Protex Industrial LTD. v. Vince Holdings Inc.

What the Court Ordered

The parties, through counsel, agreed to a protective order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and the court found good cause to issue it. The order governs confidential information exchanged during the discovery phase of the case. It does not automatically protect every discovery response or give the parties a right to file protected material under seal.

Confidential Information

A producing person may designate only information whose disclosure is restricted by law or could harm business, commercial, financial, or personal interests. Examples include previously undisclosed financial information, information about ownership or control of a private company, business and marketing plans, product-development information, and personal or intimate information. The order establishes procedures for marking documents and deposition testimony as confidential and allows a producing person to correct an earlier failure to designate information before trial.

People receiving confidential discovery material generally may disclose it only to specified participants, including the parties, their counsel and litigation-support personnel, insurers and their counsel, mediators or arbitrators, certain witnesses, experts, document recipients, stenographers, and the court. Many recipients must first sign a nondisclosure agreement. The material may be used only to prosecute or defend this case and related appeals, not for business, commercial, competitive, or other litigation purposes.

Challenges, Court Filings, and Privilege

A party may challenge a confidentiality designation or request additional limits on disclosure, such as an attorneys'-eyes-only restriction, by giving written notice and bringing the dispute to the court if the parties cannot resolve it. Filing confidential material with the court requires a letter-motion explaining the basis for sealing, and the order states that confidentiality does not create a presumption of sealing. The parties must publicly file redacted versions and separately file unredacted versions under seal when required.

The order also protects personally identifying information and requires notice and cooperation if a recipient experiences a data breach. An inadvertent disclosure of material claimed to be protected by attorney-client privilege or attorney work-product protection does not itself waive that protection. The receiving party must return or destroy the material within five business days after a claim of inadvertent disclosure, subject to procedures for a privilege log and a possible motion seeking production.

Duration and Disposition

The protective order survives the end of the litigation. Within 30 days after final disposition, recipients must return or destroy confidential discovery material and certify that they kept no copies, subject to a limited archival-copy provision for attorneys retained in the case. Willful violations may result in contempt punishment, and the court retained jurisdiction to enforce the order and impose contempt sanctions. Judge Jeannette A. Vargas entered the order as agreed on April 3, 2025.