Hiddenite Baptist Church v. Southern Mutual Church Insurance Company

Filing 13

CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT AND PROTECTIVE ORDER. Signed by Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer on 7/15/15. (smj)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
STATESVILLE DIVISION
CASE NO.: 5:14-cv-00178-RLV-DSC
HIDDENITE BAPTIST CHURCH,
Plaintiff,
v.
SOUTHERN MUTUAL CHURCH
INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant.

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CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
AND PROTECTIVE ORDER

To expedite the flow of discovery material, facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over
confidentiality, adequately protect material entitled to be kept confidential, and ensure that
protection is afforded only to material so entitled, the Plaintiff and the Defendant (individually, a
“Party” and collectively, the “Parties”) each agree as follows:
1.

The Parties acknowledge and agree that this Confidentiality Agreement sets forth

the Parties’ obligations with respect to business information that one or more of the Parties assert
is confidential (“Confidential Information”). The Parties acknowledge and agree that, in the course
of discovery, a Party may request information that the one or more of the opposing Parties deems
to be Confidential Information. This Confidentiality Agreement shall cover all materials deemed
in good faith by a Party to be Confidential Information, produced at any time throughout the course
of the litigation and any appeals thereof.
2.

Discovery material other than deposition testimony may be designated as

Confidential Information by placing a “CONFIDENTIAL” stamp on any document or by
designating intangible information as such.

Deposition testimony shall be designated as

Confidential Information either on the record at the deposition or by letter within five days after
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receipt of the transcript. During the period in which a Party may timely designate deposition
testimony as Confidential Information, the transcript shall be treated as containing Confidential
Information and shall not be disclosed to any person other than as provided in Paragraph 4 below,
except that deponents may review their own transcripts.

Any intangible material may be

designated as Confidential Information by the producing Party in writing provided to the receiving
Party at the time of production.
3.

The Confidential Information shall be used solely in connection with this action,

including any appeals, and shall not be used in any other action or proceeding or for any other
purpose whatsoever including, without limitation, the publication or disclosure to any person other
than as expressly provided herein.
4.

The Confidential Information may be shown only to:

a) Legal counsel in this action, and the legal, paralegal, and clerical employees of legal
counsel in this action;
b) The Parties, their respective insurers, and the legal, paralegal, and clerical employees
of legal counsel for the respective Parties in this action;
c) Any experts and their staff who are directly involved in the discovery and/or trial
preparation of this case;
d) Deponents or trial witnesses at the time of their testimony, but only to the extent
reasonably necessary to render their testimony;
e) Court reporters in the course of a deposition or court proceeding;
f) The Court and its personnel; and
g) The finder of fact at trial.
5.

If a Party challenges another Party’s designation of material as “Confidential,” the

challenging Party shall notify the other Party in writing. Thereafter, the Parties shall work in good
faith to resolve any disagreement. If, after a reasonable time, an agreement cannot be reached, the

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Parties shall have the right to submit the dispute, upon motion, to the Court for its consideration
and ruling accordingly. The burden is on the designating Party to demonstrate good cause that the
designation is appropriate.
6.

Before any Confidential Information is disclosed to any person identified in

Paragraph 4 (c) above, that person must first receive a copy of this Confidentiality Agreement and
agree in writing (by completing and signing Exhibit A) to abide by the terms of this Agreement.
7.

If any Party’s counsel deems it necessary to disclose any Confidential Information

to any person other than those identified in Paragraph 4 above, the counsel must first obtain the
written consent of counsel for the party claiming confidentiality. If counsel for the party claiming
confidentiality does not agree to the planned disclosure, counsel seeking the information may seek
the Court’s approval provided that all opposing counsel receive proper notice of the request.
8.

Unless otherwise agreed to in writing by counsel for the Parties or ordered by the

Court, any documents made part of the public record which attach documents constituting
Confidential Information shall have the Confidential Information redacted, and a copy of this
Protective Agreement shall be attached thereto. The Party seeking to make such documents part
of the public record shall have the responsibility of providing the Judge and opposing counsel
copies without redacted text.
9.

Subject to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence,

Confidential Information may be offered into evidence at trial or any hearing or oral argument,
provided that the Party seeking to introduce such information gives reasonable advance notice to
the Court and counsel for the producing or designating Party. Any Party may move for the Court
for an Order that the evidence be received in camera or under other conditions to prevent
unnecessary disclosure, including without limitation removal from the courtroom of persons not

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authorized by this Confidentiality Agreement to receive the information. If presented at trial
before a jury, the status of the evidence as Confidential Information shall not be disclosed to the
jury.
10.

