PEGGY A. LEEN, Magistrate Judge.
Plaintiff William Deans, by and through his counsel, Marc J. Randazza, D. Gill Sperlein, and Alex J. Shepard, of the law firm Randazza Legal Group, PLLC, and Defendant Las Vegas Clark County Library District, by and through its counsel, Dennis L. Kennedy and Kelly B. Stout, of the law firm BaileyvKennedy, hereby stipulate and agree, pursuant to Rules 26(c) and 29 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and LR 7-1, that the disclosure, production, use, and handling of "Confidential Information," as that term is defined below, in connection with the above-captioned action, shall be governed by and subject to the terms and conditions of this Stipulated Confidentiality Agreement and Protective Order ("Protective Order").
For purposes of the Protective Order, Plaintiff and Defendant are each a "Party" (jointly, the "Parties"). Any reference to a Party, "person," or "non-party" means, unless otherwise indicated, a natural person, firm, entity, corporation, partnership, proprietorship, association, joint venture, wholly-owned direct or indirect subsidiary, division, affiliate, parent company, and any other form of business organization or arrangement, and includes the Party, person, or non-party's officers, directors, managers, members, employees, agents, representatives, shareholders, independent contractors, attorneys, accountants and all other persons over which the Party, person, or non-party has control or which act or purport to act on their behalf.
Any Party, person, or non-party producing or disclosing confidential documents, materials, items, or other information pursuant to the terms of this Protective Order is the "Producing Party," and the Party, person, or non-party receiving or being given access to confidential documents, materials, items, or other information pursuant to the terms of this Protective Order is the "Receiving Party."
Therefore, in the interest of expediting and facilitating discovery, permitting the same to proceed without delay occasioned by possible disputes regarding claims of confidentiality, and balancing the interests of the Parties, this Protective Order establishes a procedure for producing, disclosing, and using Confidential Information without involving the Court unnecessarily in the process; imposes obligations upon all Parties, persons, and non-parties receiving or given access to Confidential Information to protect it from unauthorized production, disclosure, and/or use; and establishes a procedure for challenging confidentiality designations or markings.
With respect to a multi-page document that contains Confidential Information, the designation should be made, to the extent possible, on each page of the document that contains the Confidential Information. The Producing Party shall, in good faith, designate as "CONFIDENTIAL — Subject to Court Order" only such Discovery Materials as reasonably require confidential treatment. If a document, material, item, or thing is stored electronically, or a confidential legend cannot otherwise by stamped or affixed upon it, the Producing Party may designate or mark the same as "CONFIDENTIAL — Subject to Court Order" by cover letter.
Any designation or marking under this Section shall take place prior to production or disclosure by the Producing Party; however, in the event that any Discovery Materials are made available for inspection by a Party, there will be no waiver of confidentiality by the inspection of such Discovery Materials by the inspecting Party before the same is copied and produced with a confidentiality designation by the Producing Party.
If the Producing Party determines that any Discovery Materials produced in the course of discovery in this action should have been, but was not, designated as Confidential Information as provided herein, it shall advise the Receiving Party of this fact in writing within 60 days of the production. Such notice shall be accompanied by substitute copies of the Discovery Material at issue, properly designated or marked as "CONFIDENTIAL — Subject to Court Order." The inadvertent failure of a Producing Party to designate any Discovery Materials as "CONFIDENTIAL — Subject to Court Order" shall not be deemed, by itself, in whole or in part, to be a waiver or impairment of any claim of the Producing Party's right to so designate such Discovery Materials.
Upon receiving notice from a Producing Party that any Discovery Materials have not been appropriately designated as "CONFIDENTIAL — Subject to Court Order," the Receiving Party shall promptly destroy or return the previously undesignated copies upon receipt of the substitute copies properly designated as "CONFIDENTIAL — Subject to Court Order." The Parties, persons, and/or non-parties who received or were given access to Confidential Information previously undesignated or unmarked shall treat the designated Discovery Materials as confidential, subject to their right to dispute such designation or marking as provided under Section 12 of this Protective Order. Disclosure by a Receiving Party to any other person or non-party of any unmarked or undesignated Confidential Information prior to later designation of the Discovery Materials by the Producing Party in accordance with this Protective Order shall not violate the terms of this Protective Order; however, written notice shall promptly be given to the other person or non-party of the confidentiality in accordance with Section 6 of this Protective Order.
