Ochoa v. Mid Columbia Forklift

Filing 9

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER. Signed by Chief Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson. (LR, Case Administrator)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

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SERGIO OCHOA,
NO: 1:15-CV-3013-RMP
Plaintiff,

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v.

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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MID COLUMBIA FORKLIFT,
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Defendant.
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BEFORE THE COURT is the parties’ Stipulated Protective Order, ECF No.

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8. The Court has reviewed the proposed order and is fully informed. Having

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found good cause to enter the Order, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:

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1.

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This agreement does not confer blanket protection on all disclosures or

LIMITATIONS

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responses to discovery. The protection it affords from public disclosure and use

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extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential

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treatment under the applicable legal principles, and it does not presumptively

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entitle parties to file confidential information under seal.

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER ~ 1

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2.

“CONFIDENTIAL” MATERIAL

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“Confidential” material shall include the following documents and tangible

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things produced or otherwise exchanged: Plaintiff’s medical records, financial

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records containing and any other sensitive personal identifying information, and

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Defendant’s sensitive information.

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3.

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The protections conferred by this agreement cover not only confidential

SCOPE

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material as defined above, but also: (1) any information copied or extracted from

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confidential material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of

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confidential material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by

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parties or their counsel that might reveal confidential material. However, the

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protections conferred by this agreement do not cover information that is in the

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public domain or that becomes part of the public domain through trial or otherwise.

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4.

ACCESS TO AND USE OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL

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4.1

Basic Principles. A receiving party may use confidential material that

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is disclosed or produced by another party or by a non-party in connection with this

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case only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this litigation.

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Confidential material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under

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the conditions described in this agreement. Confidential material must be stored

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER ~ 2

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and maintained by a receiving party at a location and in a secure manner that

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ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under this agreement.

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4.2

Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

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otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the designating party, a

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receiving party may disclose any confidential material only to:

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a.

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employees of counsel;

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b.

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counsel, of the receiving party to whom disclosure is reasonably

the receiving party’s counsel of record in this action, as well as

the officers, directors, and employees, including in house

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necessary for this litigation, unless the parties agree that a particular

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document or material produced is for Attorney’s Eyes Only and is so

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designated;

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c.

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and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);

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d.

the court, court personnel, and court reporters and their staff;

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e.

copy or imaging services retained by counsel to assist in the

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duplication of confidential material, provided that counsel for the

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party retaining the copy or imaging service instructs the service not to

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disclose any confidential material to third parties and to immediately

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return all originals and copies of any confidential material;

experts and consultants who have signed the “Acknowledgment

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER ~ 3

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f.

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signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit

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A), unless otherwise agreed by the designating party or ordered by the

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court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to

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depositions that reveal confidential material must be separately bound

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by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as

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permitted under this agreement; and

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g.

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information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or

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during their depositions, witnesses in the action who have

the author or recipient of a document containing the

knew the information.
4.3

Filing Confidential Material. Before filing confidential material or

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discussing or referencing such material in court filings, the filing party shall confer

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with the designating party to determine whether the designating party will remove

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the confidential designation, whether the document can be redacted, or whether a

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motion to seal or stipulation and proposed order is warranted.

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5.

DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

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5.1

Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

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Each party or non-party that designates information or items for protection under

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this agreement must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that

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qualifies under the appropriate standards. The designating party must designate for

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER ~ 4

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protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written

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communications that qualify, so that other portions of the material, documents,

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items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept

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unjustifiably within the ambit of this agreement.

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Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited.

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Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an

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improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber or delay the case development

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process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) expose

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the designating party to sanctions.

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If it comes to a designating party’s attention that information or items that it

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designated for protection do not qualify for protection, the designating party must

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promptly notify all other parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.

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5.2

Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in

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this agreement, see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below, or as otherwise

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stipulated or ordered, disclosure or discovery material that qualifies for protection

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under this agreement must be clearly so designated before or when the material is

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disclosed or produced.

