Broz v. Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Co.

          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 ...