Park v. SSC Service Solutions Corp
Filing
37
CONFIDENTIALITY ORDER granting 36 Consent Motion for Confidentiality Order. Signed by Honorable Joseph F Anderson, Jr on 05/31/2011.(bshr, )
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
COLUMBIA DIVISION
Sarah Park,
Plaintiff,
vs.
Southeast Service Corp.,
Defendant.
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Civil Action No. 3:10-cv-2949-JFA
CONFIDENTIALITY ORDER
Whereas, the parties to this Consent Confidentiality Order (“parties”), have stipulated
that certain discovery material is and should be treated as confidential, and have agreed to
the terms of this order; accordingly, it is ORDERED:
1.
Scope. All documents produced in the course of discovery, all responses to
discovery requests and all deposition testimony and deposition exhibits and any other
materials which may be subject to discovery (hereinafter collectively “documents”) shall be
subject to this Order concerning confidential information as set forth below.
2.
Form and Timing of Designation. Confidential documents shall be so
designated by placing or affixing the word “CONFIDENTIAL” on the document in a manner
which will not interfere with the legibility of the document and which will permit complete
removal of the Confidential designation. Documents shall be designated CONFIDENTIAL
prior to, or contemporaneously with, the production or disclosure of the documents.
Inadvertent or unintentional production of documents without prior designation as
confidential shall not be deemed a waiver, in whole or in part, of the right to designate
documents as confidential as otherwise allowed by this Order.
3.
Documents Which May be Designated Confidential. Any party may
designate documents as confidential but only after review of the documents by an attorney1
who has, in good faith, determined that the documents contain information protected from
disclosure by statute, sensitive personal information, trade secrets, or confidential research,
development, or commercial information. The certification shall be made concurrently with
the disclosure of the documents, using the form attached hereto at Attachment A which shall
be executed subject to the standards of Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Information or documents which are available in the public sector may not be designated as
confidential.
4.
Depositions. Portions of depositions shall be deemed confidential only if
designated as such when the deposition is taken or within seven business days after receipt
of the transcript. Such designation shall be specific as to the portions to be protected.
5.
Protection of Confidential Material.
a.
General Protections. Documents designated CONFIDENTIAL under
this Order shall not be used or disclosed by the parties or counsel for the parties or any other
persons identified below (¶ 5.b.) for any purposes whatsoever other than preparing for and
conducting the litigation in which the documents were disclosed (including any appeal of that
1
The attorney who reviews the documents and certifies them to be CONFIDENTIAL must be
admitted to the Bar of at least one state but need not be admitted to practice in the District of South Carolina
and need not apply for pro hac vice admission. By signing the certification, counsel submits to the jurisdiction
of this court in regard to the certification.
litigation). The parties shall not disclose documents designated as confidential to putative
class members not named as plaintiffs in putative class litigation unless and until one or more
classes have been certified.
b.
Limited Third Party Disclosures. The parties and counsel for the
parties shall not disclose or permit the disclosure of any documents designated
CONFIDENTIAL under the terms of this Order to any other person or entity except as set
forth in subparagraphs (1)-(5) below, and then only after the person to whom disclosure is
to be made has executed an acknowledgment (in the form set forth at Attachment B hereto),
that he or she has read and understands the terms of this Order and is bound by it. Subject to
these requirements, the following categories of persons may be allowed to review documents
which have been designated CONFIDENTIAL pursuant to this Order:
(1)
counsel and employees of counsel for the parties who have
responsibility for the preparation and trial of the lawsuit;
(2)
parties and employees of a party to this Order but only to the
extent counsel shall certify that the specifically named individual party or
employee’s assistance is necessary to the conduct of the litigation in which the
information is disclosed2;
(3)
court reporters engaged for depositions and those persons, if any,
specifically engaged for the limited purpose of making photocopies of documents;
2
At or prior to the time such party or employee completes his or her acknowledgment of
review of this Order and agreement to be bound by it (Attachment B hereto), counsel shall complete
a certification in the form shown at Attachment C hereto. Counsel shall retain the certification
together with the form signed by the party or employee.
(4)
consultants, investigators, or experts (hereinafter referred to
collectively as “experts”) employed by the parties or counsel for the parties to assist in the
preparation and trial of the lawsuit; and
(5)
other persons only upon consent of the producing party or upon
order of the court and on such conditions as are agreed to or ordered.
c.
