Featherstone v. Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences

Filing 47

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER - granting 46 Motion for Protective Order. Signed by Judge Salvador Mendoza, Jr. (CC, Case Administrator)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

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ZACHARY FEATHERSTONE,

No. 1:14-CV-3084-SMJ

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Plaintiff,
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
ORDER

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v.
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PACIFIC NORTHWEST
UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH
SCIENCES,

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Defendant.
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One or more of the parties has requested the production of documents or

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information that at least one party considers to be or to contain confidential

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information, and that are subject to protection under Federal Rule of Civil

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Procedure 26(c).

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The parties agree that good cause exists to protect the confidential nature of

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the information contained in documents, interrogatory responses, responses to

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requests for admission, or deposition testimony. This action may concern (a)

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medical information protected as confidential by HIPAA or the ADA, (b)

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information that is governed or protected by the Family Educational Rights and

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Privacy Act, (c) reasonable and legitimate expectations of privacy of third-party

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applicants to Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences' College of

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Osteopathic Medicine, (d) academic and accommodation decisions made by

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PNWU regarding individuals other than Featherstone, (e) personal financial

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information (i.e. a tax return) in which Featherstone has a reasonable expectation

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of privacy, and (f) financial information of PNWU which is not publicly available.

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The parties agree that the entry of this Stipulated Protective Order ("Protective

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Order") is warranted to protect against public disclosure of such documents and

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information.

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Based upon the above stipulation of the parties, and the Court being duly
advised, the Court grants the protective Order.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: The Stipulated Protective
Order, ECF No. 46, is GRANTED.
1.

All documents, testimony, and other materials produced by the

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parties in this case and labeled either "Confidential" or "Attorneys'

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Eyes Only" shall be used only in this proceeding.

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2.

Use of any information or documents labeled either "Confidential" or

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"Attorneys' Eyes Only" and subject to this Protective Order,

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including all information derived therefrom, shall be restricted solely

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to the litigation of this case and shall not be used by any party for any

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business, commercial, marketing or other purpose. This Protective

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Order, however, does not restrict the disclosure or use of any

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information or documents lawfully obtained by the receiving party

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through means or sources outside of this litigation. Should a dispute

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arise as to any specific information or document, the burden shall be

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on the party claiming that such information or document was

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lawfully obtained through means and sources outside of this

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litigation.

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3.

The parties, and third parties subpoenaed by one of the parties or
appearing

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voluntarily,

may

designate

as

“Confidential”

or

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“Attorneys’ Eyes Only” documents, testimony, written responses, or

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other materials produced in this case if they contain information that

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the producing party has a good faith basis for asserting falls into one

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of the categories set forth above and is confidential under the

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applicable legal standards. The party shall designate each page of the

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document with a stamp identifying it as “Confidential” or

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“Attorneys’ Eyes Only,” if practical to do so.

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4.

If portions of documents or other materials deemed “Confidential” or

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“Attorneys’ Eyes Only” or any papers containing or making

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reference to such materials are filed with the Court, they shall be filed

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under seal and marked as follows or in substantially similar form:

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CONFIDENTIAL

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IN ACCORDANCE WITH A PROTECTIVE ORDER, THE
ENCLOSURE(S)
SHALL
BE
TREATED
AS
CONFIDENTIAL AND SHALL NOT BE SHOWN TO ANY
PERSON OTHER THAN THOSE PERSONS DESIGNATED
IN PARAGRAPH 7 OF THE PROTECTIVE ORDER.

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or

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ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY

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IN ACCORDANCE WITH A PROTECTIVE ORDER, THE
ENCLOSURE(S) SHALL BE TREATED AS FOR
ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY AND SHALL NOT BE
SHOWN TO ANY PERSON OTHER THAN THOSE
PERSONS DESIGNATED IN PARAGRAPH 8 OF THE
PROTECTIVE ORDER.

