United States of America et al v. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority
Filing
45
PROTECTIVE ORDER REGARDING CONFIDENTIALITY. Signed by Magistrate Judge David Keesler on 3/20/17. (mga)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
CASE NO.: 3:16-CV-311-RJC-DCK
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA,
Plaintiffs,
v.
PROTECTIVE ORDER
REGARDING CONFIDENTIALITY
THE CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG
HOSPITAL AUTHORITY, d/b/a
CAROLINAS HEALTHCARE SYSTEM,
Defendant.
WHEREAS the United States of America and State of North Carolina (“Plaintiffs”)
filed this civil antitrust action against the Defendant;
WHEREAS the information relevant to the issues in this action will likely include
commercially-sensitive and/or competitive health care information, such as information
pertaining to present or future business strategies, costs, and margins, and may include
personal health information;
WHEREAS Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(c)(1)(G) provides that the Court may, for good cause
shown, require that a “trade secret, or other confidential research, development, or
commercial information not be revealed or be revealed only in a specified way;”
WHEREAS the Court and the parties seek to facilitate orderly and efficient party
and third-party discovery to “secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination” of
this action, Fed.R.Civ.P. 1;
WHEREAS the parties consent to the entry of this Protective Order Regarding
Confidentiality; and
WHEREAS the Court hereby finds that there is good cause to enter this Protective
Order Regarding Confidentiality to shield commercially-sensitive, competitive health care
and personal health information;
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the following restrictions and procedures
shall apply to Materials provided by any Producing Person that contain Confidential
Information or Highly Confidential Information as defined herein.
A. Definitions
For purposes of this Order, the following definitions apply:
1. “Confidential Information” means any Material which contains any “trade secret or
other confidential research, development, or commercial information,” Fed.R.Civ.P.
26(c)(1)(G); protected personal information including protected personal health
information; Protected Health Information, as that term is defined by the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act, 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and 164; and competitive health
care information, as defined in Chapter 131E of the North Carolina General Statutes.
2. “Highly Confidential Information” means any Confidential Information that the
Producing Person reasonably believes to be so sensitive that it is entitled to extraordinary
protections.
3. “Investigation Materials” means any Materials provided by any Producing Person,
either voluntarily or under compulsory process, to any party in response to Plaintiffs’ pre-
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complaint inquiry into the matters at issue in this action, including statements under oath
and any exhibits thereto.
4. “Materials” means any document, information, or transcript of testimony that is
either (a) Investigation Materials or (b) provided to any party in connection with the
litigation of this action.
5. “Producing Person” means any person that provides or has provided Materials.
6. “DiCesare v. CHS” or “state court” refers to a civil action presently pending in the
Superior Court Division of the General Court of Justice of Mecklenburg County and
assigned to the North Carolina Business Court entitled “Christopher DiCesare, James
Little, and Johanna Macarthur, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated,
Plaintiffs, v. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority, d/b/a Carolinas HealthCare
System, Defendant” and bearing civil docket number 16-CvS-16404.
B. Protection of Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information in
Investigation Materials
7. Within ten business days of the Court’s entry of this Order, each party must send
by email, facsimile, or overnight delivery a copy of this Order to each non-party Producing
Person (or, if represented by counsel, the non-party Producing Person’s counsel) that
provided to that party any Investigation Materials relevant to this action.
8. A Producing Person shall have 60 days after receiving a copy of this Order (the
“Designation Period”) to designate as Confidential Information or Highly Confidential
Information any Investigation Materials to the extent the Producing Person determines, in
good faith, that the Materials include Confidential Information or Highly Confidential
Information, and that such designation is necessary to protect the interests of the Producing
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Person. Such Investigation Materials may be so designated, if they have not already been
designated, by providing written notice by overnight mail or email to the party to which
the Investigation Materials were produced that includes (i) copies of the Investigation
Materials stamped with the legend “CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION” or “HIGHLY
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION” as appropriate or (ii) identification of the
document(s) and page number(s), or page and line number of testimony, containing the
Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information. Until the expiration of this
Designation Period, all Investigation Materials will be treated as Highly Confidential
Information in their entirety.