Control of Documents. Counsel for the parties shall take reasonable
efforts to prevent unauthorized disclosure of documents designated as Confidential pursuant
to the terms of this order. Counsel shall maintain a record of those persons, including
employees of counsel, who have reviewed or been given access to the documents along with
the originals of the forms signed by those persons acknowledging their obligations under this
Order.
d.
Copies. All copies, duplicates, extracts, summaries or descriptions
(hereinafter referred to collectively as “copies”), of documents designated as Confidential
under this Order or any portion of such a document, shall be immediately affixed with the
designation “CONFIDENTIAL” if the word does not already appear on the copy. All such
copies shall be afforded the full protection of this Order.
6.
Filing of Confidential Materials. In the event a party seeks to file any
material that is subject to protection under this Order with the court, that party shall take
appropriate action to insure that the documents receive proper protection from public
disclosure including: (1) filing a redacted document with the consent of the party who
designated the document as confidential; (2) where appropriate (e.g. in relation to discovery
and evidentiary motions), submitting the documents solely for in camera review; or (3)
where the preceding measures are not adequate, seeking permission to file the document
under seal pursuant to the procedural steps set forth in Local Civil Rule 5.03, DSC, or such
other rule or procedure as may apply in the relevant jurisdiction. Absent extraordinary
circumstances making prior consultation impractical or inappropriate, the party seeking to
submit the document to the court shall first consult with counsel for the party who designated
the document as confidential to determine if some measure less restrictive than filing the
document under seal may serve to provide adequate protection. This duty exists irrespective
of the duty to consult on the underlying motion. Nothing in this Order shall be construed as
a prior directive to the Clerk of Court to allow any document be filed under seal. The parties
understand that documents may be filed under seal only with the permission of the court after
proper motion pursuant to Local Civil Rule 5.03.
7.
Greater Protection of Specific Documents.
No party may withhold
information from discovery on the ground that it requires protection greater than that
afforded by this Order unless the party moves for an Order providing such special protection.
8.
Challenges to Designation as Confidential.
designation is subject to challenge.
Any CONFIDENTIAL
The following procedures shall apply to any such
challenge.
a.
The burden of proving the necessity of a Confidential designation
remains with the party asserting confidentiality.
b.
A party who contends that documents designated CONFIDENTIAL are
not entitled to confidential treatment shall give written notice to the party who affixed the
designation of the specific basis for the challenge. The party who so designated the
documents shall have fifteen (15) days from service of the written notice to determine if the
dispute can be resolved without judicial intervention and, if not, to move for an Order
confirming the Confidential designation.
c.
Notwithstanding any challenge to the designation of documents as
confidential, all material previously designated CONFIDENTIAL shall continue to be treated
as subject to the full protections of this Order until one of the following occurs:
(1)
the party who claims that the documents are confidential
withdraws such designation in writing;
(2)
the party who claims that the documents are confidential fails to
move timely for an Order designating the documents as confidential as set forth in paragraph
8.b. above; or
(3)
the court rules that the documents should no longer be designated
as confidential information.
d.
Challenges to the confidentiality of documents may be made at any time
and are not waived by the failure to raise the challenge at the time of initial disclosure or
designation.
9.
Treatment on Conclusion of Litigation.
a.
Order Remains in Effect. All provisions of this Order restricting the
use of documents designated CONFIDENTIAL shall continue to be binding after the
conclusion of the litigation unless otherwise agreed or ordered.
b.
Return of CONFIDENTIAL Documents. Within thirty (30) days
after the conclusion of the litigation, including conclusion of any appeal, all documents
treated as confidential under this Order, including copies as defined above (¶5.d.) shall be
returned to the producing party unless: (1) the document has been entered as evidence or filed
(unless introduced or filed under seal); (2) the parties stipulate to destruction in lieu of return;
or (3) as to documents containing the notations, summations, or other mental impressions of
the receiving party, that party elects destruction. Notwithstanding the above requirements
to return or destroy documents, counsel may retain attorney work product including an index
which refers or relates to information designated CONFIDENTIAL so long as that work
product does not duplicate verbatim substantial portions of the text of confidential
documents. This work product continues to be Confidential under the terms of this Order.
An attorney may use his or her work product in a subsequent litigation provided that its use
does not disclose the confidential documents.
10.
Order Subject to Modification. This Order shall be subject to modification
on motion of any party or any other person who may show an adequate interest in the matter
to intervene for purposes of addressing the scope and terms of this Order. The Order shall
not, however, be modified until the parties shall have been given notice and an opportunity
to be heard on the proposed modification.
11.
