Opinion
1:23-cv-09511 (JMF)
01-11-2024
AMALGAMATED BANK, Plaintiff, v. JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. AND ARMON WARREN, Defendants.
CONFIDENTIALITY STIPULATION AND PROPOSED PROTECTIVE ORDER
JESSE M. FURMAN UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This Protective Order is issued to facilitate document disclosure and production of confidential documents and information between the parties, by agreement. This Protective Order does not require or order the production of any specific documents or information. Rather, because discovery sought by the parties to this lawsuit is likely to involve the production of documents and things or information containing private, personal, financial, business, competitive, business operational, proprietary, trade secret or other information of a sensitive nature about a party (hereafter collectively referred to as “Confidential Information”), and witness testimony containing Confidential Information, this Order is entered to facilitate agreed discovery while safeguarding confidentiality;
WHEREAS, the parties having agreed to the following terms of confidentiality, and the Court having found that good cause exists for the issuance of an appropriately tailored confidentiality order pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, it is hereby
ORDERED that the following restrictions and procedures shall apply to the information and documents exchanged by the parties in connection with this action:
1. This Agreed Protective Order shall apply to information, documents, excerpts from documents, and other materials produced in this action pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governing disclosure and discovery.
2. Counsel for any party may designate any document or information, in whole or in part, as confidential if counsel determines, in good faith, that such designation is necessary to protect the interests of the client in information that is proprietary, a trade secret, or otherwise sensitive non-public information (“Confidential Information”). Information and documents designated by a party as confidential will be stamped “CONFIDENTIAL.”
3. “CONFIDENTIAL” information means information, documents, or things that have not been made public by the disclosing party and that the disclosing party reasonably and in good faith believes contains or comprises (a) trade secrets, (b) proprietary business information, or (c) information implicating an individual's legitimate expectation of privacy.
4. “CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEY'S EYES ONLY” means CONFIDENTIAL information that the disclosing party reasonably and in good faith believes is so highly sensitive that its disclosure to a competitor could result in significant competitive or commercial disadvantage to the designating party.
5. Documents shall be designated by stamping or otherwise marking the documents with the words “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL-FOR ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY” thus clearly identifying the category of Designated Material for which protection is sought under the terms of this Order. Designated Material not reduced to documentary form shall be designated by the producing party in a reasonably equivalent way.
6. Notwithstanding the designation of information as “CONFIDENTIAL” in discovery, there is no presumption that such information shall be filed with the Court under seal. The parties shall follow the Court's procedures for requests for filing under seal.
7. The parties will use reasonable care to avoid designating as confidential documents or information that does not need to be designated as such.
8. A party may submit a request in writing to the party who produced Designated Material that the designation be modified or withdrawn. If the Designating Person does not agree to the redesignation within fifteen business days, the objecting party may apply to the Court for relief. Upon any such application, the burden shall be on the Designating Person to show why the designation is proper. Before serving a written challenge, the objecting party must attempt in good faith to meet and confer with the Designating Person in an effort to resolve the matter. The Court may award sanctions if it finds that a party's position was taken without substantial justification.
9. Information, documents, and other materials may be designated by the producing party in the manner permitted (“the Designating Person”). All such information, documents, excerpts from documents, and other materials will constitute “Designated Material” under this Order. The designation shall be either (a) “CONFIDENTIAL” or (b) “CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY.” This Order shall apply to Designated Material produced by any party or third-party in this action.
10. The Confidential Information disclosed will be held and used by the person receiving such information solely for use in connection with the action.
11. In the event a party challenges another party's designation of confidentiality, counsel shall make a good faith effort to resolve the dispute, and in the absence of a resolution, the challenging party may seek resolution by the Court. Nothing in this Protective Order constitutes an admission by any party that Confidential Information disclosed in this case is relevant or admissible. Each party reserves the right to object to the use or admissibility of the Confidential Information.
12. Documents designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” shall not be disclosed to any person, except:
a. The requesting party and counsel, including in-house counsel;
b. Employees of such counsel assigned to and necessary to assist in the litigation;
c. Consultants or experts assisting in the prosecution or defense of the matter, to the extent deemed necessary by counsel; and
d. The Court (including the mediator, or other person having access to any Confidential Information by virtue of his or her position with the Court). The parties should meet and confer if any production requires a designation of “For Attorneys' or Experts' Eyes Only.”
