Curran v. Dutchess Cars, LLC

Nature of the Order

The parties, through counsel, stipulated to a confidentiality agreement and protective order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). The order governs discovery in this action. The court found good cause for issuing an appropriately tailored order protecting nonpublic and competitively sensitive information.

Confidential Information

A producing party may designate only material that it reasonably and in good faith believes includes previously undisclosed financial information, information about ownership or control of a nonpublic company, business or marketing plans, personal or intimate information, or another category the court later protects. The order provides procedures for marking confidential material and for designating deposition testimony and exhibits. A party may also correct an earlier failure to designate material before trial by giving written notice to prior recipients.

Permitted Disclosures and Use

Confidential discovery material may be disclosed only to specified recipients, including the parties and their insurers, counsel, litigation support staff, vendors, mediators or arbitrators, certain people identified in documents, potential witnesses, experts, stenographers, and the court. Mediators, witnesses, and experts must first receive the order and sign a nondisclosure agreement. Recipients may use the material only to prosecute or defend this action and related appeals, not for business, competitive, commercial, or unrelated litigation purposes.

Court Filings and Challenges

The order does not waive objections to discovery, privileges, or protections, and it does not decide whether evidence will be admissible at trial. A party filing confidential material must publicly file a redacted version and file the unredacted version under seal. The party must also provide a letter brief and supporting declaration giving a particularized justification for continued sealing. The court retains discretion over whether confidential treatment is appropriate for material submitted in connection with a motion or proceeding and cautions that material introduced at trial is unlikely to remain sealed.

A party may object to a confidentiality designation or request additional disclosure limits. If the parties cannot promptly resolve the dispute, counsel must bring it to the court under the court’s individual practices.

Privilege and Inadvertent Disclosure

An accidental disclosure of material protected by attorney-client privilege or work-product protection does not waive or forfeit that protection under the order. After a claim of inadvertent disclosure, the receiving party must return or destroy the material within five business days and provide counsel’s certification. The disclosing party must then provide a privilege log within five business days. The receiving party may ask the court to compel production, and the disclosing party retains the burden of establishing that the material is privileged or protected.

End of the Case and Enforcement

Within 60 days after the final disposition of the action, including appeals, recipients must return or, with the producing party’s permission, destroy confidential material and certify that they retained no copies or summaries. Counsel specifically retained for the action may keep archival copies of specified case materials, but those copies remain subject to the order. The order survives termination of the litigation, and the court retains jurisdiction to enforce its obligations and impose contempt sanctions. Judge Philip M. Halpern signed the order on July 9, 2024.