HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017CV493 - Howard V. City Of Fort Collins, Et Al - 018A - Proposed Protective Order1
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 1:17-cv-00493-RPM
EUGENE HOWARD,
Plaintiff,
v.
CITY OF FORT COLLINS, and
KATHLEEN WALKER,
Defendants.
STIPULATION AND PROTECTIVE ORDER
Upon a showing of good cause in support of the entry of a Protective Order by and between
Plaintiff Eugene Howard and Defendants the City of Fort Collins (“City”) and Kathleen Walker
(“Ms. Walker”) to protect the discovery and dissemination of confidential information or
information that will improperly annoy, embarrass, or oppress any party, witness, or person
providing discovery in this case, IT IS ORDERED:
1. This Protective Order shall apply to all documents, materials, and information,
including without limitation, documents produced, answers to interrogatories, responses to
requests for admission, deposition testimony, and other information disclosed pursuant to the
disclosure or discovery duties created by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
2. As used in this Protective Order, “document” is defined as provided in Fed.R.Civ.P.
34(a). A draft or non-identical copy is a separate document within the meaning of this term.
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3. Information designated “CONFIDENTIAL” shall be information that is
confidential and implicates common law and statutory privacy interests of any party or third party
to these proceedings. CONFIDENTIAL information shall not be disclosed or used for any purpose
except the preparation and trial of this case. Third-parties disclosing any CONFIDENTIAL
information may designate such CONFIDENTIAL information as CONFIDENTIAL per this
Protective Order, and any party to this Protective Order may designate CONFIDENTIAL
information produced by a third-party as CONFIDENTIAL per this Protective
Order.
4. CONFIDENTIAL documents, materials, and/or information (collectively
“CONFIDENTIAL information”) shall not, without the consent of the party producing it or further
Order of the Court, be disclosed except that such information may be disclosed to:
(a) attorneys actively working on this case;
(b) persons regularly employed or associated with the attorneys actively working on the
case whose assistance is required by said attorneys in the preparation for trial, at trial, or at other
proceedings in this case;
(c) the parties;
(d) expert witnesses and consultants retained in connection with this proceeding, to the
extent such disclosure is necessary for preparation, trial or other proceedings in this case;
(e) the Court and its employees (“Court Personnel”);
(f) stenographic reporters who are engaged in proceedings necessarily incident to the
conduct of this action;
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(g) persons whom counsel reasonably believes to be the authors, senders, addressees, and
copy recipients of, persons mentioned in such CONFIDENTIAL information, current or former
employees of the producing person and other persons with knowledge relating to the information
contained therein so long as (i) those persons have been identified in Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)
disclosures (or amendments thereto) and (ii) have agreed to abide by the terms of this Protective
Order pursuant to Paragraph 6, below;
(h) deponents, witnesses, or potential witnesses;
(i) other persons by written agreement of the parties; and
5. Prior to disclosing any CONFIDENTIAL information to any person listed above
(other than counsel, persons employed by counsel, Court Personnel and stenographic reporters),
counsel shall provide such person with a copy of this Protective Order and obtain from such person
a written acknowledgment stating that he or she has read this Protective Order and agrees to be
bound by its provisions.
6. Documents are designated as CONFIDENTIAL by placing or affixing on them (in
a manner that will not interfere with their legibility) the following or other appropriate notice:
“CONFIDENTIAL.”
7. Responses to discovery requests are designated as CONFIDENTIAL by imprinting
the word "CONFIDENTIAL" next to or above the response.
8. Any information designated by a party as CONFIDENTIAL will first be reviewed
by counsel who will certify that the designation as CONFIDENTIAL is based on a good faith
belief that the information is confidential or otherwise entitled to protection.
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9. Whenever a deposition involves the disclosure of CONFIDENTIAL information,
the deposition or portions thereof shall be designated as CONFIDENTIAL and shall be subject to
the provisions of this Protective Order. Such designation shall be made on the record during the
deposition whenever possible, but a party may designate portions of depositions as
CONFIDENTIAL after transcription, provided written notice of the designation is promptly given
to all counsel of record within thirty (30) days after notice by the court reporter of the completion
of the transcript.
10. Any request to restrict access must comply with the requirements of D.C.
COLO.L.CivR 7.2.
11. A party may object to the designation of particular CONFIDENTIAL information
by giving written notice to the party designating the disputed information. The written notice shall
identify the information to which the objection is made. If the parties cannot resolve the objection
within ten (10) business days after the time the notice is received, it shall be the obligation of the
party designating the information as CONFIDENTIAL to file an appropriate motion or take other
appropriate action consistent with the Court’s practice standards requesting that the Court determine
whether the disputed information should be subject to the terms of this Protective Order. Unless
otherwise agreed by the parties or otherwise ordered by the Court, the designating party must raise any
such issues with the Court within twenty-one (21) days after the expiration of the 10-day notice period.
If such a motion is timely filed, the disputed information shall be treated as CONFIDENTIAL
under the terms of this Protective Order until the Court rules on the motion. If the designating party
fails to file such a motion within the prescribed time, the disputed information shall lose its
designation as CONFIDENTIAL and shall not thereafter be treated as CONFIDENTIAL in
accordance with this Protective Order. In connection with a motion filed under this provision, the
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party designating the information as CONFIDENTIAL shall bear the burden of establishing that
good cause exists for the disputed information to be treated as CONFIDENTIAL.
12. In the event of an inadvertent disclosure of CONFIDENTIAL information, or
privileged documents or information, by any party to this agreement, the parties agree that the right
to designate such materials as CONFIDENTIAL or to assert privilege will not be waived where
the producing party notifies the other party of the inadvertent disclosure within a reasonable period
of time following discovery of the inadvertent disclosure. Upon notification of an inadvertent
disclosure of CONFIDENTIAL or privileged documents or information, the producing party shall
notify the receiving party of the inadvertent disclosure. Upon notification, the receiving party shall
promptly return or destroy the requested privileged materials and any copies thereof. The
protections afforded by Fed.R.Evid. 502(d) shall apply to this matter so that attorney-client privilege
or work-product protection are not waived by disclosure connected with this litigation.
13. By agreeing to the entry of this Protective Order, the Parties adopt no position as to the
authenticity or admissibility of documents produced subject to it. Neither the taking of any action in
accordance with the provisions of this Protective Order, nor the failure to object thereto, shall be
construed as a waiver of any claim or defense in this action.
14. At the conclusion of this case, including completion of all possible appellate
procedures, unless other arrangements are agreed upon, each document and all copies thereof
which have been designated as CONFIDENTIAL shall be returned to the party that designated it
CONFIDENTIAL, upon request, or the parties may elect to destroy CONFIDENTIAL documents.
Where the parties agree to destroy CONFIDENTIAL documents, the destroying party shall
provide all parties, upon request, with an affidavit confirming the destruction. The termination of
this action shall not relieve counsel or other persons obligated hereunder from their responsibility to
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maintain the confidentiality of Confidential Information pursuant to this Protective Order, and the
Court shall retain continuing jurisdiction to enforce the terms of this Protective Order, even after this
action is terminated.
15. This Protective Order may be modified by the Court at any time for good cause
shown following notice to all parties and an opportunity for them to be heard.
Dated this ___ day of ________________ 2017.
_________________________
The Honorable Richard P. Matsch
United States District Judge
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