13. Designated Material shall not be used or disclosed for any purpose other than the litigation of this action and may be disclosed only as follows:
a. Parties: Material designated “CONFIDENTIAL” may be disclosed to parties to this action or directors, officers and employees of parties to this action, who have a legitimate need to see the information in connection with their responsibilities for overseeing the litigation or assisting counsel in preparing
the action for trial or settlement. Before Designated Material is disclosed for this purpose, each such person must agree to be bound by this Order by signing a document substantially in the form of Exhibit A.
b. Witnesses or Prospective Witnesses: Designated Material, including material designated “CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY,” may be disclosed to a witness or prospective witness in this action, but only for purposes of testimony or preparation of testimony in this case, whether at trial, hearing, or deposition, but it may not be retained by the witness or prospective witness. Before Designated Material is disclosed for this purpose, each such person must agree to be bound by this Order, by signing a document substantially in the form of Exhibit A.
c. Outside Experts: Designated Material, including material designated “CONFIDENTIAL -ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY,” may be disclosed to an outside expert for the purpose of obtaining the expert's assistance in the litigation. Before Designated Material is disclosed for this purpose, each such person must agree to be bound by this Order, by signing a document substantially in the form of Exhibit A.
d. Counsel: Designated Material, including material designated “CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY,” may be disclosed to counsel of record and in-house counsel for parties to this action and their associates, paralegals, and regularly employed office staff.
e. Other Persons: Designated Material may be provided as necessary to copying services, translators, and litigation support firms. Before Designated Material is disclosed to such third parties, each such person must agree to be bound by this Order by signing a document substantially in the form of Exhibit A.
14. Prior to disclosing or displaying the Confidential Information to any person, counsel must:
a. Inform the person of the confidential nature of the information or documents;
b. Inform the person that this Court has enjoined the use of the information or documents by him/her for any purpose other than this litigation and has enjoined the disclosure of the information or documents to any other person; and
c. Require each such person to sign an agreement to be bound by this Order in the form attached as Exhibit A.
15. Inadvertent production of confidential material prior to its designation as such in accordance with this Order shall not be deemed a waiver of a claim of confidentiality. Any such error shall be corrected within a reasonable time.
16. The disclosure of a document or information without designating it as “CONFIDENTIAL” shall not constitute a waiver of the right to designate such document or information as Confidential Information. If so designated, the document or information shall thereafter be treated as Confidential Information subject to all the terms of this Stipulation and Order.
17. The confidential information may be displayed to and discussed with the persons identified in Paragraphs 5(b) and (c) only on the condition that, prior to any such display or discussion, each such person shall be asked to sign an agreement to be bound by this Order in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A. In the event such person refuses to sign an agreement in substantially the form attached as Exhibit A, the party desiring to disclose the confidential information may seek appropriate relief from the Court.
18. A person having custody of Designated Material shall maintain it in a manner that limits access to the Designated Material to persons permitted such access under this Order.
19. Counsel shall maintain a collection of all signed documents by which persons have agreed to be bound by this Order.
20. Any Personally Identifying Information (“PII”) (e.g., social security numbers, financial account numbers, passwords, and information that may be used for identity theft) exchanged in discovery shall be maintained by the receiving party in a manner that is secure, such as a document management system or database that requires a password to access.
21. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502, the production of privileged or work product protected documents or communications, electronically stored information (“ESI”) or information, whether inadvertent or otherwise, shall not constitute a waiver of the privilege or protection from discovery in this case or in any other federal or state proceeding. This Order shall be interpreted to provide the maximum protection allowed by Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d). Nothing contained herein is intended to or shall serve to limit a party's right to conduct a review of documents, ESI or information (including metadata) for relevance, responsiveness and/or segregation of privileged and/or protected information before production.
22. At the conclusion of litigation, Confidential Information and any copies thereof shall be promptly (and in no event later than 30 days after entry of final judgment no longer subject to further appeal) returned to the producing party or certified as destroyed, except that the parties' counsel shall be permitted to retain their working files on the condition that those files will remain protected.
23. Nothing herein shall preclude the parties from disclosing material designated to be Confidential Information if otherwise required by law or pursuant to a valid subpoena.
24. Deposition transcripts or portions thereof may be designated either (a) when the testimony is recorded, or (b) by written notice to all counsel of record, given within ten business days after the Designating Person's receipt of the transcript in which case all counsel receiving such notice shall be responsible for marking the copies of the designated transcript or portion thereof in their possession or control as directed by the Designating Person. Pending expiration of the ten business days, the deposition transcript shall be treated as designated. When testimony is designated at a deposition, the Designating Person may exclude from the deposition all persons other than those to whom the Designated Material may be disclosed under paragraph 5 of this Order. Any party may mark Designated Material as a deposition exhibit, provided the deposition witness is one to whom the exhibit may be disclosed under paragraph 5 of this Order and the exhibit and related transcript pages receive the same confidentiality designation as the original Designated Material.
