Bond et al v. Global Inflight Products

Filing 21

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER by U.S. District Judge John C Coughenour. (TH)

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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RICHARD BOND, et al.,

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Plaintiffs,
v.

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CASE NO. C17-0860-JCC
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
ORDER

GLOBAL INFLIGHT PRODUCTS,

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Defendant.

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Pursuant to the parties’ stipulated motion for a protective order (Dkt. No. 20), the Court

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ORDERS as follows:

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1.

PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

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Discovery in this action involves production of confidential, proprietary, or private

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information for which special protection may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby

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stipulate to and petition the court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties

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acknowledge that this agreement is consistent with LCR 26(c). It does not confer blanket

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protection on all disclosures or responses to discovery, the protection it affords from public

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disclosure and use 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 entitle parties to file

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confidential information under seal.

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
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2.

“CONFIDENTIAL” MATERIAL

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“Confidential” material shall include the following documents and tangible things
produced or otherwise exchanged:

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a. Non-party employee files;

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b. Trade secrets (e.g., pricing information);

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c. Medical records; and

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d. Personal and corporate financial and tax information.

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3.

SCOPE

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The protections conferred by this agreement cover not only confidential material (as

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defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from confidential material; (2) all

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copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of confidential material; and (3) any testimony,

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conversations, or presentations by parties or their counsel that might reveal confidential material.

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

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domain

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4.

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or

becomes

part

of

the

public

domain

through

trial

or

otherwise.

ACCESS TO AND USE OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL
4.1

Basic Principles. A receiving party may use confidential material that is disclosed

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or produced by another party or by a non-party in connection with this case only for prosecuting,

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defending, or attempting to settle this litigation. Confidential material may be disclosed only to the

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categories of persons and under the conditions described in this agreement. Confidential material

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must be stored and maintained by a receiving party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures

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

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4.2

Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered

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by the court or permitted in writing by the designating party, a receiving party may disclose any

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confidential material only to:

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(a) the receiving party’s counsel of record in this action, as well as employees of counsel
to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this litigation;
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
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(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including in house counsel) of the receiving

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party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation, unless the parties agree that a

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particular document or material produced 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 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 duplication of confidential

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material, provided that counsel for the party retaining the copy or imaging service instructs the

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service not to disclose any confidential material to third parties and to immediately return all

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originals and copies of any confidential material;

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(f) during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is reasonably

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necessary and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A),

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unless otherwise agreed by the designating party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed

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deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal confidential material must be separately

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

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agreement;

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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.

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4.3

Filing Confidential Material. Before filing confidential material or discussing or

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referencing such material in court filings, the filing party shall confer with the designating party

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to determine whether the designating party will remove the confidential designation, whether the

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document can be redacted, or whether a motion to seal or stipulation and proposed order is

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warranted. Local Civil Rule 5(g) sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards

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that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.

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5.

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DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
5.1

Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each party

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or non-party that designates information or items for protection under this agreement must take

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care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards

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for confidentiality. The designating party must designate for protection only those parts of

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material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify, so that other portions

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of the material, documents, items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are

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not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this agreement.

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Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are

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unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber or

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delay the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other

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parties) expose the designating party to sanctions.

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

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protection do not qualify for protection, the designating party must promptly notify all other parties

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that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.

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5.2

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e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, disclosure

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or discovery material that qualifies for protection under this agreement must be clearly so

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designated

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Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this agreement (see,

(a)

before

or

when

the

material

is

disclosed

or

produced.

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

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deposition exhibits, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings),

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

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confidential material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection,

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

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markings in the margins).

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(b)

Testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings: the parties

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must identify on the record, during the deposition, hearing, or other proceeding, all protected

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testimony, without prejudice to their right to so designate other testimony after reviewing the

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transcript. Any party may, within fifteen days after receiving a deposition transcript, designate

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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

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exterior of the container or containers in which the information or item is stored the word

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“CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information or item warrant protection,

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the producing party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).