Within thirty (30) days after this case and any appeals of this case end, the Parties

and their counsel shall destroy all copies of all documents containing the Confidential Information
in their possession, custody, or control. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the
obligation to destroy such documents shall include the obligation to erase all images, compilations,
copies, summaries, or abstracts of them from computer storage. Upon written request of counsel
for a Party claiming confidentiality, other Parties and their respective counsel shall sign a
certification stating that they have fully complied with this Paragraph.
11.

This Confidentiality Agreement shall not be construed as waiving any right to assert

a claim of privilege, relevance, or other grounds for not producing any documents or other
requested material.
12.

Nothing in this Confidentiality Agreement, or done by the Parties pursuant to this

Confidentiality Agreement, shall constitute an admission by the Party or shall be used as evidence
that the information designated as Confidential Information actually is or contains confidential or
trade secret information as defined by law.
13.

The inadvertent or unintentional disclosure by any Party of Confidential

Information shall not be deemed in a waiver in whole or in part of that Party’s claim of
confidentiality under this Confidentiality Agreement, either as to the specific information
disclosed or as to any other information relating to or on the same or a related subject matter.
14.

If a Party, through inadvertence, produces any document or information that it

believes, after good-faith inquiry, is immune from discovery pursuant to an attorney-client

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privilege, the work product doctrine, or any other privilege, doctrine, or immunity, the producing
Party may give written notice to the receiving Party that the document or information produced is
deemed privileged and that return of the document or information is requested. Upon receipt of
such written notice, the receiving Party shall immediately gather the original and all copies of the
document or information of which the receiving Party is aware and shall immediately return the
original and all such copies to the producing Party. The return of the document(s) and/or
information to the producing Party shall not preclude the receiving Party from later moving the
Court to compel production of the returned documents and/or information.
15.

Nothing in this Agreement shall limit a Party’s right to use its own Confidential

Information as it deems appropriate.
16.

Nothing in this Confidentiality Agreement shall abridge the right of any person to

seek judicial modification or amendment of this Agreement.
17.

The obligations created by this Confidentiality Agreement shall survive the

termination of this lawsuit unless otherwise modified by the Court. The parties agree that the
Court in which the subject lawsuit is venued shall retain jurisdiction, even after termination of this
lawsuit, to enforce this Confidentiality Agreement and to make such amendments and
modifications to this Agreement as may be appropriate.
It is therefore agreed that, from the latest date contained in the signatory provisions
that follow, this Confidentiality Agreement shall govern through the course of this litigation
and beyond.
The ultimate disposition of protected materials shall be subject to a final order of the
Court upon completion of the litigation.

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SO ORDERED.
Signed: July 15, 2015

CONSENTED TO BY:
/s/ Nicole C. Vinson
Nicole Vinson, NC State Bar No. 44878
Merlin Law Group, PA
777 S. Harbour Island Blvd., Suite 950
Tampa, FL 33602
(T) 813.229.1000
(F) 813.229.3692
[e-mail]
Attorney for Plaintiff, Hiddenite Baptist Church

/s/ John I. Malone, Jr.
John I. Malone, Jr., NC State Bar No. 22180
Goldberg Segalla LLP
800 Green Valley Road, Suite 302
Greensboro, NC 27408
(T) 336.419.4900
(F) 336.419.4950
[e-mail]
Attorney for Defendant Southern Mutual Church Insurance
Company

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
STATESVILLE DIVISION
CASE NO.: 5:14-cv-00178-RLV-DSC
HIDDENITE BAPTIST CHURCH,
Plaintiff,
v.
SOUTHERN MUTUAL CHURCH
INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant.

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EXHIBIT A

AGREEMENT CONCERNING INFORMATION COVERED BY
CONFIDENTIALITY STIPULATION AND PROTECTIVE ORDER
I have been designated by
[PARTY NAME]
as a person who may have access to
Confidential Information as that term is defined in the Confidentiality Stipulation and Protective
Order (the “Order”) entered in the above-entitled case.
Having read the Order, I agree to comply fully with it and to be bound by its terms with
respect to all documents and information designated as “Confidential” under the Order. I agree
not to copy any documents or information that have been designated as “Confidential” and
disclosed to me and not to disclose such documents or information to any person or entity not
authorized under the Order to view Confidential Information.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the
foregoing is true and correct.
Executed this _______ day of ___________________, 20__.
____________________________________
Name
____________________________________
Address
____________________________________
Employer
____________________________________
Job Title
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