Williams v. Centro, Incorporated

Filing 11

CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER. Signed by Senior Judge Graham Mullen on 06/20/2018. (brl)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
CIVIL ACTION NO.: 3:18-cv-141-GCM
DURAN WILLIAMS,
Plaintiff,
vs.
CENTRO, INCORPORATED,
Defendant.

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CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER

The parties have jointly moved the Court pursuant to Local Civil Rule 7.1, Rule 26(c) of
the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and Paragraph 5(b) of the Certification and Report of F.R.C.P.
26(f) Conference and Discovery Plan [DE # 9], for entry of a Consent Protective Order to expedite the
flow of discovery materials, facilitate the prompt resolution of discovery disputes as well as
disputes concerning confidentiality, protect certain materials designated as confidential
(“Confidential Materials”), and ensure that protection is afforded only to material so designated.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
1.

General Scope of the Agreement. This Consent Protective Order shall govern

certain documents and other materials produced in response to any discovery request or other
request for information by Plaintiff Duran Williams (“Plaintiff”) and Defendant Centro,
Incorporated (“Defendant” or “Centro”) in this action, specifically including, but not limited to,
answers to requests for admissions; answers to interrogatories; responses to requests for
production of documents and documents produced in accordance therewith; documents
subpoenaed in connection with depositions; deposition testimony; and any deposition transcript
or portion thereof as to which protection is sought in accordance with this Agreement. The

following documents and/or information may be designated as “Confidential Materials” pursuant
to this Order: (a) Plaintiff’s personal financial data, medical records, and other documents
including health-related information; (b) personal information of Centro’s employees or former
employees, including, but not limited to: Social Security numbers, tax information, and health
insurance/ health-related information; and (c) personal or personnel file information and records
of Centro’s current and/or former employees.
2.

Redaction of Certain Information. The parties shall be allowed to redact the

following information from any documents provided pursuant to this Order: (a) Social Security
numbers, (b) dates of birth and (c) financial account numbers.
3.

Designation as Confidential: Good Faith Requirement. Any party producing

or furnishing information of any nature to another party, to the Court, or at a deposition in
connection with this litigation may designate documents or information as “Confidential
Materials,” in accordance with the procedures set forth herein. Such information could include a
document or part thereof, interrogatory answer, response to request for admissions, deposition
testimony, excerpts and summaries of such information, or other materials as set forth in
Paragraph 1 of this Agreement. Such designation shall be made at the time the information is
produced or furnished, or at a later time as provided herein.
No party may designate information as “Confidential Materials” without first determining
in good faith that the information may be so designated as provided in this Order and as
contemplated by Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
4.

Procedure for Designating Information as Confidential.

designate “Confidential Materials” in the following manner:

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Parties may

a)

In the case of documents or other written materials, by affixing to each

page of every such document, at the time of production, the word “Confidential” by stamp or
other method which will make the word conspicuous;
b)

In the case of answers to interrogatories, designation shall be made by

placing the word “Confidential” adjacent to or at the end of any answer deemed to contain
confidential information. Alternatively, answers deemed to contain confidential information may
be bound separately and marked with the word “Confidential”; and
c)

In the case of depositions or other pretrial testimony in this action by

parties or any of their officers or employees, by a statement to that effect on the record by counsel
for the party who claims that Confidential Materials are about to be or have been disclosed.
Alternatively, a party may designate information disclosed at such deposition as Confidential
Materials by informing 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 deposition transcript
which are deemed Confidential. 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 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. Unless the parties intend
to designate all of the information contained within a particular document or deposition testimony
as Confidential Materials, counsel for that party should indicate in a clear fashion the portion of
the document or testimony which is intended to .be designated as confidential,
5.