9. Counsel for Plaintiffs and Defendant to be notified are as follows:
For Plaintiff United States:
John R. Read
U.S. Department of Justice
450 Fifth Street NW, Suite 4000
Washington, DC 20530
John.Read@usdoj.gov
For Plaintiff State of North Carolina:
K.D. Sturgis
Special Deputy Attorney General
North Carolina Department of Justice
P.O. Box 629
Raleigh, NC 27602
KSturgis@ncdoj.gov
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For Defendant:
James P. Cooney III
Suite 3500
One Wells Fargo Center
301 South College Street
Charlotte, North Carolina 28202
JCooney@wcsr.com
10. If a non-party Producing Person determines that this Order does not adequately
protect its Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information, it may, within 30
days after receipt of a copy of this Order, seek additional protection from the Court for its
Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information. If a non-party Producing
Person seeks additional protection from the Court, any Investigation Materials for which
additional protection has been sought will not be provided to other persons until the Court
has ruled.
C. Protection of Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information in
Discovery
11. Whenever discovery is sought from any non-party in this action, a copy of this
Order must accompany the discovery request or subpoena, unless a party has already
provided the non-party with a copy of this Order. Non-parties may designate Materials as
Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information pursuant to the procedures
set forth in this Order.
12. Any Producing Person (including through counsel) may designate all or any part of
any Materials as Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information to the extent
the Producing Person determines, in good faith, that the Materials include Confidential
Information or Highly Confidential Information, and that such designation is necessary to
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protect the interests of the Producing Person. For designations of Confidential Information
or Highly Confidential Information that occur after entry of this Order, the designations
shall be made by using the labels as appropriate: “CONFIDENTIAL – PRODUCED
PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –
PRODUCED PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER”.
13. All transcripts of depositions, including deposition exhibits, taken in this action
after entry of this Order will be treated as Highly Confidential Information in their entirety
for 21 days after the date a copy of the final transcript has been made available to the
deponent (or to the deponent’s counsel, if applicable) for review. It is the obligation of the
first party that noticed the deposition to arrange for the final transcript to be furnished to
the deponent within five business days of receipt, unless the deponent has arranged to
receive a copy of the final transcript directly from the court reporter. During the 21 days
following receipt of the final transcript, the deponent may designate all or any part of the
testimony including exhibits as Confidential Information or Highly Confidential
Information. Such designations must be provided in writing by the deponent to all parties.
For purposes of this paragraph, a transcript that is available for the deponent to read-andsign is considered a final transcript.
14. Any production of Materials not designated as Confidential Information or Highly
Confidential Information will not be deemed a waiver of any future claim of confidentiality
concerning such Materials if the Producing Person later designates the Materials as
Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information. If at any time prior to the
trial of this action, a Producing Person realizes that it should have designated as
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Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information any Materials that Person
previously produced during discovery in this action, it may so designate such Materials by
notifying the parties in writing. The parties shall thereafter treat the Materials pursuant to
the Producing Person’s new designation under the terms of this Order. The disclosure of
any information for which disclosure was proper when made will not be deemed improper
regardless of any such subsequent confidentiality designation.
15. Inadvertent production of any document provided by any Producing Person in this
litigation, including in response to any discovery request, subpoena, or agreement by any
party or non-party, that the Producing Person later determines in good faith should have
been withheld from production on grounds of a privilege, including the work product
doctrine (collectively referred to hereinafter as an “Inadvertently Produced Privileged
Document”), will not be deemed to waive any privilege or work product protection, subject
to the following provisions:
a. The Producing Person may request the return of any Inadvertently Produced
Privileged Document by identifying the Inadvertently Produced Privileged Document and
stating the basis for the claim that the Document should have been withheld and providing
a privilege log that provides the information provided by Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(5) and the
identification of (1) all recipients of the document as reflected on the document and in that
document’s metadata, if applicable, and (2) the files or sources from which the document
was collected. If a Producing Person requests the return, pursuant to this paragraph, of such
an Inadvertently Produced Privileged Document then in the possession of one or more
parties, the possessing parties shall, within five (5) business days, sequester, destroy, or
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return to the requesting party or non-party, the Inadvertently Produced Privileged
Document and all copies thereof, provided, however, that the receiving party may retain
one copy of such Inadvertently Produced Privileged Document for the sole purpose of
challenging the assertion of privilege by the producing party, in which case: (1) the
receiving party shall notify the producing party in writing of its intention to retain a copy
for such purpose within ten business days of the receipt of the notice demanding return of
such Inadvertently Produced Privileged Document, and (2) either party may thereafter seek
a ruling from the Court with respect to the issue of whether the Inadvertently Produced
Privileged Document is indeed privileged, whether by way of a motion to compel, motion
for a protective order, or otherwise. All such motions shall be submitted in camera. Absent
an order from the Court, no Inadvertently Produced Privileged Document shall be used for
any purpose other than for challenging an assertion of privilege in accordance with the
terms of this Paragraph. Absent the Court’s ruling that the Inadvertently Produced
Privileged Document is not subject to a valid privilege claim, the possessing party must
promptly expunge from any other document or material any information solely derived
from the Inadvertently Produced Privileged Document.
