Wescott v. Amazon.com Services LLC

Filing 13

ORDER granting parties' 12 Stipulated Motion for Protective Order signed by U.S. District Judge John C Coughenour. (TH)

Case 2:20-cv-00852-JCC Document 13 Filed 08/05/20 Page 1 of 9

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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TYLER WESCOTT,

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Plaintiff,

ORDER

v.

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CASE NO. C20-0852-JCC

AMAZON.COM SERVICES, LLC,

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Defendant.

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This matter comes before the Court on the parties’ stipulated motion for entry of a

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protective order (Dkt. No. 12). Having thoroughly considered the motion and the relevant record

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and finding good cause, the Court hereby GRANTS the motion and ENTERS the following

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protective order:

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1.

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

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

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hereby stipulate to and petition the court to enter the following stipulated protective order. The

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parties acknowledge that this order is consistent with Western District of Washington Local Civil

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Rule 26(c). It does not confer blanket protection on all disclosures or responses to discovery, the

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protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or

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items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles, and it does

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not presumptively entitle parties to file confidential information under seal.

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2.

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

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produced or otherwise exchanged: Plaintiff’s medical records and confidential personnel

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information concerning other employees of Defendant.

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3.

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SCOPE
The protections conferred by this order cover not only confidential material but also (1)

any information copied or extracted from confidential material; (2) all copies, excerpts,

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

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

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However, the protections conferred by this order 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.

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ACCESS TO AND USE OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL
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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

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

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must be stored 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 order.

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4.2

Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise

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ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the designating party, a receiving party may

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disclose any 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;

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(b)

the officers, directors, and employees (including in-house counsel) of the

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receiving party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation, unless the parties

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agree that a particular document or material produced is for Attorney’s Eyes Only and is so

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designated;

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(c)

experts and consultants to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for

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this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit

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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

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

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instructs the service not to disclose any confidential material to third parties and to immediately

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return all originals and copies of any confidential material;

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(f)

during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is

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reasonably necessary and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”,

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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

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

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under this order;

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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 discussing or

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

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in accordance with Local Civil Rule 5(g)(3)(A), to determine whether the designating party will

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

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to seal or stipulation and proposed order is warranted. During the meet-and-confer process, the

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designating party must identify the basis for sealing the specific confidential information at issue,
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and the filing party must include this basis in its motion to seal, along with any objection to

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sealing the information at issue. Local Civil Rule 5(g) sets forth the procedures that must be

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followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the Court to

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file material under seal. A party who seeks to maintain the confidentiality of its information must

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satisfy the requirements of Local Civil Rule 5(g)(3)(B), even if it is not the party filing the

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motion to seal. Failure to satisfy this requirement will result in the motion to seal being denied,

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in accordance with the strong presumption of public access to the Court’s files.

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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 order must take care to

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

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designating party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or

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oral or written 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 unjustifiably

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within the ambit of this order.

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

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shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to

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unnecessarily encumber or delay the case development process or to impose unnecessary

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expenses and burdens on other 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

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

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parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.

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5.2

Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this order

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

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

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designated before or when the material is disclosed or produced.
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(a)

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

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proceedings): the designating 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 material on a page qualifies for

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

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making appropriate markings in the margins).

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(b)

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

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and any participating non-parties must identify on the record, during the deposition or other

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pretrial proceeding, all protected testimony, without prejudice to their right to so designate other

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testimony after reviewing the transcript. Any party or non-party may, within 15 days after

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receiving the transcript of the deposition or other pretrial proceeding, designate portions of the

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transcript, or exhibits thereto, as confidential. If a party or non-party desires to protect

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confidential information at trial, the issue should be addressed during the pre-trial conference.

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(c)

Other tangible items: the producing party must affix the word

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“CONFIDENTIAL” in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which

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the information or item is stored. If only a portion or portions of the information or item warrant

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protection, the producing party, to the extent practicable, must 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 order for such material. Upon timely correction of a

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

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treated in accordance with the provisions of this order.

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6.

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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 and 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

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

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a declaration or affidavit, that the movant has engaged in a good faith meet-and-confer

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conference with other affected parties in an effort to resolve the dispute without court action. The

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certification must list the date, manner, and participants to the conference. A good faith effort to

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confer 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 court

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

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Local 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 must continue to

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maintain the material in question as confidential until the Court rules on the challenge.

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7.

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LITIGATION

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PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER

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

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issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is

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subject to this order. Such notification must include a copy of this order; and

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(c)

cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued

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by the designating party whose confidential material may be affected.

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UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
If a receiving party learns that it has disclosed confidential material to any person or in

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any circumstance not authorized under this order, the receiving party must immediately (a) notify

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in writing the 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

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unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this order, and (d) request that such

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person or persons execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound.”

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9.

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MATERIAL

INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE PROTECTED

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

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

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order or agreement that provides for production without prior privilege review. The parties agree

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to the entry of a non-waiver order under Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) as set forth herein.

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10.

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,

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

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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

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work product, even if such materials contain confidential material.

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The confidentiality obligations imposed by this order 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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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d), the

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production of any documents in this proceeding shall not, for the purposes of this proceeding or

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any other federal or state proceeding, constitute a waiver by the producing party of any privilege

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applicable to those documents, including the attorney-client privilege, attorney work-product

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protection, or any other privilege or protection recognized by law.

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DATED this 5th day of August 2020.

A

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John C. Coughenour
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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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

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perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the stipulated protective order that was

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issued by the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington on _____

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[date] in the case of Wescott v. Amazon.com Services, LLC, Case No. C20-0852-JCC (W.D.

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Wash. 2020). I 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 me to sanctions

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and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any

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manner any information or item that is subject to this stipulated protective order to any person or

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entity except in strict compliance with 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

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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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ORDER
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