Restricted Use of Confidential Information. The use of information designated

as “Confidential Materials” will be restricted as specifically indicated below:

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a)

Documents/information designated as “Confidential” pursuant to

Paragraphs 1 through 4 of this Order shall be used solely for the purposes of this action and shall
not be disclosed to any person except the following individuals:
(i)

the Court (including the Clerk’s office, stenographic reports and

videographers, and any special master or mediator appointed by the Court, engaged in such
proceedings as are necessary to the preparation for trial and trial of this action);
(ii)

counsel for the parties, their staff members, their professional and

para-professional employees, or other agents or other representatives of either party, as necessary
to prepare this case for litigation;
(iii)

any experts or service contractors (i.e., court reporters or outside

photocopying or imaging services) associated by the parties regarding this action;
(iv)

the parties to this litigation;

(v)

deponents, who may be shown Confidential Materials in

preparation for their deposition and 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 Materials;
(vi)

any potential witness as necessary to prepare this case for litigation;

provided, that no such person shall be permitted to maintain a copy of any document designated
as Confidential Materials;
(vii)

any other person or entity to whom the Court orders or allows

disclosure after notice and opportunity for hearing; or
(viii)

by mutual consent of the parties.

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b)

Documents produced pursuant to this Order shall not be used for any

purpose other than evidence in this litigation and may not be disclosed under any circumstances
to anyone not connected with this action as a party, witness, counsel, consultant, staff person or
Court personnel.
6.

Acknowledgment of Agreement. All persons to whom Confidential Materials

are disclosed pursuant to Paragraph 5 of this Order shall be bound by this Order. It shall be the
responsibility of counsel for each party to this action to insure that persons authorized to receive
Confidential Materials pursuant to Paragraph 5 of this Order have knowledge of the terms of this
Order and agree to be bound by them. Any person other than Plaintiff and Centro, counsel of
record, employees of counsel of record, the Court and its personnel, and Court reporters and their
staff must execute the form attached hereto as Exhibit A prior to the disclosure of Confidential
Materials, which shall be maintained in confidence by the counsel disclosing such information.
Any persons breaching the provisions of this Order are subject to the contempt powers of this
Court.
7.

Inadvertent Disclosure. In the event a party inadvertently produces materials

which should have been, but were not, marked “Confidential,” the party may designate such
materials as “Confidential” by notifying counsel of the error and producing the documents again,
with the “Confidential” designation, within twenty (20) days of discovery of the inadvertent
production. The parties will then treat these documents as if they had been marked “Confidential”
when they were first produced, destroy any documents and copies not so marked, and certify as
to such destruction.
8.

Use of Confidential Materials in this Case. Nothing in this Agreement shall

prevent or impair the use by a party of Confidential Materials as set forth in Paragraphs 1 through

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4 of this Agreement in proceedings in this litigation, including motion papers, affidavits, briefs,
other papers and depositions filed with the Court at any deposition, hearing, conference, or other
proceeding prior to trial so long as confidentiality of such information is protected as provided
herein. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent or impair the use by a party of Confidential
Materials as set forth in Paragraphs 1 through 4 of this Agreement at trial in accordance with any
rules established by the Court.
9.

Restricted Access Documents.
a)

Sealed Documents: Each time a party seeks to file under seal confidential

documents, things, and/or information, said party shall accompany the request with a motion to
seal and a supporting memorandum of law specifying: (1) the exact documents, things, and/or
information, or portions thereof, for which filing under seal is requested; (2) where it is necessary
for the Court to determine the source of the public’s right to access before a request to seal may
be evaluated, whether any such request to seal seeks to overcome the common law or the First
Amendment presumption of access; (3) the specific qualities of the material at issue which justify
sealing such material, taking into account the balance of competing interests in access; (4) the
reasons why alternatives to sealing are inadequate; and (5) whether there is consent to the motion.
Finally, in addition to the motion and supporting memorandum, said party must set out such
findings in a proposed order to seal for the Court.
10.

Challenging Confidentiality.

Acceptance by a party of any information,

document, or thing identified as “Confidential” pursuant to this Order shall not constitute a
concession that the information, documents, or things are Confidential Materials. Counsel for
the parties shall serve written notice of any objections to specific designations upon the other
party within twenty (20) days of receipt of such information, documents, or things. Counsel shall

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first attempt to resolve any disputes of confidentiality between themselves. If Counsel are unable
to agree on any such issue, counsel seeking protection of a document must bring the issue before
the Court within twenty (20) days of receipt of any written notice of any objections. No disclosure
of such information shall occur pending resolution of any dispute under this paragraph.
11.

