Survant v. Charter Communications, Inc. et al
Filing
27
CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER. Signed by Senior Judge Graham Mullen on 8/27/2018. (jaw)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
Civil Action No: 3:18-cv-00093-GCM
GEORGE SURVANT,
Plaintiff,
v.
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC.,
Defendant.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER
)
Pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, upon motion by the
Parties, with the consent of the Parties, and it appearing that the discovery process in this action
may involve the production of information that a Party may contend is confidential and/or
proprietary and that good cause exists for the entry of an Order limiting the disclosure of such
information;
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that:
1.
“Confidential Information” as used herein means all personnel related records of
individuals who are not parties to this case, all proprietary, financial, business or other
commercially-sensitive information, personal financial information or medical information of
Plaintiff, whether documentary or otherwise, designated as “confidential” and delivered,
produced or disclosed by any Party in response to an interrogatory, a request for production of
documents, or a deposition question. The designation of documents or information as
“Confidential Information” shall not be conclusive for purposes of the substantive issues in this
case.
2.
All documents produced or information provided or disclosed by any Party or
third party in discovery in this action that is identified as Confidential Information shall be
treated as confidential and the use or disclosure of such documents or information shall be
governed by the terms of this Protective Order, provided that the Party producing or otherwise
disclosing such documents or information designates such documents or information as
“confidential” at the time of production or disclosure or as otherwise provided in the following
paragraph.
3.
If a Party, through inadvertence, produces any Confidential Information without
labeling or marking or otherwise designating it as such in accordance with this Order, the
designating Party may give written notice to the receiving Party that the document or thing
produced is deemed Confidential Information, and that the document or thing produced should
be treated as such in accordance with that designation under this Order. The receiving Party must
treat the materials as confidential, once the designating Party so notifies the receiving Party. If
the receiving Party has disclosed the materials before receiving the designation, the receiving
Party must notify the designating Party in writing of each such disclosure.
4.
Confidential Information, including copies or summaries thereof, shall be used
only for the prosecution or defense of this action (including, but not limited to, any mediation,
arbitration, or other settlement process, as well as appeals of this action) and shall not be used or
employed for any other purpose whatsoever. Confidential Information shall not be disclosed or
made available to anyone except:
a.
the Court;
b.
the Parties to this action and officers, directors or employees of the Parties
who are actively participating in the prosecution or defense of this action;
c.
counsel for the Parties to this action and employees of said counsel;
2
d.
experts or consultants specifically retained by the Parties or their attorneys
to assist them in the preparation of this case or to serve as expert witnesses
at the trial of this action;
e.
third-party witnesses or potential witnesses whom counsel reasonably
deem necessary for the preparation and trial of this action;
f.
court reporters engaged to record depositions, hearings or trials in this
action; and
g.
5.
mediators assigned to this case or selected by agreement of the parties.
Disclosure of Confidential Information pursuant to this Order shall be handled as
follows:
a.
Any person described in subparagraphs 4(a), (b), (c), (f) and (g) of this
Order is bound by the provisions of this Order without the necessity of
executing a confidentiality agreement;
b.
Before Confidential Information is disclosed to any person set forth in
subparagraphs 4(d) and (e) of this Order, the party disclosing the
information shall inform the person to whom the disclosure is to be made
that Confidential Information shall be used for the purposes of the
prosecution or defense of this action only, and shall obtain from the person
to whom the disclosure is to be made a signed confidentiality agreement in
the form attached hereto as Exhibit A; and
c.
As long as Confidential Information is handled in accordance with this
Order, this Order 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
3
deemed to have waived any objections as to the admissibility of any
Confidential Information into evidence in connection with any proceeding
in this action.
6.
Documents, things and/or information, including portions of any transcript, shall
not be filed under seal without a specific court order to do so. Pursuant to Stone v. Univ. of Md.