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5.3

Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to

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designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the designating party’s

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right to secure protection under this agreement for such material. Upon timely correction of an

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appropriate designation, the receiving party must make reasonable efforts to ensure that the

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material

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6.

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is

treated

in

accordance

with

the

provisions

of

this

agreement.

CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
6.1

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

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confidentiality at any time. Unless a prompt challenge to a designating party’s confidentiality

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designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial unfairness, unnecessary economic

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burdens, or a significant disruption or delay of the litigation, a party does not waive its right to

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challenge a 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 dispute

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regarding confidential designations without court involvement. Any motion regarding confidential

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designations or for a protective order must include a certification, in the motion or in a declaration

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or affidavit, that the movant has engaged in a good faith meet and confer conference with other

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affected parties in an effort to resolve the dispute without court action. The certification must list
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the date, manner, and participants to the conference. A good faith effort to confer requires a face-

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to-face meeting or a telephone conference.

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6.3

Judicial Intervention. If the parties cannot resolve a challenge without court

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intervention, the designating party may file and serve a motion to retain confidentiality under Local

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Civil Rule 7 (and in compliance with Local Civil Rule 5(g), if applicable). The burden of

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persuasion in any such motion shall be on the designating party. Frivolous challenges, and those

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

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

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the material in question as confidential until the court rules on the challenge.

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7.

PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER

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LITIGATION

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If a party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels

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disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that

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party must:

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(a)

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

or court order;

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(b)

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

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the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to

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this agreement. Such notification shall include a copy of this agreement; and

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(c)

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designating

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8.

cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the
party

whose

confidential

material

may

be

affected.

UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

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material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this agreement, the receiving

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party must immediately (a) notify in writing the designating party of the unauthorized disclosures,

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(b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the protected material, (c) inform the
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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 Agreement to Be

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Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

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INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE PROTECTED

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MATERIAL

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When a producing party gives notice to receiving parties that certain inadvertently

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produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the

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receiving parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision

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is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order or

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agreement that provides for production without prior privilege review. Parties shall confer on an

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appropriate

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10.

non-waiver

order

under

Fed.

R.

Evid.

502.

NON-TERMINATION AND RETURN OF DOCUMENTS

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

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party must return all confidential material to the producing party, including all copies, extracts and

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summaries thereof. Alternatively, the parties may agree upon appropriate methods of destruction.

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Notwithstanding this provision, counsel are entitled to retain one archival copy of all

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documents filed with the court, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, correspondence,

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deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work

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product, even if such materials contain confidential material.

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The confidentiality obligations imposed by this agreement shall remain in effect until a

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designating party agrees otherwise in writing or a court orders otherwise.

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IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
DATED: 11/29/2017

__/s/ Robert M. Crowley_________
Impact Law Group PLLC
Jonah O. Harrison, WSBA #34576
Robert M. Crowley, WSBA #37953
Attorneys for Defendant

DATED: 11/29/2017

_/s/ Stephen A. Teller__________
Teller and Associates, PLLC
Stephen A. Teller, WSBA #23372
Attorneys for Plaintiffs

DATED: 11/29/2017

_/s/ William L. Dixon __________
Dixon Law Firm PLLC
William L. Dixon, WSBA#26920
Attorneys for Plaintiffs

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PURSUANT TO STIPULATION, IT IS SO ORDERED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED

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that pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 502(d), the production of any documents in this proceeding shall

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not, for the purposes of this proceeding or any other proceeding in any other court, constitute a

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waiver by the producing party of any privilege applicable to those documents, including the

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attorney-client privilege, attorney work-product protection, or any other privilege or protection

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recognized by law.

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DATED this 5th of December 2017.

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A

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John C. Coughenour
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
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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 _________________

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[print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and

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understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for

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the Western District of Washington on [date] in the case of Bond v. Global Inflight Products,

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Cause Number 2:17-CV-00860 JCC. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of
this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply

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could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that

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I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated

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Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this

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Order.

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

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Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur 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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