Myth Clothing Company, Inc. v. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd.

Background

The parties, through counsel, jointly requested a protective order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). They sought to protect nonpublic and competitively sensitive information that might be disclosed during discovery. The court found good cause for an appropriately limited confidentiality order governing the pretrial phase of the action.

Order’s Main Terms

The order covers discovery material—information of any kind produced or disclosed during discovery—that a producing party designates as confidential. A producing party may designate only material it reasonably and in good faith believes includes previously undisclosed financial information, ownership or control information about a nonpublic company, business plans, product-development or marketing plans, personal or intimate information, or another category that the court later grants confidential status.

The order establishes procedures for marking documents and designating deposition testimony and exhibits. A producing party may later designate material that was initially produced without a confidentiality designation by notifying prior recipients in writing. The order does not waive objections to discovery, privileges, or protections, and it does not decide whether any document, testimony, or other evidence will be admissible at trial.

Confidential material may be disclosed only to specified recipients, including the parties and their insurers, counsel and related staff, vendors serving the litigation, mediators or arbitrators, certain people identified on a document, potential witnesses, experts or other specialized advisers, deposition transcription staff, and the court. Potential witnesses, experts, mediators, and arbitrators must receive the order and sign the required nondisclosure agreement before receiving the material. Counsel must retain those agreements and produce them to opposing counsel before the person testifies or when the case concludes, whichever comes first.

The order requires a party filing confidential material with the court to file a public redacted version and an unredacted version under seal, along with the required supporting submission. It states that the court retains discretion over confidential treatment and is unlikely to seal or otherwise protect material introduced into evidence at trial. A party may object to a confidentiality designation or request additional disclosure limits, such as attorneys’ eyes only, and unresolved disputes must be presented to the court under its individual practices.

Recipients may use confidential material only to prosecute or defend this action and any appeals, not for business, commercial, competitive, or other litigation purposes. The order also addresses disclosures required by subpoenas or other legal process, requires precautions against unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure, and generally requires recipients within 60 days after final disposition—including appeals—to return or destroy the material and certify that they kept no copies. Litigation counsel may retain certain archival materials, which remain subject to the order.

Disposition

Judge Gardephe ordered the stipulated confidentiality agreement and protective order on December 22, 2020. The order remains binding after the litigation ends, and the court retains jurisdiction over people subject to it as needed to enforce its obligations or impose contempt sanctions. The opinion is a discovery and confidentiality order; it does not resolve the underlying dispute between Myth Clothing Company, Inc. and Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance Co., Ltd.