United States District Court, E.D. North Carolina, Western Division
Cynthia A. Mills Mills & Alcorn, LLP Counsel for
Plaintiff
Leslie
G. Van Der Have Van Der Have Family Law Counsel for Plaintiff
Steven
B. Epstein Poyner Spruill LLP Counsel for Defendant
Kimberly W. Bryan Cheshire Parker Schneider & Bryan
Counsel for Defendant
STIPULATED CONFIDENTIALITY ORDER
Honorable Louise W. Flanagan United States District Court
Judge
This
case involves claims by Plaintiff that Defendant interfered
with his marriage and is liable for alienation of affection
and criminal conversation. Defendant is a senior executive
with Mylan Inc. (“Mylan”) one of the world's
largest pharmaceutical manufacturers. Certain documents
sought by Plaintiff in discovery may include confidential and
proprietary information related to Defendant's work for
Mylan. Consequently, Defendant needs to protect such
information to ensure that it is not available to competitors
of Mylan, placed in the public domain, or otherwise used for
purposes outside of this litigation. Plaintiff also requests
from Defendant personal health-related information generally
protected from disclosure by the Health Insurance Portability
and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), and
Defendant has requested Plaintiff's personal
health-related information generally protected from
disclosure by HIPAA. Consequently, the parties jointly
request, and the Court finds good cause to enter, the
following stipulated confidentiality order in accordance with
Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure:
1.
Scope.
All
documents produced in the course of discovery, all responses
to discovery requests and all deposition testimony and
deposition exhibits and any other materials which may be
subject to discovery (hereinafter collectively
“documents, ” which shall include both paper
documents and electronically stored information) shall be
subject to this Order concerning confidential information as
set forth below.
2.
Form and Timing of Designation.
Except
as provided in paragraph 4, any party, or any non-party
providing documents or testimony in connection with this
matter, may designate confidential documents by placing or
affixing the word “CONFIDENTIAL” on the document
in a manner which will not interfere with the legibility of
the document and which will permit complete removal of the
CONFIDENTIAL designation. Documents shall be designated
CONFIDENTIAL prior to, or contemporaneously with, the
production or disclosure of the documents. Inadvertent or
unintentional production of documents without prior
designation as CONFIDENTIAL shall not be deemed a waiver, in
whole or in part, of the right to designate documents as
confidential as otherwise allowed by this Order. In the event
such inadvertent or unintentional production of documents
without prior designation as CONFIDENTIAL has occurred, the
party desiring to so mark such documents as CONFIDENTIAL may
do so by providing notice to the other party of such
inadvertent or unintentional production, and marking such
documents as CONFIDENTIAL, within five business days of such
discovery. In addition, within 21 days after the entry of
this Order, or 21 days after the production of documents by
any non-party pursuant to a subpoena, whichever shall later
occur, a party desiring to do so may mark such documents as
CONFIDENTIAL, thereby making them subject to the provisions
of this Order, regardless of the date the documents were
actually produced.
3.
Documents Which May be Designated Confidential.
Any
party, or any non-party providing documents or testimony in
connection with this matter, may designate documents as
confidential, but only after review of the documents by an
attorney (or, in the case of a pro se party, a
party) who has, in good faith, determined that the documents
contain information protected from disclosure by statute,
health information protected from disclosure by the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
(“HIPAA”) Privacy Rule, 45 CFR parts 160 and 164
(including materials whose disclosure would trigger the
breach notification requirements of the HITECH Act, 45 CFR
parts 164.400-414), trade secrets, or confidential research,
development, or other confidential commercial information.
4.
Depositions.
Portions
of depositions shall be deemed confidential only if
designated as such when the deposition is taken or within
seven business days after receipt of the transcript. Such
designation shall be specific as to the portions to be
protected.
5.
Protection of Confidential Material.
a.
General Protections.
Documents
designated CONFIDENTIAL under this Order shall not be used or
disclosed by the parties or counsel for the parties or any
other persons identified below (¶ 5.b.) for any purposes
whatsoever other than preparing for and conducting the
litigation in which the documents were disclosed (including
any appeal of that litigation) and preparing for and
conducting the litigation in Wilson County District Court
entitled Richard Sylvester Allegood v. Patricia Mead
Allegood, Case No. 17 CVD 723 (including any appeal of
that litigation), hereinafter collectively referred to as
“The Related Litigations.”
b.
Limited Third Party Disclosures.
The
parties and counsel for the parties shall not disclose or
permit the disclosure of any documents designated
CONFIDENTIAL under the terms of this Order to any other
person or entity except as set forth in subparagraphs (1)-(5)
below, and then only after the person to whom disclosure is
to be made has executed an acknowledgment (in the form set
forth at Exhibit A hereto), that he or she has read and
understands the terms of this Order and is bound by it.
Subject to these requirements, the following categories of
persons may be allowed to review documents which have been
designated CONFIDENTIAL pursuant to this Order:
(1) counsel and employees of counsel for the parties who have
responsibility for the preparation and trial of the Related
Litigations;
(2) parties in the Related Litigations but only to the extent
counsel shall certify that the specifically named individual
party's assistance is necessary to the conduct of the
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