If the Producing Party determines that any Discovery Materials that it previously designated as confidential do not qualify for such protection, it will promptly notify the Receiving Party and all other parties that received or were given access to such information that it is withdrawing such confidential designation.
a. Store and maintain such Confidential Information in a secure and safe area and manner within their exclusive possession and control;
b. Exercise the same standard of due and proper care with respect to the storage, custody, use, and/or dissemination of such information as is exercised by the recipient with respect to its own Confidential Information;
c. Take all measures reasonably necessary to maintain the confidentiality of such information, documents, materials, items, and things; and
d. Not permit or participate in the unauthorized production, disclosure, or use of such Confidential Information.
All Parties, persons, or non-parties obtaining, receiving, inspecting, examining or being given access to any Confidential Information in accordance with this Protective Order, (i) shall first agree to submit himself or herself to the jurisdiction of this Court for purposes of enforcing this Protective Order, and (ii) shall agree to be bound by this Protective Order.
Nothing herein shall preclude the Producing Party from using its own Confidential Information.
At any deposition session, upon inquiry with regard to any Discovery Materials marked "CONFIDENTIAL — Subject to Court Order," or whenever counsel for a Party deems that the answer to a question may result in the disclosure of Confidential Information, the deposition (or portions thereof) may be designated by the affected Party as containing Confidential Information subject to the provisions of this Protective Order. When such designation or marking has been made, the testimony of the transcript of such testimony shall be disclosed only to those Parties, persons, and/or non-parties as herein described in Section 6 and to the testifying third-party deponent, and the Confidential Information contained therein shall be used only as specified in this Protective Order. All portions of deposition transcripts that relate to information protected by this Protective Order shall be kept confidential provided that those specific portions of the transcript are marked or designated as provided herein. Moreover, all originals and copies of deposition transcripts that contain Confidential Information, and/or exhibits containing Discovery Materials designated or marked as "CONFIDENTIAL — Subject to Court Order," shall be prominently marked "CONFIDENTIAL—Subject to Court Order" on the cover thereof and, if and when filed with the Court, the portions of such transcript so designated shall not be made part of the public record and shall be filed under seal as required under Section 7 of this Protective Order.
Counsel must designate or mark portions of a deposition transcript, by page and line numbers, including any confidential exhibits attached thereto, as "CONFIDENTIAL—Subject to Court Order" within 30 days of receiving the transcript and corresponding exhibits. Designations or markings may be made by letter to counsel of record for the Parties or on the record during the deposition. Portions of deposition transcripts so designated or marked shall be treated as Confidential Information by the Parties as set forth herein. If all or a portion of a videotaped deposition is intended to be designated as "CONFIDENTIAL— Subject to Court Order," the videocassette, videotape, DVD, CD-ROM or other electronic medium storing or maintaining the deposition testimony shall be stamped or affixed "CONFIDENTIAL—Subject to Court Order." All copies of deposition transcripts that contain Confidential Information shall be prominently marked "CONFIDENTIAL—Subject to Court Order" on the cover thereof. During the 30-day review period provided herein, the entire deposition transcript, including exhibits, shall be treated as confidential. If no confidential designations are made within the 30-day period, the transcript shall be considered non-confidential unless later designated by a Party (subject to any other Party's right to challenge such untimely designation).
a. Retained counsel for the Parties (including attorneys associated with the law firm of counsel and the paralegal, clerical, and secretarial staff employed by such counsel);
b. The Parties and their officers, directors, agents, representatives, and employees who are deemed reasonably necessary by counsel for the Parties to aid in the prosecution, defense, or settlement of this case;
c. Independent investigators, experts and/or consultants (together with their clerical and secretarial staff) retained by counsel for a Party to assist in the prosecution, defense, or settlement of this case, but only to the extent reasonably necessary to perform their work in connection with this case;
d. Clerical and data processing personnel, including third party vendors, involved in the production, reproduction, organizing, filing, coding, cataloging, converting, storing, retrieving, and review of Discovery Materials, but only to the extent reasonably necessary to assist a Party or its counsel in this case;
e. This Court, the jury, court personnel, court reporters, and any other court, tribunal or dispute resolution officer duly appointed, chosen or assigned in connection with this case;
f. Court reporters and videographers employed to record depositions or live testimony in this case;
g. A witness, person, or non-party (and his or her counsel) appearing at a deposition, hearing, or trial in this case for whom disclosure is reasonably necessary to the testimony of such witness, subject to the terms of Section 5;
h. Authors and/or recipients of the designated Confidential Information as well as persons who previously had access to such Confidential Information (provided that counsel for the Party seeking to disclose Confidential Information to such person first verifies that such person had access to such Confidential Information);
i. Any other person or non-party as to whom the Parties in writing agree or that the Court in this case designates; and
j. Any governmental agency or regulating authority to the extent disclosure is required by such governmental agency or regulatory authority or applicable law.
