Neuhardt v. Spectrum, et al.

Filing 14

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER. Signed by Magistrate Judge Chelsey M. Vascura on 3/12/2018. (kpt)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION
)
)
) Case No. 2:17-cv-01019-ALM-CMV
Plaintiff,
)
) Judge Algenon L. Marbley
v.
) Magistrate Judge Chelsey M. Vascura
)
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, LLC and )
TWC ADMINISTRATION LLC,
)
)
Defendants.
)
)
TARKENTON NEUHARDT,

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
Pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Plaintiff Tarkenton
Neuhardt (“Plaintiff”), Defendant Charter Communications, LLC (“Charter”), and Defendant
TWC Administration LLC (“TWCA,” together with Charter, “Defendants”) (collectively, the
“Parties”) have agreed to the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED as follows:
1.

This Stipulated Protective Order (“Order”) governs all documents and information

produced at any time during the pendency of this action, including any documents and information
produced prior to the entry of this Order, by any party or any non-party, which is subject to a
subpoena for oral examination or subpoena duces tecum; all copies of or information contained in
any such documents; responses to Interrogatories, responses to Requests for Documents and/or
Requests for Admissions or other discovery; and all other information produced or provided in
this action by the parties (collectively referred to as “Litigation Material”).
2.

HIPAA Compliance: In part, the purpose of this Order is to comply with the

requirements of HIPAA and 45 CFR § 164.512(e)(l)(v). This Order covers all health information

protected by HIPAA, including medical records, disclosed both by parties and non-parties. All
such information shall be deemed confidential and may only be used for the purposes of this
litigation.
3.

Litigation Material shall be used solely for the purpose of preparing for, or

conducting the trial of, this action. Litigation Material shall not be disclosed or used for any other
purpose, including business, governmental, commercial, administrative or judicial proceedings,
except as otherwise required by law.
4.

Any party producing Litigation Material in this case may designate it as

“Confidential” if such designation is made in good faith consistent with the following definition.
The designation “Confidential” shall be utilized for Litigation Materials containing non-public
commercial, financial, or proprietary business information or protected personal information,
specifically including any non-public employee personnel data, customer data, and Defendants’
internal documents regarding its policies, practices, or strategies, and medical records or other
protected health information.
5.

With respect to hard copy information, a party, non-party, or its counsel may

designate as “Confidential” any documents, or portion or portions thereof, by stamping the word
“Confidential” (or a phrase to that effect, such as “Confidential: Subject to Protective Order”).
6.

A party or its counsel may designate deposition or other testimony as

“Confidential” by so stating on the record on the day the testimony is given or by sending written
notice to counsel for all other parties designating, by page and line, the portion of any transcript or
transcripts to be treated as “Confidential” within thirty (30) days of receipt of the final transcript
by the witness.

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7.

All Litigation Material designated or stamped as “Confidential,” any copies thereof,

and the information contained therein, shall not be given, shown, made available to, or
communicated in any way to anyone, except those persons listed below in Paragraph 8, unless
ordered by the Court or done with the prior written consent of the producing party’s counsel.
8.

Persons to whom Litigation Material designated as “Confidential” may be given,

shown, made available, or communicated without prior written consent are the following:
(a)

The Court and its employees, including any Court reporters and their

stenographic employees transcribing testimony;
(b)

The Parties and their counsel of record, including directors, officers,

representatives, or employees of the above who are assisting them for the purpose of
preparing for, conducting, or settling this action;
(c)

Court reporters who transcribe deposition or other testimony in this action;

(d)

Consultants or expert witnesses retained by a party to this action; and

(e)

Any witness, but only to the extent that such witness’ testimony involves

the matters governed by, subsumed within, or otherwise affected by the “Confidential”
Litigation Material being made available to them.
9.

If the producing party agrees in writing, the parties may include additional persons

or categories of persons, beyond those listed in Paragraph 8, to whom Litigation Material
designated as “Confidential” may be given, shown, made available, or communicated. Absent the
agreement of the producing party, each party reserves the right to move the Court for good cause
shown to seek to include additional persons or categories of persons, beyond those listed in
Paragraph 8, to whom Litigation Material designated as “Confidential” may be given, shown,
made available, or communicated.

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10.

Nothing herein shall restrict the persons identified in Paragraph 8(b), from making

working copies for use in their offices or for use during examination of witnesses, which working
copy shall be automatically designated as “Confidential” to match the designation of the document
from which it was made.
11.

Any person identified in Paragraphs 8(d) or (e), above who is given access to

Litigation Material designated “Confidential” shall, prior thereto, be given a copy of this Order
and shall acknowledge receipt thereof, and consent to be bound thereby and subject to sanctions
of this Court, by signing a written statement in the form of Exhibit 1, attached hereto.
12.

When a party intends to use any materials designated as “Confidential” in support

of or in opposition to a motion and that party believes that filing under seal should not be necessary,
the party intending to use such materials designated as “Confidential” shall contact the opposing
party within five business days prior to the motion, opposition to a motion, or other filing, and the
parties shall confer in good faith to determine whether the documents at issue should be filed under
seal. The party that provided the Litigation Material may waive the confidentiality designation by
written notice to counsel for the other parties to the action. Any such written notice may limit the
extent of the waiver by designating specific information to which the waiver attaches. Or, if the
Parties agree that the material designated as “Confidential” must be filed under seal, or if the
Parties cannot agree in good faith as to whether the party so using the material shall file the
document under seal, the party that provided the Litigation Material shall move the Court in
compliance with Local Rule 5.2.1 for the Southern District of Ohio.
13.

