Sigmon v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Company et al

Filing 30

CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER. Signed by Magistrate Judge David Keesler on 4/16/2019. (nvc)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
STATESVILLE DIVISION
CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:17-CV-225-RJC-DCK

Plaintiff,

CONSENT PROTECTIVE ORDER

Defendant.

THIS MATTER comes before the Court upon application of the parties for entry of
a Consent Protective Order; and it appearing to the Court for good cause shown that
discovery and the trial of this action may involve the production and disclosure of
confidential and proprietary information such that the entry of this Consent Protective
Order providing protection against unrestricted disclosure or use is appropriate;
THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that pursuant to
Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the following confidentiality provisions
shall apply and govern in this case:
1.
Certain information and documents to be produced by the parties during
discovery in this litigation contain proprietary or confidential information that would cause
harm if disclosed and should be considered confidential and protected from unreasonable
disclosure pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
2.
The information and documents to be considered as confidential and
disclosed only in accordance with the terms of this Consent Protective Order (this "Order")
shall be all those documents or information designated by one or more of the parties as
CONFIDENTIAL in accordance with the terms of this Order, whether such documents or
information are supplied in response to the demands or requests of either party, formal or
informal, and regardless of whether produced or disclosed by a party or by any person or
entity presently or formerly affiliated with a party.
3.
All documents or information designated CONFIDENTIAL in accordance
with the terms of this Order shall be used solely for purposes of prosecuting or defending
this litigation and shall not be used for any other purpose. Documents or information,
however, which are in or can be obtained from the public domain, even if they are the same
as or similar to documents or information designated under this Order as
CONFIDENTIAL, shall not be subject to the terms of this Order.

4.
The parties shall designate documents or information as CONFIDENTIAL
by marking documents with the legend "CONFIDENTIAL" or by stating on the record (as
in a deposition) or in writing (as in correspondence from counsel containing such
'
information) that information is designated as CONFIDENTIAL. As used in this Order,
the term "Confidential Information” shall refer to any documents or information so
designated as CONFIDENTIAL.
5.
The parties and their attorneys shall treat such Confidential
Information as confidential and shall not disclose such information, in any form,
except for purposes of this lawsuit and then only to persons with a need to know.
6.
It is understood that none of the parties, their attorneys, nor any person
employed by them obtains any right to license or to use Confidential Information
received in this litigation other than for purposes of this litigation.
7.
Any person or entity that is affiliated with either party that produces
Confidential Information in response to a discovery request or subpoena in this action
shall be a third party beneficiary of this Order and may pursue all remedies available
for breach thereof. No provision of this Order shall be deemed to require any person or
entity not a party to this action to respond to any discovery request or subpoena, except
as may otherwise be required by law. Nothing in this Order shall prevent or prohibit
any party or non-party from seeking such additional or further protection as it deems
necessary to protect documents or information subject to discovery in this action.

8.
Nothing herein and no action taken under this Order shall constitute a
waiver or admission that any specific document, material, testimony or thing: (1) is
relevant and subject to discovery; (2) is or is not confidential or proprietary information;
(3) constitutes or does not constitute confidential records; or (4) is or is not admissible
in evidence at trial or at any hearing. The production of any documents or information
that the producing party claims to be privileged shall be governed by the facts and
applicable law.
9.
This Order shall continue in full force and effect after the termination of
this litigation, including all appeals, and the Court shall retain jurisdiction necessary to
enforce the terms of this Order. However, this Order shall be subject to revocation or
modification by Order of the Court, upon written stipulation of the parties, or upon
motion and reasonable notice, including the opportunity for hearing and presentation
of evidence, should the Court so decide.
10.
The parties and their attorneys shall advise any representative or
consultant having access to Confidential Information provided pursuant to this Order
that said representatives or consultants shall be bound by this Order. All such

consultants shall, upon conclusion of this litigation, destroy all documents designated
as Confidential Information.
11.
If a party wishes to file any Confidential Information with the court
the filing party must set forth in the pleading caption a notation that the document
is being "filed under seal" and include the Court Order's entry date of this Protective
Order.
12.
Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, any original materials or
duplicates, including tapes, discs, and photographs, identified by any party as
"CONFIDENTIAL," shall within sixty days (60) days after the conclusion of this
action by settlement or final judgment, be returned to the party producing such
documents or information.
Signed: April 16, 2019