b. No party may assert as a ground for challenging privilege the mere fact of
the inadvertent production. Nothing in this Order shall preclude a party from arguing based
on the underlying facts and circumstances that the production of the allegedly inadvertently
produced document was not inadvertent or that conduct since production of the allegedly
inadvertently produced document constitutes a waiver.
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c. If the request for return of an Inadvertently Produced Privilege Document
involves redaction of the Document, the redacted version of the Document must be
provided within ten (10) business days together with a privilege log that includes the
information required by Fed.R.Civ.P 26(b)(5) and the identification of (1) all recipients of
the document as reflected on the document and in that document’s metadata, if applicable,
and (2) the files or sources from which the document was collected.
d. If the request for return of an Inadvertently Produced Privilege Document
occurs during the taking of a deposition or shortly before the occurrence of a deposition,
the Producing Person’s counsel, the examining counsel and defending counsel shall meet
and confer in good faith at the earliest possible opportunity to determine appropriate steps
under the circumstances, consistent with this protocol. In the event the claim of privilege
is withdrawn or the Court determines the document to be not subject to a valid claim of
privilege, if counsel for the parties and other defending counsel do not agree otherwise, the
Court shall determine any appropriate remedy, including whether and to what extent a
reopening of the deposition may be necessary including a reopening that would have the
effect of extending the time limit for a duration of a deposition. Nothing in this Paragraph
prohibits examining counsel to voir dire a deponent about the matters set forth in
Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(b)(5) concerning the Document.
e. If an expert report or expert’s testimony uses a document that another party
identifies as an Inadvertently Produced Privileged Document after service of the expert’s
report or rendition of the expert’s testimony, then the party sponsoring the expert report or
expert testimony will, subject to the procedures in this Order, and if necessary, remove any
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reference to the Inadvertently Produced Privileged Document from the expert’s report or
expert’s testimony and be allowed to substitute other documents or information for the
Inadvertently Produced Privileged Document. Neither the expert’s report not the expert’s
testimony can be stricken in whole on the ground that the expert’s report or expert’s
testimony had previously relied on an Inadvertently Produced Privileged Document. In the
event that an expert’s report or expert’s testimony has relied on an Inadvertently Produced
Privileged Document, the parties agree to meet and confer on a schedule to allow the party
propounding an implicated expert report (whether an initial, response, or rebuttal report)
to modify or supplement such expert report within a reasonable period of time.
16. Public Records Requests.
a. During the course of this litigation, and within 5 business days of the receipt
by Plaintiff State of North Carolina of a request under the North Carolina Public Records
Act, N.C. GEN. STAT. § 132 (2016), to inspect, examine, or copy Materials in its possession,
custody, or control, counsel for the North Carolina Department of Justice must provide
notice of such request to each Producing Person of such Materials. Absent an Order from
this Court, the North Carolina Department of Justice must not disclose any Confidential
Information or Highly Confidential Information pursuant to any such request. In addition,
communications between any person at the North Carolina Department of Justice and any
person at the United States Department of Justice made pursuant to a privileged commoninterest in the joint prosecution of this action are considered trial preparation materials. As
such, Plaintiff State of North Carolina may not disclose such communications under the
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North Carolina Public Records Act except with the consent of the United States
Department of Justice.
b. During the course of this litigation, and within 5 business days of the receipt
by Defendant, The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority, of a request under the North
Carolina Public Records Act, N.C. GEN. STAT. § 132 (2016), to inspect, examine, or copy
Materials in its possession, custody, or control, counsel for Defendant must provide notice
of such request to each Producing Person of such Materials. Absent an Order from this
Court, Defendant must not disclose any Producing Person’s Confidential Information or
Highly Confidential Information pursuant to any such request.