No Judicial Determination.
This Order is entered based on the
representations and agreements of the parties and for the purpose of facilitating discovery.
Nothing herein shall be construed or presented as a judicial determination that any specific
document or item of information designated as CONFIDENTIAL by counsel is subject to
protection under Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or otherwise until such
time as a document-specific ruling shall have been made.
12.
Persons Bound. This Order shall take effect when entered and shall be
binding upon: (1) counsel who signed below and their respective law firms; and (2) their
respective clients.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
May 31, 2011
Columbia, South Carolina
Joseph F. Anderson, Jr.
United States District Judge
ATTACHMENT A
CERTIFICATION BY COUNSEL OF DESIGNATION
OF INFORMATION AS CONFIDENTIAL
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
COLUMBIA DIVISION
Sarah Park,
Plaintiff,
vs.
Southeast Service Corp.,
Defendant.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
Civil Action No. 3:10-cv-02949-JFA
CERTIFICATION BY COUNSEL
OF DESIGNATION OF
INFORMATION AS
CONFIDENTIAL
Documents produced herewith [whose bates numbers are listed below (or) which
are listed on the attached index] have been marked as CONFIDENTIAL subject to the
Confidentiality Order entered in this action which Order is dated [confidentiality order date].
By signing below, I am certifying that I have personally reviewed the marked
documents and believe, based on that review, that they are properly subject to protection under the
terms of Paragraph 3 of the Confidentiality Order.
Check and complete one of the two options below.
“
I am a member of the Bar of the United States District Court for the District
of South Carolina. My District Court Bar number is [District Court Bar #].
“
I am not a member of the Bar of the United States District Court for the
District of South Carolina but am admitted to the bar of one or more states.
The state in which I conduct the majority of my practice is [state in which I
practice most] where my Bar number is [that state's Bar #]. I understand that
by completing this certification I am submitting to the jurisdiction of the
United States District Court for the District of South Carolina as to any
matter relating to this certification.
Date: [date attachment A signed]
[Signature of Counsel [s/name]]
Signature of Counsel
[Printed Name of Counsel [A]]
Printed Name of Counsel
ATTACHMENT B
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDERSTANDING
AND
AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
COLUMBIA DIVISION
Sarah Park,
Plaintiff,
vs.
Southeast Service Corp.,
Defendant
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Civil Action No. 3:10-cv-02949-JFA
Acknowledgment of Understanding
and
Agreement to be Bound
The undersigned hereby acknowledges that he or she has read the Confidentiality
Order dated May 31, 2011, in the above captioned action, understands the terms thereof, and agrees
to be bound by such terms. The undersigned submits to the jurisdiction of the United States District
Court for the District of South Carolina in matters relating to the Confidentiality Order and
understands that the terms of said Order obligate him/her to use discovery materials designated
CONFIDENTIAL solely for the purposes of the above-captioned action, and not to disclose any
such confidential information to any other person, firm or concern.
The undersigned acknowledges that violation of the Stipulated Confidentiality Order
may result in penalties for contempt of court.
Name:
[undersigned name [att B]]
Job Title:
[Job Title [att B]]
Employer:
[Employer [att B]]
Business Address:
[Business Address [att B]]
Date: [date attachment B signed]
[Signature [attachment B]]
Signature
ATTACHMENT C
CERTIFICATION OF COUNSEL OF NEED
FOR ASSISTANCE OF PARTY/EMPLOYEE
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
COLUMBIA DIVISION
Sarah Park,
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Plaintiff,
)
vs.
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Southeast Service Corp.,
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Defendant
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______________________________)
Civil Action No. 3:10-cv-02949-JFA
Certification of Counsel
of Need for Assistance of Party/Employee
Pursuant to the Confidentiality Order entered in this action, most particularly the provisions
of Paragraph 6.b.2., I certify that the assistance of [name of assistant [att C]] is reasonably necessary
to the conduct of this litigation and that this assistance requires the disclosure to this individual of
information which has been designated as CONFIDENTIAL.
I have explained the terms of the Confidentiality Order to the individual named above and
will obtain his or her signature on an “Acknowledgment of Understanding and Agreement to be
Bound” prior to releasing any confidential documents to the named individual and I will release
only such confidential documents as are reasonably necessary to the conduct of the litigation.
The individual named above is:
“
A named party;
“
An employee of named party [employee of named party]. This employee’s job title
is [employee's job title] and work address is [employee's work address].
Date: [date attachment C signed]
[Signature [attachment C]]
Signature
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