Renita LLC v. 107 Digital Ventures, LLC

Background

Renita, LLC sued 107 Digital Ventures, LLC and EFACT, LLC. The parties agreed to confidentiality terms for documents and information exchanged during the pre-trial phase. The court found good cause for issuing a tailored protective order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c).

Confidential Information

A party’s counsel may designate information as confidential when counsel determines in good faith that protection is necessary for proprietary information, trade secrets, or other sensitive nonpublic information. Designated material must be marked “CONFIDENTIAL” and may be used only in connection with this action.

The order limits disclosure of confidential material to the requesting party and counsel, necessary litigation employees, consultants or experts assisting with the case, and the court, including a mediator or another person who has access because of a court-related position. Before disclosure, counsel must explain the material’s confidential nature and the order’s restrictions and must obtain the recipient’s signed agreement to be bound by the order.

The order states that failing to designate material as confidential when it is produced does not waive the right to designate it later. The parties must securely maintain personally identifying information exchanged in discovery and must immediately notify the producing party of a data breach and cooperate in addressing it. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 502, inadvertent or other production of privileged or work-product-protected material does not waive the protection in this case or another federal or state proceeding, to the extent permitted by that rule.

Sealing and End of Litigation

The order does not authorize filing any document under seal. A separate court order addressing the specific material is required. An application to seal must include affidavits and a memorandum of law addressing the applicable sealing standards, including the standards discussed in Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga. The order also sets notice periods when a party seeks to use another party’s confidential information and preserves the application of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2.

After the litigation ends, confidential information and copies must be returned to the producing party or certified as destroyed no later than 30 days after entry of a final judgment that is no longer subject to appeal, subject to counsel’s ability to retain protected working files. The order does not prevent disclosure required by law or a valid subpoena.

Ruling

Judge P. Castel entered the parties’ stipulated confidentiality and protective order. The order governs the handling and permitted use of confidential information exchanged in this case; it does not decide the underlying claims.