Deejayzoo, LLC v. Kaz Konsulting, LLC
- P. Castel
- 1:19-cv-08688-PKC
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 8
In Deejayzoo v. Kaz Konsulting, Judge Castel entered a stipulated protective order governing confidential discovery and inadvertent privileged disclosures.
The order affects Deejayzoo, LLC, Kaz Konsulting, LLC, Kara Laforgia, their counsel and litigation personnel, authorized witnesses, experts, consultants, discovery-producing third parties, and other people who receive or have notice of confidential discovery materials.
What happened
Deejayzoo, LLC sued Kaz Konsulting, LLC and Kara Laforgia, and Kaz Konsulting asserted a counterclaim. The parties agreed that the court should regulate confidential information exchanged before trial.
The order allows parties and certain other authorized people to receive discovery marked confidential, requires precautions against disclosure, and sets procedures for challenging confidentiality designations. It also addresses accidentally disclosed attorney-client or attorney-work-product materials, court filings involving confidential information, and the return or destruction of protected materials after the case ends.
Judge P. Kevin Castel ordered the stipulated protective order. The order does not itself authorize filing materials under seal; a separate court order is required for specific documents.
The detailed version
- Deejayzoo, LLC v. Kaz Konsulting, LLC · No. 1:19-cv-08688-PKC
- P. Castel
- Dec. 20, 2019
Background
Deejayzoo, LLC d/b/a Shhhowercap is the plaintiff and counterclaim defendant. Kaz Konsulting, LLC and Kara Laforgia are defendants, and Kaz Konsulting is also identified as the counterclaimant. The parties stipulated to a protective order for the pretrial phase of the action. The court found good cause to issue an appropriately tailored confidentiality order.
Confidential discovery
The order defines discovery materials broadly as information provided during discovery. A producing person may designate nonpublic business, commercial, financial, or personal information as confidential when public disclosure is legally restricted or, in the producing person's good-faith view, would likely seriously harm relevant interests or violate privacy or confidentiality obligations. When possible, only the confidential portion must be designated.
Confidential materials may be disclosed only to specified recipients, including the parties, case-specific counsel and support staff, document authors and recipients, certain potential witnesses, experts and consultants who sign a required nondisclosure agreement, deposition personnel, litigation-support services, the court and its staff, and other people approved in writing. People receiving materials as potential witnesses or experts must receive the order and sign the required agreement before disclosure.
Challenges, court filings, and privilege
A person objecting to a confidentiality designation, or seeking stricter limits such as an attorneys'-eyes-only designation, may serve written notice before trial. If the parties cannot promptly agree, affected counsel must request a joint telephone call with the court.
The order states that marking discovery confidential does not create a presumption that the material may be filed under seal. No document may be filed under seal without a further order addressing the specific material. A sealing request must include affidavits and a legal memorandum addressing the applicable sealing standards, including the authority identified in the order. The order also states that the federal rule concerning personal identifying information remains applicable.
If privileged or attorney-work-product material is inadvertently disclosed despite reasonable preventive steps, the disclosure alone does not waive the claimed protection. After notice of an inadvertent disclosure, receiving persons must return or destroy the material within five business days and provide counsel's certification. The disclosing person must then provide a privilege log. A motion seeking compelled production of the material must be filed under seal and cannot rely merely on the fact that the material was inadvertently produced.
Duration and disposition
The protective order survives termination of the litigation. Within 30 days after final disposition, confidential discovery materials and copies must be returned to the producing person or destroyed if the producing person permits destruction. During the case, the court retains jurisdiction over people subject to the order as necessary to enforce its obligations or impose contempt sanctions.
Judge P. Kevin Castel signed the order as the court's ruling on the parties' stipulated protective-order submission.
Read the full 8-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.