Strawn v. Guardian Building Products, Inc.
Filing
21
CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER. Signed by Senior Judge Graham Mullen on 5/24/2017. (eef)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
STACY STRAWN,
Civil Action No. 3:16-CV-00623-GCM
Plaintiff,
CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER
vs.
GUARDIAN BUILDING PRODUCTS,
INC.,
Defendant.
It is hereby ORDERED by the Court that the following restrictions and procedures shall
apply to certain information, documents, and excerpts from documents supplied by the parties to
each other in response to discovery requests:
1.
Counsel for any party may designate any document or information contained in a
document as confidential if counsel determines, in good faith, that such designation is necessary
to protect the interests of the client. Information and documents designated by a party as
confidential will be labeled “CONFIDENTIAL”. “Confidential” information or documents may
be referred to collectively as “confidential information.”
2.
Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, or otherwise provided for herein, the
confidential information disclosed will be held and used by the person receiving such information
solely for use in connection with the above-captioned action.
3.
In the event a party challenges another party’s confidential designation, counsel
shall make a good faith effort to resolve the dispute, and in the absence of a resolution, the
challenging party may thereafter seek resolution by the Court. In the event of such a dispute, the
party that seeks to designate information as confidential bears the burden of proving that that
designation is appropriate. Nothing in this Protective Order constitutes an admission by any party
that confidential information disclosed in this case is relevant or admissible. Each party
specifically reserves the right to object to the use or admissibility of all confidential information
disclosed, in accordance with applicable law.
4.
Information or documents designated as “Confidential” shall not be disclosed to
any person, except:
a. The requesting party and counsel;
b. Employees of such counsel assigned to and necessary to assist in the litigation;
c. Consultants or experts to the extent deemed necessary by counsel;
d. Any person from whom testimony is taken or is to be taken, except that such a
person may only be shown confidential information during and in preparation
for his/her testimony and may not retain the confidential information;
e. Any court reporter transcribing witness testimony; and
f. The Court or the jury at trial or as exhibits to motions.
5.
Except as provided in Paragraph 7, prior to disclosing or displaying the confidential
information to any person, counsel shall:
a. Inform the person of the confidential nature of the information or documents;
and
b. Inform the person that this Court has enjoined the use of the information or
documents by him/her for any purpose other than this litigation and has
enjoined the disclosure of that information or documents to any other person.
6.
Except as provided in Paragraph 7, the confidential information may be displayed
to and discussed with the persons identified in Paragraph 4(c) and (d) only on the condition that
prior to any such display or discussion, each such person shall be asked to sign an agreement to be
bound by this Order in the form attached as Exhibit A. In the event such person refuses to sign an
agreement in the form attached as Exhibit A, the party desiring to disclose the confidential
information may seek appropriate relief from this Court.
7.
For the purpose of Paragraphs 4(d) and (e), it is understood by the parties that any
documents which become part of an official judicial proceeding or which are filed with the Court
are public documents, and that such documents can and will be sealed by the Court only upon
motion and in accordance with applicable law. This Protective Order does not provide for the
automatic sealing of such documents.
8.
The entry of this Consent Protective Order does not alter, waive, modify, or abridge
any right, privilege, or protection otherwise available to any party or third party with respect to
discovery matters, including, but not limited to, any party’s or third party’s right to assert the
attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine, or other privileges with respect to Discovery
Materials or any party’s or third party’s right to contest such assertion. Any inadvertent disclosure
of Discovery Materials protected by the attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine will
not be deemed a waiver of such privilege. Upon request from the producing party, a non-producing
party shall return all copies of any inadvertently disclosed privileged materials. The return of any
inadvertently disclosed privileged materials shall not prejudice the rights of any party or third party
to contest an assertion of the attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine, or other privileges
with the Court.
9.
At the conclusion of litigation, the 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 further appeal) returned to the producing party or certified as destroyed. The
ultimate disposition of protected materials shall be subject to a final order of the Court upon
completion of the litigation.
10.
The foregoing is entirely without prejudice to the right of any party to apply to the
Court for any further Protective Order relating to 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: May 24, 2017
CONSENTED AND RESPECTFULLY
SUBMITTED ON MAY 24, 2017 BY:
/s/ S. Luke Largess (signed with permission)
S. Luke Largess, Esq.
Tin, Fulton, Walker and Owen, PLLC
301 East Park Avenue
Charlotte, NC 28203
LLargess@tinfulton.com
Attorney for Plaintiff
/s/ Jerry H. Walters, Jr.
Leslie Dent, Georgia Bar No. 218566
(Admitted Pro Hac Vice)
ldent@littler.com
LITTLER MENDELSON, P.C.
3344 Peachtree Rd, N.E.
Suite 1500
Atlanta, GA 30326
Telephone: 404.233.0330
Facsimile:
404.233.2361
Jerry H. Walters, Jr. Bar No. 23319
jwalters@littler.com
LITTLER MENDELSON, P.C.
Bank of America Corporate Center
100 North Tryon Street, Suite 4150
Charlotte, NC 28202
Telephone: 704.972.7013
Facsimile: 704.731.0797
Attorneys for Defendant
EXHIBIT A
I have been informed by counsel that certain documents or information to be disclosed
to me in connection with the matter entitled Stacy Strawn v. Guardian Building Products, Inc.,
3:16-CV-00623-GCM, have been designated as confidential. I have been informed that any
such documents or information labeled as “CONFIDENTIAL” 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)
Firmwide:146977550.2 078237.1006
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?