Nothing in this Order shall prevent any party from disclosing its own

“Confidential” Litigation Material, and any such disclosure shall not be deemed a waiver of any
other party’s rights or obligations under this Order.

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14.

The production or disclosure of Litigation Material designated as “Confidential”

shall in no way constitute a waiver of the producing party’s right to object to the production or
disclosure of any other information or documents in this action. The parties hereto expressly
reserve the right to seek any appropriate order modifying this Order or imposing additional
restrictions on discovery in this action, including an order that discovery not be had. Nothing
herein shall be read as to waive any privilege or exemption from production that any party may
assert independent of this Order.
15.

The inadvertent production of any “Confidential” Litigation Material during

discovery in this action without the “Confidential” designation, or the inadvertent production of
any privileged or work-product protected Litigation Material, shall be without prejudice to any
subsequent claim that such material is “Confidential”, is privileged in any respect, or is protected
from discovery as work-product within the meaning of Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure. No Party shall be held to have waived any rights by any such inadvertent production.
Privileged information that is inadvertently produced shall not be used and shall be immediately
returned upon request of the producing party.
16.

No party waives the right to challenge another party’s or non-party’s designation

of Litigation Material as “Confidential.” However, any party hereto that objects to another party’s
or non-party’s designation of Litigation Material as “Confidential” shall first state its objection in
writing to the producing entity no later than the close of discovery or within ten (10) days of the
receipt of the document, whichever last occurs. The parties hereto agree to confer in good faith to
resolve any dispute arising under this Order.
17.

In the event any receiving party has possession, custody, or control of any Litigation

Material designated as “Confidential” that becomes the subject of a subpoena or demand for the

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production of such Litigation Material in another matter, that receiving party shall notify counsel
for the producing party of such a subpoena or demand within two business days of receipt or prior
to the time required for production, whichever is earlier, so as to permit counsel for the producing
party time to seek an appropriate order modifying or quashing the subpoena or demand. The
receiving party shall not respond to any such subpoena or demand unless and until the producing
party has had an opportunity to seek an appropriate order modifying or quashing the subpoena or
demand or has provided written consent to production to the receiving party.
18.

This Order shall bind the parties and shall continue to be binding on the parties

throughout and after the conclusion of this action, including any appeals or retrials. This Court
shall retain jurisdiction of this action for the purpose of enabling any party, person or other entity
to apply for any order or relief as may be deemed necessary or appropriate to enforce this Order.
Upon termination of this action, each party shall return or destroy Litigation Materials designated
as “Confidential” and any copies, summaries, or digests thereof within thirty (30) days after the
termination. Nevertheless, one law firm for each party to this action may retain one complete set
of all trial testimony and exhibits, all deposition transcripts and exhibits, and all pleadings and
other papers filed with the Court. Documents retained under the provisions of this Paragraph shall
be kept in a secure fashion.

/s/ Chelsey M. Vascura
United States Magistrate Judge

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AGREED TO, this 9th day of March, 2018.

/s/ Barry R. Murner
Barry R. Murner
[e-mail]
THE SPITZ LAW FIRM, LLC
25200 Chagrin Blvd, Suite 200
Beachwood, Ohio 44122
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

/s/ Shawna M. Miller
Shawna M. Miller (pro hac vice)
[e-mail]
KABAT CHAPMAN & OZMER LLP
171 17th Street NW, Suite 1550
Atlanta, Georgia 30363
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Attorney for Plaintiff

Carolyn A. Davis (0084905)
[e-mail]
TAFT STETTINIUS & HOLLISTER LLP
65 East State Street, Suite 100
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Attorney for Defendants
Attorneys for Defendants

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“EXHIBIT 1”
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION
)
)
) Case No. 2:17-cv-01019-ALM-CMV
Plaintiff,
)
) Judge Algenon L. Marbley
v.
) Magistrate Judge Chelsey M. Vascura
)
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, LLC and )
TWC ADMINISTRATION LLC,
)
)
Defendants.
)
)
TARKENTON NEUHARDT,

I, __________________________, hereby declare:
1.
I have carefully read and understand the Stipulated Protective Order (the “Order”),
and I agree to be bound by the terms thereof and to comply with the terms thereof. I hereby submit
irrevocably to the jurisdiction of this Court for the purpose of enforcing the Order in the event that
I am alleged to have violated the terms thereof.
2.
I will hold in confidence and not disclose to anyone not qualified under the Order
any material designated “Confidential,” as defined in the Order, or any words, summaries,
abstracts, or indices of “Confidential” information disclosed to me.
3.
No later than the final conclusion of the case, I will return all “Confidential”
Litigation Material, as defined in the Order, and summaries, abstracts, and indices thereof which
come into my possession, and documents or things which I have prepared relating thereto, to
counsel for the party for whom I was employed or retained.
4.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the
foregoing is true and correct.
Dated: ________________________, 201_____.

Name:

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that this 9th day of March, 2018, I filed a copy of the foregoing document
with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system, which will provide notice to all counsel of
record:
Barry R. Murner
The Spitz Law Firm, LLC
25200 Chagrin Blvd., Ste. 200
Beachwood, OH 44122
[e-mail]

Dated: March 9, 2018.

/s/ Shawna M. Miller
Shawna M. Miller