D. Challenges to Designation of Confidential Information or Highly Confidential
Information
17. Any party may challenge any designation of any Materials as Confidential
Information or Highly Confidential Information. In the event of such a challenge, counsel
shall make a good faith effort to resolve the dispute, and in the absence of a resolution, the
party challenging the designation may thereafter file a motion seeking resolution by the
Court. The designated information shall be treated in accordance with its confidentiality
designation under this Order until the Court rules on the motion.
18. Nothing in this Order constitutes an admission by any party that Confidential
Information or Highly Confidential Information disclosed in this action is relevant or
admissible. Each party specifically reserves the right to object to the use or admissibility
of any Materials designated as Confidential Information or Highly Confidential
Information, in accordance with applicable law.
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E. Disclosure of Confidential Information and Highly Confidential Information
19. Unless otherwise ordered by this Court, or otherwise provided in this Order,
Confidential Information and Highly Confidential Information will be held and used by the
person receiving the Confidential Information and Highly Confidential Information solely
in connection with the above-captioned action.
20. Any Materials that contain Confidential Information shall not be disclosed to any
person, except:
a. The Court and all persons assisting the Court in this action, including court
reporters and members of the Clerk’s Office.
b. Plaintiffs’ attorneys and employees, and independent contractors retained
by any Plaintiff to assist in the prosecution of this action or otherwise assist in its work
(including testifying or consulting experts and their support staff).
c. Outside counsel acting for the Defendant in this action, and independent
contractors retained by the Defendant to assist outside counsel in the litigation of this action
or otherwise assist in its work (including testifying or consulting experts and their support
staff).
d. Outside vendors or service providers (such as copy-service providers and
document-management consultants) retained by any party to assist in the prosecution or
defense of this action or otherwise assist in its work only on the condition that each such
person shall be asked to sign an agreement to be bound by this Order in the form attached
as Exhibit A.
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e. Authors, addressees, and recipients of any particular Materials designated
as Confidential Information, solely to the extent that they have previously had lawful
access to the particular Materials disclosed or to be disclosed.
f. Persons (and their counsel) whom any Plaintiff or Defendant believes, in
good faith, to have previously had lawful access to any Material designated as Confidential
Information, or who have been participants in a communication that is the subject of the
designated Confidential Information and from whom verification of or other information
about that access or participation is sought, solely to the extent of disclosing such
Confidential Information to which they may have had lawful access or that is the subject
of the communication in which they may have participated; provided that, unless and until
the person or their counsel confirms that the person had prior lawful access or was a
participant, only as much of the Confidential Information may be disclosed as may be
necessary to confirm the person’s prior lawful access or participation; and
g. No more than two in-house lawyers (and necessary support staff) for the
Defendant in this action (“CHS’s Selected In-House Lawyers”) may have access to
Confidential Information (but not Highly Confidential Information) of a Producing Person
that is not the Defendant. Defendant shall provide to Plaintiffs and to any Producing Person
who has Confidential Information that may be disclosed to CHS’s Selected In-House
Lawyers (a) the identities of CHS’s Selected In-House Lawyers (and all necessary support
staff) and (b) a signed declaration from each of CHS’s Selected In-House Lawyers and all
necessary support staff declaring that he/she has read this Protective Order, understands
that he/she may use Confidential Information (that is not the Defendant’s Confidential
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Information) only for the purpose of this litigation (or the case of DiCesare v. CHS pending
in state court), and will comply with and be personally bound by this Protective
Order. Neither Defendant’s Executive Vice-President and General Counsel nor any lawyer
who either reports directly to Defendant’s Board (other than to report to the Board on this
litigation or the state court litigation), or supervises, advises or counsels Managed Health
Resources or any of Defendant’s contracting or negotiations with any payor may serve as
a CHS Selected In-House Lawyer. Necessary support staff shall not have responsibility for
or participation in supporting the Executive Vice-President and General Counsel or any
lawyer who either reports directly to Defendant’s Board (other than to report to the Board
on this litigation or the state court litigation) or in matters involving Managed Health
Resources or any other contracting or negotiations with any payor.
