Torres v. Inspire Development Centers

Filing 12

PROTECTIVE ORDER. The parties' Stipulated Motion for Protective Order ECF No. 11 is GRANTED. Signed by Judge Thomas O. Rice. (LLH, Courtroom Deputy)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

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JOSE M. TORRES,
NO: 13-CV-3062-TOR
Plaintiff,

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
v.

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INSPIRE DEVELOPMENT
CENTERS, a non-profit corporation,

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Defendant.
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BEFORE THE COURT is the parties’ Stipulated Motion for Protective
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Order (ECF No. 11). Pursuant to the parties’ stipulation, the motion is
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GRANTED.
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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:
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1.

PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,

proprietary, or private information for which special protection may be warranted.
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Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the court to enter the

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER ~ 1

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following Stipulated Protective Order. This agreement does not confer blanket

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protection on all disclosures or responses to discovery. The protection it affords

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from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that
are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles, and it

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does not presumptively entitle parties to file confidential information under seal.

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2.

“CONFIDENTIAL” MATERIAL
“Confidential” material shall include the following documents and tangible

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things produced or otherwise exchanged: documents from the personnel file of
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Manuel Cruz and other documents containing confidential information related to

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third parties.

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3.

SCOPE
The protections conferred by this agreement cover not only confidential

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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
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 becomes part of the public domain through trial or otherwise.

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4.

ACCESS TO AND USE OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL
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.
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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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.

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER ~ 2

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4.2

Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items.

Unless

otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the designating party, a
receiving party may disclose any confidential material only to:
(a)

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

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employees of counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the

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information for this litigation;

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(b)

the officers, directors, and employees (including in house

counsel) of the receiving party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this
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litigation, unless the parties agree that a particular document or material produced

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is for Attorney’s Eyes Only and is so designated;

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(c)

experts and consultants to whom disclosure is reasonably

necessary for this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and
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Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
(d)

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

(e)

copy or imaging services retained by counsel to assist in the

duplication of confidential material, provided that counsel for the party retaining

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the copy or imaging service instructs the service not to disclose any confidential

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material to third parties and to immediately return all originals and copies of any

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confidential material;
(f)

during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom

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disclosure is reasonably necessary and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and

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Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the designating
party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits

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to depositions that reveal confidential material must be separately bound by the

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court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this

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agreement; and

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER ~ 3

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(g)

the author or recipient of a document containing the

information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or 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
motion to seal or stipulation and proposed order is warranted.

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5.

DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
5.1

Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

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

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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,
items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
unjustifiably within the ambit of this agreement.
Mass,

indiscriminate,

or

routinized

designations

are

prohibited.

Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an
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.
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
promptly notify all other parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.
5.2

Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in

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

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER ~ 4

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

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

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material is disclosed or produced.
(a)

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

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documents and deposition exhibits, but excluding transcripts of depositions or

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other pretrial or trial proceedings), the designating party must affix the word

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“CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains confidential material. If only a
portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the producing

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

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appropriate markings in the margins).
(b)

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Testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial

proceedings: the parties must identify on the record, during the deposition, hearing,
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or other proceeding, all protected testimony, without prejudice to their right to so

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designate other testimony after reviewing the transcript. Any party or non-party

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may, within fifteen days after receiving a deposition transcript, designate portions
of the transcript, or exhibits thereto, as confidential.

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(c)

Other tangible items: the producing party must affix in a

prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the
information or item is stored the word “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or
portions of the information or item warrant protection, the producing party, to the
extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
5.3

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
provisions of this agreement.

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6.

CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
6.1

Timing of Challenges.

Any party or non-party may challenge a

designation of confidentiality at any time.

Unless a prompt challenge to a

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
original designation is disclosed.

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6.2

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

dispute regarding confidential designations without court involvement.

Any

motion regarding confidential designations or for a protective order must include a
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
requires a face-to-face meeting or a telephone conference.
6.3

Judicial Intervention. If the parties cannot resolve a challenge without

court intervention, the designating party may file and serve a motion to retain
confidentiality under Local Civil Rule 7.1. The burden of persuasion in any such
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
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.

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PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION

PROTECTED

MATERIAL

SUBPOENAED

OR

ORDERED

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:
(a)

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promptly notify the designating party in writing and include a copy of

the subpoena or court order;
(b)

promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order

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to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the

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subpoena or order is subject to this agreement. Such notification shall include a

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copy of this agreement; and
(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 affected.

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8.

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UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
If a receiving party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed

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
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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INADVERTENT

PRODUCTION

OF

PRIVILEGED

OR

OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL

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When a producing party gives notice to receiving parties that certain

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inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
protection, the obligations of the receiving parties are those set forth in Federal

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Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify

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whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order or agreement that

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provides for production without prior privilege review. Parties shall confer on an
appropriate non-waiver order under Fed. R. Evid. 502.

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10.

NON TERMINATION AND RETURN OF DOCUMENTS
Within 60 days after the termination of this action, including all appeals,

each receiving party must return all confidential material to the producing party,
including all copies, extracts and summaries thereof. Alternatively, the parties may

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agree upon appropriate methods of destruction.
Notwithstanding this provision, counsel are entitled to retain one archival
copy of all documents filed with the court, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts,
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
effect until a designating party agrees otherwise in writing or a court orders
otherwise.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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The District Court Executive is hereby directed to enter this Order and

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provide copies to counsel.
DATED March 20, 2014.

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THOMAS O. RICE
United States District Judge

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER ~ 8

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EXHIBIT A

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

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I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of
_________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury

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that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that

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was issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of

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Washington on __________ [date] in the case of Jose M. Torres v. Inspire
Development Centers, a Non-Profit Corporation, Docket No. 13-CV-3062 TOR. I

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agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective

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Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose

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me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that
I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this

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Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with

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the provisions of this Order.

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I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of Washington for the purpose of enforcing the terms

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of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur

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after termination of this action.

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Date: _________________________________

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City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
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Printed name: ______________________________

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Signature: __________________________________

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