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If a party is filing a document that it has itself designated as
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“Confidential” or “Attorneys’ Eyes Only,” that party shall reference
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this Stipulated Protective Order in submitting the documents it
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proposes to maintain under seal. If a non-designating party is filing a
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document that another party has designated as “Confidential” or
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“Attorneys’ Eyes Only,” then the non-designating party shall file the
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document under seal. If the non-designating party makes a request in
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writing to have the document unsealed and designating party does not
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file, within ten calendar days, a motion that shows good cause to
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maintain the document under seal, then the Court shall unseal the
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document. Before seeking to maintain the protection of documents

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filed with the Court, a party must assess whether redaction is a viable

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alternative to complete nondisclosure.

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5.

Within thirty (30) days after receipt of the final transcript of the

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deposition of any party or witness in this case, or within thirty (30)

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days of execution of this Protective Order in the case of depositions

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predating the execution of this Protective Order, a party or the

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witness may designate as “Confidential” or “Attorneys’ Eyes Only”

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any portion of the transcript that the party or witness contends

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discloses confidential information.

If a transcript containing any

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such material is filed with the Court, it shall be filed under seal and

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marked in the manner described in paragraph 4. Unless otherwise

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agreed, all deposition transcripts shall be treated as “Confidential”

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until the expiration of the thirty-day period.

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6.

“Confidential”

or

“Attorneys’ Eyes

Only”

information

and

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documents subject to this Protective Order shall not be filed with the

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Court or included in whole or in part in pleadings, motions, briefs,

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etc., filed in this case, except when any portion(s) of such pleadings,

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motions, briefs, etc. have been filed under seal by counsel and

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marked in the same manner as described in paragraph 4 above. Such

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sealed portion(s) of pleadings, motions, briefs, documents, etc., shall

ORDER - 5

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be opened only by the Court or by personnel authorized to do so by

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the Court.

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7.

Use of any information, documents, or portions of documents marked

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“Confidential,” including all information derived therefrom, shall be

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restricted solely to the following persons, who agree to be bound by

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the terms of this Protective Order, unless additional persons are

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stipulated by counsel or authorized by the Court:

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a.

Counsel of record for the parties, and the administrative staff
of counsel's firms.

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b.

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Any party to this action who is an individual, and every

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employee, director, officer, or manager of any party to this

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action who is not an individual, but only to the extent

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necessary to further the interest of the parties in this litigation.
c.

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Independent consultants or expert witnesses (including

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partners, associates and employees of the firm which employs

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such consultant or expert) retained by a party or its attorneys

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for purposes of this litigation, but only to the extent necessary

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to further the interest of the parties in this litigation.
d.

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The Court and its personnel, including, but not limited to,
stenographic reporters regularly employed by the Court and

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stenographic reporters not regularly employed by the Court

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who are engaged by the Court or the parties during the

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litigation of this action, together with any necessary

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interpreters.

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e.

The authors and the original recipients of the documents.

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f.

Any court reporter or videographer reporting a deposition.

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g.

Employees of copy services, microfilming or database

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services, trial support firms and/or translators who are engaged

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by the parties during the litigation of this action.
h.

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auxiliary aids and services in connection with this litigation.

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Any interpreter, captionist, or other individual hired to provide

8.

Use of any information, documents, or portions of documents marked

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“Attorneys’ Eyes Only,” including all information derived therefrom,

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shall be restricted solely to the persons listed in paragraphs 7(a), 7(c),

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7(d), 7(e), 7(f) and 7(g), unless additional persons are stipulated by

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counsel or authorized by the Court.

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9.

Prior to being shown any documents produced by another party

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marked “Confidential” or “Attorneys’ Eyes Only,” any person listed

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under paragraph 7(c) or 7(f) shall agree to be bound by the terms of

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this Order by signing the agreement attached as Exhibit A.

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10.

Whenever information designated as “Confidential” or “Attorneys’

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Eyes Only” pursuant to this Protective Order is to be discussed by a

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party or disclosed in a deposition, hearing, or pretrial proceeding, the

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designating party may exclude from the room any person, other than

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persons designated in paragraphs 7 and 8, as appropriate, for that

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portion of the deposition, hearing or pretrial proceeding.

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11.

