Residential Finance Corporation v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Filing 14

PROTECTIVE ORDER in re confidential information. Signed by Magistrate Judge Mark R. Abel on 2/16/12. (sh1)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION
RESIDENTIAL FINANCE
CORPORATION,
Plaintiff,
v.

UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP
and IMMIGRATION SERVICES,
Defendant.

:
:
:
: Case No. 2:11-cv-00008
:
: JUDGE GREGORY L. FROST
:
: MAGISTRATE JUDGE MARK R. ABEL
:
:
:
:
PROTECTIVE ORDER

Residential Finance Corporation (“RFC”), seeks judicial review, under the section 10b of
the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. § 702, et seq. of the decision of the United
States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) to deny the H-1B visa petition filed by
Plaintiff RFC on behalf of Geza Rakoczi (hereinafter “Beneficiary”). (ECF No. 1) The USCIS’
administrative record is the subject of judicial review for claims under the section 10b of the
APA, 5 U.S.C. § 702, et seq. The administrative record contains information and documents
protected from disclosure by the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a. This “Confidential
Information” consists of information or documents that pertain specifically to RFC or the
Beneficiary, such as RFC’s proprietary business information and the Beneficiary’s personal
residential, financial, and governmental assigned identification and travel documents (ex. state
issued driver’s license, VISA, Employment Authorization Card, etc.). It is hereby ORDERED
under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(b)(11), 38 U.S.C. § 5701(b)(2), and Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
26(c), 5.2(c), and (e)(2) that USCIS disclose to the Court and to counsel for RFC a copy of the

administrative record of the decision of the USCIS to deny the H-1B visa petition filed by
Plaintiff RFC on behalf of the Beneficiary (Bates labeled documents 1 through 157) which
contains Confidential Information, without obtaining prior written consent of the individuals to
whom the records pertain. Such disclosure is subject to the following conditions:
1.

The Confidential Information in the administrative record shall be used only for

this litigation and shall not be disclosed outside this litigation.
2.

Access to and disclosure of Confidential Information in the administrative record

shall be limited to the Court, the parties, the Beneficiary, counsel for the parties and their
paralegals and legal assistants. RFC shall not disclose Confidential Information from the
administrative record to anyone other than the persons authorized under this Paragraph.
3.

RFC’s obligations set forth in this Protective Order shall apply to its counsel and

anyone acting on behalf of RFC to the same extent as they apply to it.
4.

This Protective Order does not affect any Confidential Information that RFC, its

counsel or the Beneficiary, have in their possession from a source other than the administrative
record, notwithstanding the fact that the Confidential Information also is reproduced in the
administrative record.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

s/Mark R. Abel
United States Magistrate Judge

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