Right to Object. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, this Order shall not

prejudice the right of any party to object to discovery on other grounds. Any party may, upon
reasonable notice to the opposing party’s counsel, move for an order relieving it of the provisions
of this Order for good cause shown. All parties retain the right to apply to the Court for an order
affording additional protection to Confidential Materials as the circumstances may warrant.
Nothing contained herein shall prevent a party from seeking modification to this Order.
12.

Disclosure.
a)

Nothing contained herein shall prevent a party from disclosing, revealing

or using any documents, materials or other information which is already lawfully in the possession
of that party or which that party lawfully obtains from any source other than the opposing party,
and this Order shall not otherwise apply to such documents, materials or other information,
except that either party may designate as Confidential any medical records received in discovery
in this matter.
b)

Nothing in this document shall prevent any party from producing any

document or information in his, her, or its possession in response to a lawful subpoena or other
compulsory process, provided that notice shall be given to the other party prior to the date that
the party subpoenaed is required to respond to the subpoena or other compulsory process in
which materials designated confidential are sought.

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13.

Return of Confidential Information. Confidential materials and copies shall be

returned to the producing party within sixty (60) days of the conclusion of this litigation (and any
appeals). At the option of the producing party, destruction of such confidential materials and
copies may be authorized instead. The party returning or destroying such document shall provide
attestation as to such return or destruction. Provided, however, that counsel for either party may
retain one copy of all documents marked Confidential for retention in their files only pursuant to
applicable Bar rules and regulations.

The ultimate disposition of protected materials shall be

subject to a final order of the court upon completion of the litigation.
14.

Modification of the Agreement. In the event of further proceedings in this

action, if any of the parties hereto believe that this Agreement unreasonably impedes discovery to
a party or the use of information discovered from a party for purposes of this litigation, or
provides insufficient protection regarding discovery materials produced by a party, such party may
serve notice upon the parties and request the that Court modify this Agreement.
15.

Protection of Copies.

All copies, extracts or summaries prepared from

Confidential Materials produced hereunder, but excluding any materials which in the good faith
judgment of counsel are work product materials, shall be subject to the same terms of this
Agreement as the Confidential Materials from which such copies, extracts, or summaries were
prepared, if properly designated.
16.

Notices. Notice required under this Agreement shall be in writing and provided

to the attorneys for the parties listed below. Notice to the parties shall be adequate if given solely
to the parties’ counsel of record.
17.

Effective Date. This Agreement shall be effectively immediately and shall survive

the conclusion of this lawsuit.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Signed: June 20, 2018

AGREED to this 19th day of June, 2018.
JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
BY:

/s/ Paul S. Holscher
PAUL S. HOLSCHER
N.C. State Bar No. 33991
Attorney for Defendant
3737 Glenwood Avenue, Suite 450
Raleigh, NC 27612
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

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BY:

Anitra K. Brown
ANITRA K. BROWN
N.C. State Bar No. 48260
Attorney For Plaintiff
One City Plaza
421 Fayetteville St., Ste. 1100
Raleigh, NC 27601
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
CIVIL ACTION NO.: 3:18-cv-141-GCM
DURAN WILLIAMS,
Plaintiff,
vs.
CENTRO, INCORPORATED,
Defendant.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF
CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER

I, __________________________________ (Printed Name), declare as follows:
I acknowledge receipt of a copy of the Consent Protective Order dated June __________,
2018, in the action entitled Duran Williams, Plaintiff v. Centro, Incorporated, Defendants, which
is pending in the United States District Court Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte
Division, Civil File No. 3:18-cv-141-CGM, and agree that:
(1)

I understand the terms of the Consent Protective Order, and agree to comply with
and be bound by its provisions with respect to any information provided to me
under the terms of the Order;

(2)

I will not reveal any information provided to me under the terms of this Consent
Protective Order to anyone other than such persons designated in Paragraph 4 of
this Order; and

(3)

I will utilize such confidential materials solely for the purposes of this litigation.

I further understand that if I fail to comply with the terms of the Consent Protective Order,
I may be subject to sanctions by the Court, and I consent to the jurisdiction of the abovereferenced Court for such purpose.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the foregoing is
true and correct.
_________________________
(Date)

_____________________________________
(Signature)
(Printed Name)

4817-5376-5226, v. 1

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