Each party reserves the right to dispute the confidential status

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claimed by any other party or subpoenaed party in accordance with

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this Protective Order. If a party believes that any documents or

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materials have been inappropriately designated by another party or

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subpoenaed party, and that they do not fall within the categories

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identified as being appropriate for protection herein, that party shall

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confer with counsel for the designating party.

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conferral, the designating party must assess whether redaction is a

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viable alternative to complete non-disclosure.

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unable to resolve the matter informally, a party may file an

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appropriate motion before the Court requesting that the Court

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determine whether the Protective Order covers the document in

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dispute. Regardless of which party files the motion, the party seeking

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to protect a document from disclosure bears the burden of

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As part of that

If the parties are

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establishing good cause for why the document should not be

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disclosed. A party who disagrees with another party’s designation

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must nevertheless abide by that designation until the matter is

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resolved by agreement of the parties or by order of the Court.

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12.

The inadvertent failure to designate a document, testimony, or other

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material as “Confidential” or “Attorneys’ Eyes Only” prior to

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disclosure shall not operate as a waiver of the party’s right to later

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designate

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“Confidential” or “Attorneys’ Eyes Only.” The receiving party or its

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counsel shall not disclose such documents or materials if that party or

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counsel knows or reasonably should know that a claim of

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confidentiality would be made by the producing party. Promptly

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after receiving notice from the producing party of a claim of

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confidentiality, the receiving party or its counsel shall inform the

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producing party of all pertinent facts relating to the prior disclosure

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of the newly-designated documents or materials, and shall make

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reasonable efforts to retrieve such documents and materials and to

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prevent further disclosure.

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13.

the

document,

testimony,

or

other

material

as

Designation by either party of information or documents as
“Confidential” or “Attorneys’ Eyes Only,” or failure to so designate,

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will not constitute an admission that information or documents are or

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are not confidential or trade secrets. Neither party may introduce into

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evidence in any proceeding between the parties, other than a motion

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to determine whether the Protective Order covers the information or

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documents in dispute, the fact that the other party designated or failed

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to designate information or documents as “Confidential” or

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“Attorneys’ Eyes Only.”
14.

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Upon the request of the producing party or third party, within 30 days

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after the entry of a final judgment no longer subject to appeal on the

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merits of this case, or the execution of any agreement between the

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parties to resolve amicably and settle this case, the parties and any

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person authorized by this Protective Order to receive confidential

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information shall return to the producing party or third party, or

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destroy, all information and documents subject to this Protective

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Order. Returned materials shall be delivered in sealed envelopes

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marked “Confidential” to respective counsel. The party requesting

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the return of materials shall pay the reasonable costs of responding to

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its request. Notwithstanding the foregoing, counsel for a party may

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retain archival copies of confidential documents.

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//

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15.

This Protective Order shall not constitute a waiver of any party’s or

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non-party’s right to oppose any discovery request or object to the

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admissibility of any document, testimony or other information.

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The parties further agree that there may be further categories of

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documents they wish to designate as subject to the provisions of this

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Stipulated Protective Order. Categories of documents may be added

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to this Stipulated Protective Order by written addenda signed by all

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parties and approved by the Court. Nothing in this Protective Order

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shall prejudice any party from seeking amendments to expand or

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restrict the rights of access to and use of confidential information, or

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other modifications, subject to order by the Court.

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17.

The restrictions on disclosure and use of confidential information

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shall survive the conclusion of this action and this Court shall retain

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jurisdiction of this action after its conclusion for the purpose of

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enforcing the terms of this Protective Order.

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IT IS SO ORDERED. The Clerk’s Office is directed to enter this Order
and provide copies to all counsel.
DATED this 31st day of December 2014.
_________________________
SALVADOR MENDOZA, JR.
United States District Judge

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Q:\SMJ\Civil\2014\Featherstone v. Pacific NW University-3084\stip.protective.order.lc1.docx

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EXHIBIT A

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I,

, have been advised by counsel of record

for ____________________ of the protective order governing the delivery,
publication, and disclosure of confidential documents and information produced

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in this litigation. I have read a copy of the protective order and agree to abide by

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its terms.

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Signed

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Printed

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Date

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