefrom, including copies of such documents, shall be returned to counsel by persons
given access to them as soon as practicable, but excluding any materials which in good
3
faith judgment of counsel are work product materials. Counsel shall be permitted to
maintain a file copy of all the documents subject to the terms of this Order.
6.
The production or disclosure of CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION pursuant to the terms
of this Order by the producing party 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 relevancy,
admissibility, discoverability or any other objection under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or the
Federal Rules of Evidence in connection with any proceeding in this action.
7.
No CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION produced pursuant to this Order shall be used for
any purpose other than for relevant and proper conduct of this litigation.
8.
If any such confidential documents or information are used in connection with a deposition
or other discovery or documents filed with the court, or are quoted or referenced in any memorandum,
pleading or other paper filed with the court, the deposition transcript, filing or paper shall be submitted to
the court with a request that the document be placed under seal and appropriately marked to indicate that
the transcript, filing or paper is subject to the terms of this Order, or redacted so as to eliminate sensitive
personal information.
9.
The designation of documents or information as “CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION”
shall not be conclusive for purposes of the substantive issues in this case. In addition, any party is entitled
to challenge, through an appropriate Motion to the Court, any designation herein by any other party at any
time during this litigation.
10.
The inadvertent, unintentional or in camera disclosure of confidential documents and
information shall not, under any circumstances, be deemed a waiver, in whole or in part, of any party’s
claims of confidentiality.
11. Within fifteen (15) days after the entry of final judgment or dismissal in this litigation
(including appeals or petitions for review), the parties’ counsel, their staff, and all experts and/or consultants
for the parties shall return all confidential documents produced pursuant to this Order (including all xeroxed
4
copies of the same) to the party producing said documents or shall destroy the same, including any
electronically stored copies, with a written certification by the party's counsel of record that all such
documents and copies of the same, whether hard copies or electronically stored copies, have in fact, been
returned or destroyed; provided, counsel shall be permitted to maintain such documents for their case files,
which shall continue to be subject to the terms of this Order.
12.
Each person who receives CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION submits himself or herself
to the personal jurisdiction of this Court, wherever he or she shall be, for the enforcement of the provisions
contained in this Order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Signed: December 16, 2016
5
WE CONSENT:
CRANFILL SUMNER & HARTZOG LLP
BY:
/s/ Stephanie H. Webster
______
Patrick H. Flanagan, NC Bar #17407
Stephanie H. Webster, NC Bar #12164
Attorneys for Defendant
P.O. Box 30787
Charlotte, NC 28230
Telephone (704) 332-8300
Facsimile (704) 332-9994
phf@cshlaw.com
WATSON LAW FIRM
BY:
/s/ Carlos D. Watson_____________
Carlos D. Watson, NC State #28339
Attorney for Plaintiff
112 South Tryon Street, Suite 1570
Charlotte, NC 28284
Telephone (704) 333-4663
Facsimile (704) 333-7727
cdwatson@watsonlawpllc.com
6
EXHIBIT A
Agreement concerning materials covered by a Protective Order entered in the United
States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
The Undersigned acknowledges that she/he has read the Protective Order entered by the
Court dated _____________________, 2016, in the Civil Action No. 1:16-cv-00279 entitled
Lenora Stivala v. City of Mount Holly, and 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
Protective Order and understands (1) a 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
Court regarding this Order survives any settlement, discontinuance, dismissal, judgment, or other
disposition of this action.
____________________________
(Date)
_________________________________________________
(Signature)
Subscribed and sworn before me,
This ____________ day of _________________________, 20_____.
_________________________________________________
NOTARY PUBLIC
My commission expires:_____________________________
7
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?