Any person or non-party to whom Confidential Information is disclosed or revealed pursuant to subparts (c), (d), (g) or (i) of this Section shall be given a copy of this Protective Order and advised as follows: (i) that the Confidential Information is being disclosed pursuant to an Order of the Court and agreement of the Parties; (ii) that the Confidential Information may not be disclosed or disseminated orally, or by any other means, by such person or non-party to any other person or nonparty not permitted to have access to the Confidential Information pursuant to this Protective Order; (iii) that the Confidential Information may not be used except for the purposes of this lawsuit as provided in this Protective Order or by Order of the Court; (iv) that the Confidential Information must remain in that person or non-party's custody until returned to counsel from whom the Confidential Information was received; and (v) that any violation of this Protective Order may result in the imposition of sanctions as the Court deems proper. Any person or non-party to whom Confidential Information is or will be disclosed pursuant to subparts (c), (d), (g) or (i) of this Section shall also be required to execute a copy of the form Attachment "A" affixed to this Protective Order prior to dissemination of Discovery Materials designated or marked "CONFIDENTIAL—Subject to Court Order."
Counsel providing Confidential Information to any person or non-party pursuant to subparts (c), (d), (g), or (i) of this Section shall retain copies of the executed form Attachment "A" and shall provide it to counsel for the Producing Party prior to the disclosure of the Confidential Information to the person or non-party pursuant to subparts (c), (d), (g), or (i) of this Section.
Filing of Confidential Information with the Court.Any Confidential Information which is filed with the Court in any pleading, motion, brief or memorandum shall be filed and maintained under seal (or in redacted form) in strict compliance with Part VII of the Nevada Supreme Court Rules Governing Sealing and Redacting Court Records. The Party filing such Confidential Information shall concurrently file with such pleading, motion, brief or memorandum a Motion to Seal (or Redact) such pleading, motion, brief or memorandum. The Court shall determine what, if any, portions of the filing shall remain under seal. The filing must be placed in a sealed envelope bearing the title of the case and the notation:
All such sealed envelopes shall not be opened except for the sole use of the Court or its employees or as otherwise ordered by the Court. Further, all such sealed envelopes shall be maintained by the Clerk of the Court separate from public records in these actions and shall be released only upon further order of the Court; however, the same shall remain available to the Parties, counsel for the Parties, and all persons or non-parties entitled to receive Confidential Information pursuant to Section 5.
Upon failure of the filing or lodging Party properly to designate Confidential Information and file or lodge such material in accordance with this Protective Order, any other Party may do so after learning of the defective filing or lodging. Notice of such designation shall be given to all Parties. Nothing in this provision relieves a Party of liability for damages caused by failure to properly file such Confidential Information under seal. All such materials so filed shall be released from confidential treatment only upon further order of the Court.
a. To apply to information obtained by a Party from any non-party to this case having the right to disclose such information subsequent to the production of information by the Producing Party, subject to and in accordance with Section 11 herein; or
b. To apply to information or other materials that have been or become part of the public domain by publication or otherwise and not due to any unauthorized act or omission on the part of a Receiving Party; or
c. To apply to information or other materials that, under law, have been declared to be in the public domain.
For purposes of this Protective Order, "tax returns" shall not be declared as information or other discovery material that is or has become part of the public domain, unless such tax returns have been made publicly available pursuant to state or federal law or otherwise have been voluntarily made publicly available by the taxpayer.
Nothing herein shall be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Party to disobey a lawful directive from this or another court or tribunal.
Until a motion is filed and resolved by this Court, all Discovery Materials designated as containing Confidential Information shall be treated as such in accordance with this Protective Order and only disclosed to those persons provided under Section 6. If no motion challenging the designation is made, the designation shall continue in full force and effect.