25. Any Designated Material which becomes part of an official judicial proceeding or which is filed with the Court is public. Such Designated Material will be sealed by the Court only upon motion and in accordance with applicable law. This Protective Order does not provide for the automatic sealing of such Designated Material. If it becomes necessary to file Designated Material with the Court, a party must move to file the Designated Material under seal.
26. Filing pleadings or other papers disclosing or containing Designated Material does not waive the designated status of the material. The Court will determine how Designated Material will be treated during trial and other proceedings as it deems appropriate.
27. Upon final termination of this action, all Designated Material and copies thereof shall be returned promptly (and in no event later than forty-five (45) days after entry of final judgment), returned to the producing party, or certified as destroyed to counsel of record for the party that produced the Designated Material, or, in the case of deposition testimony regarding designated exhibits, counsel of record for the Designating Person. Alternatively, the receiving party shall provide to the Designating Person a certification that all such materials have been destroyed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the parties acknowledge that they are federally regulated banks that may not destroy certain of their electronic records except as allowed by their regulators. Therefore, the parties agree to maintain the confidentiality of such Designated Material and copies thereof after the termination of this litigation until their retention period has expired, at which time all Designated Material and copies thereof will be destroyed.
28. Nothing in this Order shall require disclosure of information protected by the attorney-client privilege, or other privilege or immunity, and the inadvertent production of such information shall not operate as a waiver. If a Designating Party becomes aware that it has inadvertently produced information protected by the attorney-client privilege, or other privilege or immunity, the Designating Party will promptly notify each receiving party in writing of the inadvertent production. When a party receives notice of such inadvertent production, it shall return all copies of inadvertently produced material within three business days. Any notes or summaries referring or relating to any such inadvertently produced material subject to claim of privilege or immunity shall be destroyed forthwith. Nothing herein shall prevent the receiving party from challenging the propriety of the attorney-client privilege or work product immunity or other applicable privilege designation by submitting a challenge to the Court. The Designating Party bears the burden of establishing the privileged nature of any inadvertently produced information or material. Each receiving party shall refrain from distributing or otherwise using the inadvertently disclosed information or material for any purpose until any issue of privilege is resolved by agreement of the parties or by the Court. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a receiving party may use the inadvertently produced information or materials to respond to a motion by the Designating Party seeking return or destruction of such information or materials. If a receiving party becomes aware that it is in receipt of information or materials which it knows or reasonably should know is privileged, Counsel for the receiving party shall immediately take steps to (i) stop reading such information or materials, (ii) notify Counsel for the Designating Party of such information or materials, (iii) collect all copies of such information or materials, (iv) return such information or materials to the Designating Party, and (v) comport themselves with the applicable provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
29. The foregoing is entirely without prejudice to the right of any party to apply to the Court for any further Protective Order relating to Designated Material; or to object to the production of Designated Material; or to apply to the Court for an order compelling production of Designated Material; or for modification of this Order; or to seek any other relief from the Court.
30. The restrictions imposed by this Order may be modified or terminated only by further order of the Court.
SO STIPULATED AND AGREED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
This stipulation binds the parties to treat as confidential the documents so classified. This Court, however, has not reviewed the documents referenced herein; therefore, by so ordering this stipulation, the Court makes no finding as to whether the documents are confidential. That finding will be made, if ever, upon a document-by-document review pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Court's Individual Rules and Practices and subject to the presumption in favor of public access to “judicial documents.” See generally Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga, 435 F.3d 110, 119-20 (2d Cir. 2006). To that end, the Court does not “so order” any provision to the extent that it purports to authorize the parties to file documents under seal without a prior court order. See New York ex rel. Khurana v. Spherion Corp., No. 15-CV-6605 (JMF), 2019 WL 3294170 (S.D.N.Y. July 19, 2019).
EXHIBIT A
I have been informed by counsel that certain documents or information to be disclosed to me in connection with the matter entitled have been designated as confidential. I have been informed that any such documents or information labeled “CONFIDENTIAL PRODUCED PURSUANT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” are confidential by Order of the Court.
I hereby agree that I will not disclose any information contained in such documents to any other person. I further agree not to use any such information for any purpose other than this litigation.