Villarreal v. Dewitt

          CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROTECTIVE ORDER

          Kristine G. Baker United States District Judge

         Before the Court is the motion for protective order filed by consolidated defendants Larry Norris, Ray Hobbs, Wendy Kelley, Linda Dixon, John Maples, Maggie Capel, Nurzuhal Faust, Christopher Budnik, John Mark Wheeler, Don Yancey, and Linda Dykes (collectively, the “ADC defendants”) (Dkt. No. 47). Plaintiff Leticia Villarreal opposes the motion (Dkt. No. 48). ADC defendants filed a reply (Dkt. No. 49).

         For good cause shown, the Court grants ADC defendants' motion for protective order pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) (Dkt. No. 47). The Court enters this Confidentiality and Protective Order (“Order”), which shall govern the above-captioned action and any action consolidated therewith. References to “this action” or “this litigation” shall refer to the above-captioned action and any action or litigation consolidated therewith.

         The Court drafted this Order based upon its understanding of the parties' concerns and proposals with respect to anticipated discovery in this matter. To the extent the parties believe the Court did not address or fully appreciate issues presented by anticipated discovery in this matter, the parties may file a motion for reconsideration with the Court raising these issues specifically.

         1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

         Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the Court enters the following Order that shall govern the handling of any information, document or thing, or portion of any document or thing that warrants confidential treatment as provided for herein. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles.

         2. DEFINITIONS

         2.1. Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound: the Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. Counsel who disclose Confidential Information or Items or Highly Confidential Information or Items pursuant to this Order must maintain each Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound executed by persons to whom counsel has disclosed Confidential Information or Items or Highly Confidential Information or Items.

         2.2. Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party who challenges the designation of information or items under this Order.

         2.3. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). Confidential Information or Items also means and includes derivations, abstracts, excerpts, summaries, compilations, or analyses of Confidential Information.

         2.4. Counsel (without qualifier): Outside Counsel and In-House Counsel (as well as their support staff) and future counsel of record.

         2.5. Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL.” 2.6. Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this action.

         2.7. “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for the heightened protection described in this Order and under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). Highly Confidential Information or Items also means and includes derivations, abstracts, excerpts, summaries, compilations, or analyses of Highly Confidential Information.

         2.8. Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.

         2.9. Party: any named party to this action, including all of its officers, directors, and employees.

         2.10. Privileged Material: any document or information that is protected from disclosure by a privilege, immunity, or other protection, including, without limitation, the attorney-client privilege, the work product doctrine, or the joint defense or common interest privilege.

         2.11. Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery Material in this action.

         2.12. Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors to the extent they provide such services.

         2.13. Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is defined and/or designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL.” This term also includes any document which, due to its format or type, is not amenable to physical branding or stamping but for which the Producing Party has notified the Receiving Party in writing is Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information.

         2.14. Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from a Producing Party.

         3. SCOPE

         The protections conferred by this Order cover not only Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. However, the protections conferred by this Order do not cover the following information: (a) any information that is in the public domain at the time of disclosure to a Receiving Party or becomes part of public domain after its disclosure to a Receiving Party as a result of publication not involving a violation of this Order, including becoming part of the public record through trial or otherwise; and (b) any information obtained by the Receiving Party after the disclosure from a source who obtained the information lawfully and under no obligation of confidentiality to the Designating Party. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by a separate agreement or order.

         4. DURATION

         Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this action, including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.

         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 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. To the extent it is practical to do so, the Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify-so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not unjustifiably included within the ambit of this Order.

         Mass, indiscriminate, or routine designations made without reasonable, good faith efforts to assess whether the underlying material is Confidential or Highly Confidential are ...