21. Highly Confidential Information may be disclosed only to any person falling within
categories (a) through (f) of Paragraph 20.
22. In the event that a party intends to disclose Highly Confidential Information to a
consultant or expert who works, or has a present plan to work, either as an employee or a
consultant in the healthcare industry and who negotiates or consults on the negotiations, or
has any role in the review or approval of such negotiations, between healthcare providers
located in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia and health insurers (an “Industry
Participant”), then such party (the “Notifying Party”) shall notify the Producing Person,
and provide ten (10) business days written notice during which the Producing Person may
seek an Order from the Court precluding such disclosure. The Notifying Party must not
disclose any such Highly Confidential Information to an Industry Participant absent either
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a ruling from the Court rejecting the challenge of the Producing Person or the passage of
ten (10) business days without written notice from the Producing Person that it is seeking
an Order from the Court precluding disclosure. In the event that a party intends to disclose
Highly Confidential Information to an Industry Participant, before receiving any
Confidential Information, the Industry Participant must sign an agreement to be bound by
this Order in the form attached as Exhibit A. It is expressly understood that “Industry
Participant” excludes academics, accountants, behavioral psychologists, economists, IT
consultants, statisticians, and attorneys, whose primary role in the industry is testifying or
consulting in legal and regulatory proceedings.
23. Prior to a party’s disclosure or display of Confidential Information or Highly
Confidential Information to any person in (b), (c), (e), or (f) of Paragraph 20, counsel for
the party must:
a. Inform the person of the confidential nature of the Material; and
b. Inform the person that this Court has enjoined the use of the Material by
him/her for any purpose other than this litigation (except as provided in this Order) and has
enjoined the disclosure of the Material to any other person (except as provided in this
Order).
24. Nothing contained in this Order:
a. Affects or restrict the rights of any party with respect to its own Materials;
b. Prevents Plaintiffs, subject to taking appropriate steps to preserve the
confidentiality of such information, from disclosing Confidential Information or Highly
Confidential Information (i) in the course of any other legal proceeding in which the U.S.
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Department of Justice or the North Carolina Department of Justice is a party; (ii) for the
purpose of securing compliance with a Final Judgment in this action; or (iii) for law
enforcement purposes; or
c. Prevents Plaintiff United States’ retention or use or disclosure of
Investigation Materials outside the context of this action to the extent permitted by
applicable law or regulation governing such pre-complaint discovery including the HartScott-Rodino Act, 15 U.S.C. § 18a and the Antitrust Civil Process Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 131114, or for law enforcement purposes, or as required by law, court order or regulation.
25. In the event of a disclosure of any Confidential Information or Highly Confidential
Information to any person(s) not authorized to receive such disclosure under this Order,
the party responsible for having made such disclosure shall promptly notify the Producing
Person whose Material has been disclosed and provide to such Producing Person all known
relevant information concerning the nature and circumstances of the disclosure. The
disclosing party shall also promptly take all reasonable measures to retrieve the improperly
disclosed Material and to ensure that no further or greater unauthorized disclosure and/or
use thereof is made. Unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure shall not change the
confidential status of any disclosed Material or waive the right to maintain the disclosed
Material as containing Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information.
26. Any order of this Court requiring the production of any Materials constitutes a court
order within the meaning of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a(b)(11).
F. Use of Confidential Information and Highly Confidential Information
in This Action
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27. If any Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information is included in
any pleading, motion, exhibit, or other paper to be filed with the Court, the party making
the filing shall follow the procedures set forth in Local Civil Rule 6.1, as supplemented by
this Paragraph. For purposes of this action, this Protective Order is “a previously entered
Rule 26(e) Protective Order” under Local Civil Rule 6.1(B).
a. If a Party uses any other Party’s or a Third Party’s Confidential Information
or Highly Confidential Information in any court filing (the “Using Party”), the Using Party
must file a Motion To Temporarily Seal. The Using Party must submit with the motion a
proposed order that if signed by the Court would have the effect of keeping the Confidential
Information or Highly Confidential Information under seal for 21 calendar days.
b. Within 3 business days of filing the Motion To Temporarily Seal, the Using
Party must serve the Producing Person (by e-mail or other means) with the Motion To
Temporarily Seal and a copy of this Order.
c. The Producing Person and all parties must conduct a meet-and-confer over
the treatment of the Producing Person’s Confidential Information or Highly Confidential
Information at issue in the Motion to Temporarily Seal.
d. Within 21 days of notification of the Producing Person, and after a meetand-confer, the Using Party shall submit to the Court any proposed agreed-upon order that
would continue the protections contained in this Order for Confidential Information or
Highly Confidential Information and the request that the Court should order such
information to be maintained under seal.
