Caplan v. Life

Nature of the Order

This is a stipulated protective order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). The parties agreed to confidentiality procedures for nonpublic and sensitive material that may be produced during discovery, and the court found good cause for an appropriately tailored order.

Confidentiality Designations

A producing party or its counsel may designate discovery material as confidential when counsel reasonably and in good faith determines that protection is needed for proprietary information, trade secrets, sensitive nonpublic financial or business information, personal or intimate information, or information subject to a confidentiality duty. The order describes procedures for marking ordinary discovery material and deposition testimony or exhibits. Material may also be designated confidential after it was initially produced without a limitation, so long as prior recipients are notified in writing before trial.

Permitted Disclosures and Use

Recipients may not disclose confidential discovery material except to the categories listed in the order. These include the parties and their insurers, counsel and litigation staff, litigation-service providers, mediators or arbitrators who agree to maintain confidentiality, certain people identified in documents, potential witnesses who sign the required agreement, consultants and experts who sign the agreement, deposition transcription staff, and the court and its personnel. The material may be used only to prosecute or defend this lawsuit, not for business, commercial, or competitive purposes.

The order also addresses disclosures required by subpoenas or other legal process, requiring notice to the producing party unless prohibited by law. People receiving personally identifying information must keep it secure and confidential and must promptly notify the producing party of a data breach. Willful violations may lead to contempt sanctions, and the court retains jurisdiction to enforce the order.

Challenges, Sealing, and End of the Case

A party may object to a confidentiality designation or request stronger limits, such as an attorneys-eyes-only restriction. If the parties cannot resolve the dispute, they must bring it to the court under Judge Furman’s individual practices.

The order requires parties seeking to file material under seal to follow the court’s rules and publicly file a redacted version. It emphasizes that the parties should minimize sealing and warns that the court is unlikely to seal or otherwise protect discovery material introduced at trial or used to support or oppose summary judgment.

The order remains effective after the litigation ends. Within 30 days after final disposition, confidential discovery material and copies must be returned to the producing party or destroyed if the producing party permits destruction.

Court’s Limitation and Disposition

Judge Jesse Furman ordered the stipulated protective order but stated that the court had not reviewed the documents referenced in it and therefore made no finding that the documents were confidential. Any such determination would occur document by document under the court’s procedures and the presumption favoring public access to judicial documents. The court also declined to authorize filing documents under seal without a prior court order. The order addresses discovery administration and confidentiality, not the merits of the parties’ underlying claims.