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a.

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documents and deposition exhibits, but excluding transcripts of

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depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), the designating

Information in documentary form: (e.g., paper or electronic

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party must affix the word “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that

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contains confidential material. If only a portion or portions of the

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material on a page qualifies for protection, the producing party also

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must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making

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appropriate markings in the margins).

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b.

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proceedings: the parties must identify on the record, during the

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deposition, hearing, or other proceeding, all protected testimony,

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without prejudice to their right to so designate other testimony after

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reviewing the transcript. Any party or non-party may, within fifteen

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days after receiving a deposition transcript, designate portions of the

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transcript, or exhibits thereto, as confidential.

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c.

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prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which

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the information or item is stored the word “CONFIDENTIAL.” If

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only a portion or portions of the information or item warrant

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protection, the producing party, to the extent practicable, shall identify

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the protected portion(s).

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5.3

Testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial

Other tangible items: the producing party must affix in a

Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive

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the designating party’s right to secure protection under this agreement for such

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material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the receiving party must make

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reasonable efforts to ensure that the material is treated in accordance with the

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provisions of this agreement.

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6.

CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

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6.1

Timing of Challenges. Any party or non-party may challenge a

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designation of confidentiality at any time. Unless a prompt challenge to a

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designating party’s confidentiality designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable,

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substantial unfairness, unnecessary economic burdens, or a significant disruption

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or delay of the litigation, a party does not waive its right to challenge a

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confidentiality designation by electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the

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original designation is disclosed.

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6.2

Meet and Confer. The parties must make every attempt to resolve any

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dispute regarding confidential designations without court involvement. Any

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motion regarding confidential designations or for a protective order must include a

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certification, in the motion or in a declaration or affidavit, that the movant has

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engaged in a good faith meet and confer conference with other affected parties in

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an effort to resolve the dispute without court action. The certification must list the

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date, manner, and participants to the conference. A good faith effort to confer

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requires a face-to-face meeting or a telephone conference.

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6.3

Judicial Intervention. If the parties cannot resolve a challenge without

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court intervention, the designating party may file and serve a motion to retain

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confidentiality under Local Civil Rule 7.1. The burden of persuasion in any such

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motion shall be on the designating party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for

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an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens

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on other parties) may expose the challenging party to sanctions. All parties shall

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continue to maintain the material in question as confidential until the court rules on

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the challenge.

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7.
PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION

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If a party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
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that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as
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“CONFIDENTIAL,” that party must:
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a.

promptly notify the designating party in writing and include a

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copy of the subpoena or court order;
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b.

promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena

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or order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material
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covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this agreement. Such
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notification shall include a copy of this agreement; and
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c.

cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be

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pursued by the designating party whose confidential material may be

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affected.

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8.

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If a receiving party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed

UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

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confidential material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under

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this agreement, the receiving party must immediately: (a) notify in writing the

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designating party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve

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all unauthorized copies of the protected material, (c) inform the person or persons

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to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this agreement,

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and (d) request that such person or persons execute the “Acknowledgment and

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Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

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9.

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Within 60 days after the termination of this action, including all appeals,

NON TERMINATION AND RETURN OF DOCUMENTS

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each receiving party must return all confidential material to the producing party,

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including all copies, extracts and summaries thereof. Alternatively, the parties

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may agree upon appropriate methods of destruction.

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Notwithstanding this provision, counsel are entitled to retain one archival

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copy of all documents filed with the court, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts,

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correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work

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product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain

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confidential material.

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The confidentiality obligations imposed by this agreement shall remain in

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effect until a designating party agrees otherwise in writing or a court orders

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otherwise.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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The District Court Clerk is directed to enter this Order and provide copies to

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counsel.
DATED this 21st day of July 2015.
s/ Rosanna Malouf Peterson
ROSANNA MALOUF PETERSON
Chief United States District Court Judge

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER ~ 10