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e. To the extent the Producing Person and the parties have disputes upon the
conclusion of the meet-and-confer, the Producing Person must file a Motion to Seal that
complies with Local Civil Rule 6.1. To the extent that the Producing Person and the parties
are unable to schedule a meet-and-confer within the 21-day period, the Producing Person
shall be entitled to file a Motion to Seal and shall inform the Court in the Motion of any
circumstances that prevented a meet-and-confer.
f. If, at the expiration of the 21-day period, the parties (including the
Producing Person) have failed to submit a proposed agreed-upon order, or the Producing
Person has not filed a Motion to Seal, all materials that were subject to the Motion To
Temporarily Seal shall be unsealed and made available to the public. Materials that are
included in any proposed agreed-upon order will remain under seal until such time as the
Court signs or modifies the proposed agreed-upon order. Materials included in a Motion to
Seal will remain under seal until the Court rules on the Motion.
g. To the extent that any Party seeks to have Confidential Information or
Highly Confidential Information contained in its own court filing protected from public
disclosure, it must follow the procedures described above. It must meet-and-confer with
the other Parties over the treatment of the information at issue in the Motion to Temporarily
Seal.
h. Nothing in this Order restricts any person, including any member of the
public, from challenging the filing of any Confidential Information or Highly Confidential
Information under seal.
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28. Any pleading that contains or refers to Confidential Information or Highly
Confidential Information (or attaches such Confidential or Highly Confidential
Information), in addition to being filed Under Seal as set forth in this Order, shall be filed
publicly in a redacted form so as to eliminate or obscure all references to Confidential
Information or Highly Confidential Information.
Such redacted public versions of
pleadings shall be filed and served within five (5) business days of the original filing under
seal.
29. Disclosure at trial of any Materials designated as Confidential Information or
Highly Confidential Information will be governed pursuant to Court order. The parties shall
meet and confer and submit a recommended order no later than 60 days before trial,
outlining those procedures. Absent a ruling from the Court to the contrary, any Material
designated as Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information that appears on
an exhibit list or in deposition designations, that is admitted into evidence at trial, will be
disclosed on the public record, and any examination relating to such Material will likewise
be disclosed on the public record, after compliance with processes established by this
Court.
G. Procedures upon Termination of This Action
30. The obligations imposed by this Order survive the termination of this action unless
the Court, which shall retain jurisdiction to resolve any disputes arising out of this Order,
orders otherwise. At the conclusion of litigation, all Confidential Information or Highly
Confidential Information and any copies thereof shall be promptly (and in no event later
than thirty (30) days after entry of a final judgment no longer subject to appeal) returned
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to the Producing Person or certified as destroyed. Nothing in this Order prevents any
Plaintiff from retaining any Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information
for law enforcement purposes, or to secure compliance with any Final Judgment in this
action.
31. The foregoing is entirely without prejudice to the right of any party or non-party to
apply to the Court for any further Protective Order relating to Confidential Information or
Highly Confidential Information; or to object to the production of documents or
information; or to apply to the Court for an order compelling production of documents or
information; or for modification of this Order.
SO ORDERED.
Signed: March 20, 2017
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EXHIBIT A
I have been informed by counsel that certain documents or information to be
disclosed to me in connection with the matter entitled United States of America and the
State of North Carolina v. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority, d/b/a/
Carolinas Healthcare System, Case No. 3:16-cv-00311-RJC-DCK, have been designated
as confidential. I have been informed that any such document or information labeled as
“CONFIDENTIAL – PRODUCED PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” or
“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – PRODUCED PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER”
(or with a similar label) are confidential by Order of the Court.
Under penalty of contempt of Court, I hereby agree that I will not disclose any
information contained in such documents to any other person, and I further agree not to use
any such information for any purpose other than this litigation.
DATED:
Signed in the presence of:
(Attorney)
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