WCA Holdings III, LLC v. Panasonic Avionics Corporation

Background

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

Order

The court issued the parties’ stipulated confidentiality and protective order. It applies to the parties and to officers, agents, employees, attorneys, people acting with them, and others who receive actual notice of the order.

The order permits a producing party to mark only material that it reasonably and in good faith believes includes specified confidential information, such as previously undisclosed financial information, ownership or control information about a nonpublic company, business or marketing plans, product-development information, or personal or intimate information. The order also allows the court to grant confidential status to other categories later.

The order establishes procedures for marking documents and deposition testimony as confidential. Deposition testimony is generally treated as confidential for 30 days after the receiving party gets the transcript, unless the parties agree otherwise. A producing party may later correct an inadvertent failure to mark material by giving written notice and providing replacement versions within two business days.

Limits on Use and Disclosure

Confidential discovery material may be used only to prosecute or defend this action and any appeals, not for another purpose or proceeding. Disclosure is permitted to specified recipients, including the parties, their insurers and related counsel, counsel and litigation support staff, outside vendors, mediators or arbitrators, certain people identified on documents, potential witnesses, experts, stenographers, and the court. Some recipients must first receive the order and sign a nondisclosure agreement.

The order does not waive objections to discovery, privilege, or other protections, and it does not decide whether evidence is admissible at trial. The court also stated that it had not made a finding that any designated material was actually confidential and retained discretion over whether to provide confidential treatment. It warned that material introduced at trial is unlikely to remain sealed.

Court Filings and Disputes

A party filing confidential discovery material must publicly file a redacted version and file the unredacted version under seal while following the court’s filing procedures. A party seeking sealing must submit a particularized justification. Parties may object to confidentiality designations or request additional disclosure limits, such as attorneys’ eyes-only treatment, and must bring unresolved disputes to the court under its individual practices.

The order protects against waiver when privileged or otherwise protected material is inadvertently produced. If the producing party asserts privilege within seven days after discovering the inadvertent production, it may request return or destruction of the material. The material must remain confidential while the parties or court resolve any dispute.

End of the Case and Enforcement

Within 60 days after final disposition, including appeals, recipients must return or destroy confidential discovery material and certify that they have not retained copies or other reproductions. Attorneys specifically retained for the action may keep archival copies of certain case files and work product, but those copies remain subject to the order.

The order survives termination of the litigation. The court retains jurisdiction over people subject to the order as needed to enforce its obligations or impose contempt sanctions. The opinion is a discovery-related procedural order; it does not resolve the merits of WCA Holdings III, LLC’s claims against Panasonic Avionics Corporation.