Unless a prompt challenge to a designation of any Discovery Materials as containing Confidential Information is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial unfairness, unnecessary economic burdens, or a later significant disruption or delay of this case, a Party does not waive its right to challenge a confidentiality designation by electing not to mount an objection promptly after the original designation is made by a Producing Party or by a person or non-party permitted to receive or be given access to Confidential Information under Section 6 of this Protective Order. However, nothing in this Section shall preclude a Party to this Protective Order from objecting to another Party's challenge on the basis that the challenge was not made within a reasonable time and, therefore, waived.
Nothing in this Protective Order, or designations of confidentiality hereunder, shall in any way affect the treatment of Confidential Information at the trial of this action. Should the Producing Party desire that Confidential Information be treated as confidential at trial, the Producing Party must make an appropriate request to the Court for such treatment at the time set forth by this Court for consideration of motions in limine or at such other time as directed by the Court.
a. Nothing in this Protective Order, nor the production or disclosure of any information or documents under the terms of this Protective Order, nor any proceedings pursuant to this Protective Order, shall be deemed or construed (i) to have the effect of an admission or a waiver by either Party of the confidentiality or non-confidentiality of any such Discovery Materials; (ii) to alter the confidentiality or the non-confidentiality of any such Discovery Materials; (iii) to alter any existing or pending obligation of any Party or the absence thereof; or (iv) to affect in any way the authenticity or admissibility of any document, testimony or other evidence at trial.
b. The entry of this Protective Order shall be without prejudice to the rights of the Parties, or any of them, or of any non-party, to seek additional or different protection for protected documents or information from the Court.
c. Each Party may object to the production, disclosure or use of any Discovery Materials that a Party designates as containing Confidential Information on any other grounds it deems appropriate, including, but not limited to, attorney-client privilege, work product, or any other privilege or protection provided under applicable law.
d. This Protective Order shall neither enlarge nor affect the proper scope of discovery in this case or any other litigation, nor shall this Protective Order be construed to suggest that protected documents or information subject to this Protective Order are discoverable, relevant or admissible in this case or any other litigation.
e. Nothing contained herein shall prejudice the right of any Party to object to the admissibility of Confidential Information subject to this Protective Order for any reason permissible under applicable state or federal law.
f. The Parties, by agreeing to this Protective Order, are not waiving any rights they have to obtain information or materials, in whatever form, through the discovery rules under state or federal law.
In the event of a change in counsel, new counsel shall agree in writing to be bound by and subject to the terms of this Protective Order.
a. The term "and" includes the term "or" and the term "or" includes the term "and";
b. Defined terms shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms where used or defined;
c. The paragraph headings are for convenience only and in no way limit or enlarge the scope or meaning of the language thereof; and
d. The terms herein shall be construed as a whole according to their fair and ordinary meaning and not strictly for or against any Party.
Based upon the above and foregoing Stipulation, and good cause appearing,
I, ______________________________, hereby attest to my Understanding that information or documents designated "CONFIDENTIAL — Subject to Court Order" are provided to me subject to the Stipulation and Protective Order Regarding Confidential Information dated _______________________ (the "Protective Order"), in Deans v. Las Vegas Clark County Library District, No. 2:16-cv-02405-APG-PAL, pending in the United States District Court, District of Nevada; that I have been given a copy of and have read the Protective Order, and that I agree to be bound by its terms. I also understand that my execution of this Confidentiality Agreement attached to the Protective Order, indicating my agreement to be bound by the Protective Order, is a prerequisite to my review of any information or documents designated as "CONFIDENTIAL — Subject to Court Order."
I further agree that I shall not disclose to others except in accord with the Protective Order, any confidential Discovery Material, in any form whatsoever, and that such confidential Discovery Material and the information contained therein may be used only for the purposes authorized by the Protective Order.
I further agree and attest to my understanding that my obligation to honor the confidentiality of such Discovery Material and information will continue even after this litigation concludes.
I further agree and attest to my understanding that, if I fail to abide by the terms of the Protective Order, I may be subject to sanctions, including contempt of court, for such failure. I agree to be subject to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court, District of Nevada, for the purposes of any proceedings relating to enforcement of the Protective Order.
I further agree to be bound by and comply with the terms of the Protective Order as soon as I sign this Agreement, whether or not the Protective Order has yet been entered as an Order of the Court.