Morelli v. Alters
- Gregory Woods
- 1:19-cv-10707
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 10
In Morelli v. Alters, Judge Woods entered a stipulated protective order governing confidential discovery and its use in the case.
The parties, their officers, agents, employees, attorneys, people acting with them, and others with actual notice of the protective order who receive or access designated discovery material.
What happened
In Morelli v. Alters, the parties asked the Southern District of New York to protect nonpublic and competitively sensitive information they might exchange during discovery. The parties agreed to the order through their lawyers.
The order creates two categories of protected information: “Confidential” and “Highly Confidential—Outside Attorneys’ Eyes Only.” It limits who may receive that information and requires that it be used only for this case and related appeals.
Judge Woods found good cause and ordered the parties and other people covered by the order to follow its terms. The order also establishes procedures for challenging confidentiality designations, filing protected material with the court, returning or destroying the material after the case ends, and enforcing the order.
The detailed version
- Morelli v. Alters · No. 1:19-cv-10707
- Gregory Woods
- Apr. 28, 2020
Background
Benedict P. Morelli and The Morelli Law Firm, PLLC, formerly known as Morelli Ratner, PC, sued Jeremy Alters. The parties, through counsel, jointly requested a protective order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) for nonpublic and competitively sensitive information that might be disclosed during discovery. The court found good cause for an appropriately limited order and entered the stipulated agreement.
What the Order Does
The order covers discovery material designated either “Confidential” or “Highly Confidential—Outside Attorneys’ Eyes Only.” A producing party may designate as Confidential previously undisclosed financial information, information about ownership or control of a nonpublic company, business or marketing information, personal or intimate information, and other categories later given confidential status by the court. Information that could harm the producing party’s business or competitive position, or that is extremely personal or intimate, may receive the higher Outside Attorneys’ Eyes Only designation.
Confidential material may be disclosed only to specified people, including the parties, their insurers and insurance counsel, attorneys and litigation support staff, certain vendors, mediators or arbitrators, people identified on a document, potential witnesses, experts and specialized advisers, deposition stenographers, and the court. Witnesses, experts, mediators, and arbitrators generally must first sign a nondisclosure agreement. Highly Confidential—Outside Attorneys’ Eyes Only material may be disclosed only to outside attorneys who have formally appeared in the case and to the court.
Filing, Challenges, and Use
The order requires a public redacted version when confidential material is filed with the court and requires a party seeking to file the unredacted material under seal to submit an application and supporting declaration explaining the need for sealing. The court stated that it retains discretion over whether material will receive confidential treatment and warned that material introduced at trial is unlikely to remain sealed without the required specific findings.
A party may object to a confidentiality designation or request additional disclosure limits before trial. If the parties cannot resolve the issue, counsel must present the dispute to the court under its individual practices. Protected material may be used only to prosecute or defend this action and related appeals, not in another case or for another purpose. The order does not waive discovery objections or privileges and does not decide whether evidence will be admissible at trial.
Disposition and Continuing Effect
Judge Woods ordered the parties and other people with actual notice of the order to comply, subject to contempt. Within 60 days after final disposition of the action, including appeals, recipients must return or destroy the protected material and certify that they have not kept copies, subject to a limited archival-copy exception for attorneys specifically retained for the case. The order continues after the litigation ends, and the court retains jurisdiction as needed to enforce it or impose contempt sanctions.
Read the full 10-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.