United States District Court, D. Kansas, Kansas City
Kyle
H. Sciolaro Counsel for Plaintiff
Steven
Davidson Counsel for Defendant
AGREED PROTECTIVE ORDER
James
P. O'Hara U.S. Magistrate Judge
The
parties agree that during the course of discovery it may be
necessary to disclose certain confidential information
relating to the subject matter of this action. They agree
that certain categories of such information should be treated
as confidential, protected from disclosure outside this
litigation, and used only for purposes of prosecuting or
defending this action and any appeals. The parties jointly
request entry of this Protective Order to limit the
disclosure, dissemination, and use of certain identified
categories of confidential information.
The
parties assert in support of their request that protection of
the identified categories of confidential information is
necessary because Defendant may produce or disclose documents
or information containing confidential, proprietary, or trade
secret information regarding its business practices and
policies, as well as confidential individual financial or
medical information regarding Plaintiff or its employees, and
Plaintiff may produce or disclose confidential, individual
medical and financial information.
For
good cause shown under Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(c), the court grants
the parties' joint request and hereby enters the
following Protective Order:
1.
Scope.
All
documents and materials produced in the course of discovery
of this case, including initial disclosures, responses to
discovery requests, all deposition testimony and exhibits,
and information derived directly therefrom (hereinafter
collectively "documents"), are subject to this
Order concerning Confidential Information as set forth below.
As there is a presumption in favor of open and public
judicial proceedings in the federal courts, this Order will
be strictly construed in favor of public disclosure and open
proceedings wherever possible.
2.
Non-Parties.
Though
this Order in and of itself is not binding on non-parties, by
signing the Agreement To Respect Confidential Information
attached hereto as Appendix “A” (the
“Agreement”), a non-party agrees to be bound by
the terms of the Order. Non-parties later added to the
above-captioned action may be given an opportunity to review
the Order and option of joining the Order.
3.
Use of Litigation Material.
All
Litigation Material, disclosed or obtained by or from any
person, whether or not a party, in response to any discovery
method authorized or permitted by the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure or disclosed through the sealed filing of papers
with the Court, shall be used for no purpose other than the
prosecution and/or defense of this Action absent further
Order of the Court. Nothing in this Order shall be construed
to limit, condition or otherwise restrict in any way each
Party's use of its own Confidential Information. Such
disclosure by the producing Party shall not waive the
protections of this Order and shall not entitle other
parties, non-parties or their attorneys to use or disclose
such information in violation of the Order.
4.
Definition of Confidential Information.
As used
in this Order, "Confidential Information" is
defined as information that the producing party designates in
good faith has been previously maintained in a confidential
manner and should be protected from disclosure and use
outside the litigation because its disclosure and use is
restricted by statute or could potentially cause harm to the
interests of disclosing party or nonparties. For purposes of
this Order, the parties will limit their designation of
"Confidential Information" to the following
categories of information or documents:
(a) medical records;
(b) personnel files;
(c) tax returns;
(d) financial statements and records;
(e) proprietary business records;
(f) trade secrets; and
(g) records whose disclosure is prohibited
by statute or other legal obligation.
Information
or documents that are available to the public may not be
designated as Confidential Information.
5.
Designation of Litigation Materials as Confidential.
Litigation
Materials containing Confidential Information shall be so
designated by marking the respective pages of the document
and where appropriate, the entire document, with the legend
“CONFIDENTIAL - Document produced subject to the Agreed
Protective Order for use only in: Shawn Broz v. Hartford
Life and Accident Insurance Company; No.
2:19-cv-02134-DDC-JPO”. The confidential designation
language will appear as a watermark diagonally across each
applicable page. In the event a party produces Litigation
Material that it deems to be Confidential Information without
designating it as such, the producing party may, by written
notice delivered to the receiving party, designate the
information Confidential and upon receipt of such notice,
every receiving party shall mark the Litigation Material with
the confidential designation language and shall treat it
thereafter as Confidential and subject to this Order.
Documents made available for inspection in response to a
request for production need not be marked with the
confidential designation language prior to inspection.
However, the producing party following an inspection can mark
those documents designated for copying that contain
Confidential Information with the confidential designation
language specified in subpart 4(a) above. All portions of
deposition transcripts shall be treated as Confidential
Information if designated as such on the record by counsel
for any party hereto, or by counsel for any non-party
testifying pursuant to subpoena. The Confidential Information
designation shall apply to any copies or other reproductions,
excerpts, summaries, abstracts or other documents that
paraphrase, excerpt, or contain Confidential Information. Any
such material shall also be clearly designated as containing
Confidential Information and shall be subject to all other
applicable protections and provisions of this Order.
6.
Contesting ...