Med. Sys. Corp., 855 F.2d 178, 180–81 (4th Cir. 1988), each time a Party moves or seeks
permission to make a sealed filing, it shall accompany the motion to seal with a supporting
memorandum of law specifying (a) the exact documents, things, and/or information, or portions
thereof, for which filing under seal is requested; (b) how such request to seal overcomes the
common law or the First Amendment presumption to access, if applicable; (c) the specific
qualities of the material at issue which justify sealing such material, taking into account the
balance of competing interests in access; (d) the reasons why alternatives to sealing are
inadequate; and, (e) whether there is consent to the motion. In addition to the motion and
supporting memorandum, the moving Party must set out such findings in a proposed order to
seal. Any Party seeking such an order shall comply with Section G(7) of the Electronic Case
Filing Administrative Policies and Procedure Manual.
7.
If a Party or witness desires to designate any portion of a deposition as
Confidential Information, the designating Party or witness shall have thirty (30) days after
receipt of the transcript to designate portions of the transcript as Confidential Information and
inform counsel of record in writing of such designation.
8.
Nothing in this Order shall prevent the disclosure of Confidential Information
beyond the terms of this Order if the Party that produced the information consents in advance in
writing.
4
9.
If any Party hereto disagrees with the designation of any discovery materials as
confidential, counsel shall attempt to resolve the disagreement on an informal basis. If it is
necessary to present the dispute to the Court for resolution, the material in question shall continue
to be treated as confidential under the terms of this Order unless and until the Court issues a
final ruling that the material is not of a confidential nature. Any motion seeking to challenge
a confidentiality designation under this Order much be brought within thirty (30) days from the
date the document is produced or that challenge is waived.
10.
This Order is without prejudice to the right of any Party or witness to seek
modification or amendment of the Order by motion to the Court, or to seek and obtain additional
protection with respect to Confidential Information as such party may consider appropriate.
11.
This Order shall remain in effect for the period of this litigation and subsequent to
its termination so as to protect the confidentiality of the Confidential Information.
12.
Ultimate disposition of materials and information protected by this Order is subject
to a final order of the Court upon completion of litigation. Within forty-five (45) days after the
ultimate disposition of this action (i.e., after the case has been resolved by the Court and the
deadline for any appeal has run without either Party appealing the Court’s decisions), each Party
must return all Protected Material to the producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries,
and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Confidential Information. Whether the
Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the receiving Party must submit a written
certification to the producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the designating Party)
by the forty-five (45) day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the
Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the receiving Party has
not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other
5
format reproducing or capturing any of the Confidential Information. Notwithstanding
this provision, counsel for the Parties are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings,
motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, deposition and trial exhibits, and expert
reports, , even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain
or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Order.
CONSENTED TO:
s/ Randolph M. James
Randolph M. James
N.C. Bar No. 10000
RANDOLPH M. JAMES, P.C.
P. O. Box 20060
Winston-Salem, NC 27120
T: (336) 724-7707
Facsimile: (336) 724-9722
Email: rmjames@rmjameslaw.com
s/ Paul G. Sherman
Paul G. Sherman
(admitted pro hac vice)
psherman@kcozlaw.com
KABAT CHAPMAN & OZMER LLP
171 17th Street NW, Suite 1550
Atlanta, Georgia 30363
T: (404) 400-7300
F: (404) 400-7333
Shalanna L. Pirtle
N.C. State Bar No. 36996
shalannapirtle@parkerpoe.com
PARKER POE ADAMS & BERNSTEIN LLP
Three Wells Fargo Center
401 South Tryon Street, Suite 3000
Charlotte, North Carolina 28202
T: (704) 335-6628
F: (704) 334-4706
Attorney for Plaintiff
Attorneys for Defendant
Signed: August 27, 2018
6
EXHIBIT A
CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
I have read and am familiar with the terms of the Protective Order governing the disclosure
of confidential information in the case of George Survant v. Charter Communications, Inc.
and I agree to abide by all the terms of said Order and not to reveal or otherwise communicate
any of the information disclosed to me pursuant thereto to anyone except in accordance with the
terms of said Order. I agree not to make use of any information or material obtained pursuant
to that Order other than for purposes of this litigation.
I also agree to return to counsel of record not later than fifteen (15) days after I no longer
have need of the documents or the termination of this litigation, whichever is earlier, any and all
documents in my possession containing information which is the subject of said Order (whether
such information is in the form of notes, memoranda, reports or other written communications or
documents prepared by any person at any time containing information covered by the terms of
said Order).
Name:
Date:
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?