GPC3 I, LLC v. Javarone

Background

GPC3 I, LLC and Cort Javarone stipulated to a confidentiality agreement and protective order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). They asked the court to protect nonpublic and competitively sensitive information that might be disclosed during discovery. Judge Gregory H. Woods found good cause for issuing an appropriately tailored order governing the pretrial phase of the case.

Terms of the Order

The order defines “Discovery Material” as information produced or disclosed during discovery. A producing party may designate material as “Confidential” if it reasonably and in good faith believes that the material includes previously undisclosed financial information; information about ownership or control of a nonpublic company; business, product-development, or marketing plans; personal or intimate information; or another category later given confidential status by the court.

Confidential material may be disclosed only to listed recipients, including the parties, certain counsel and service providers, mediators or arbitrators, specified persons connected to a document, potential witnesses, experts, deposition stenographers, and the court. Some recipients must first receive the order and sign a nondisclosure agreement. Confidential material may be used only to prosecute or defend this action and any appeals, not for another litigation or purpose.

The order establishes procedures for marking discovery materials, deposition testimony, and exhibits; correcting an earlier failure to mark material as confidential; objecting to a confidentiality designation; and requesting stricter limits, such as attorneys’-eyes-only treatment. It also requires public redacted filings when confidential discovery material is submitted to the court and requires a separate application and supporting declaration for sealing. The court stated that it had not itself determined that any designated material was confidential and that it might not seal material introduced at trial.

Within 60 days after final disposition of the action, including appeals, recipients generally must return or destroy confidential material and certify that they retained no copies or other reproductions. Counsel specifically retained for the action may keep certain archival litigation files, but those copies remain subject to the order. The order continues after the litigation ends, and the court retains jurisdiction to enforce it or impose contempt sanctions.

Disposition and Effect

Judge Woods entered the stipulated protective order on May 20, 2025. The order governs confidentiality and use of discovery materials; it does not resolve the merits of the dispute, waive objections or privileges, or rule on the admissibility of evidence.