Greenpoint Capital Management, LLC v. Apollo Hybrid Value Management, L.P.
- Paul Gardephe
- 1:21-cv-01654
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 12
Greenpoint v. Apollo: Judge Gardephe entered a stipulated protective order governing confidential discovery materials.
The parties, their representatives, counsel, insurers, experts, vendors, consultants, witnesses, third parties producing discovery, and other persons with actual or constructive notice of the protective order.
What happened
In Greenpoint Capital Management, LLC v. Apollo Hybrid Value Management, L.P., the parties asked the Southern District of New York to protect nonpublic and competitively sensitive information exchanged during discovery. The parties agreed to the proposed terms.
The court entered an order creating two levels of protection: “Confidential” and “Highly Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes Only.” The order limits who may receive protected information, how it may be used, how confidentiality disputes are handled, and when materials must be returned or destroyed.
Judge Paul G. Gardephe found good cause for the order and ordered the people covered by it to follow its terms, subject to contempt sanctions for violations. The order concerns discovery procedures and does not decide the parties’ underlying dispute.
The detailed version
- Greenpoint Capital Management, LLC v. Apollo Hybrid Value Management, L.P. · No. 1:21-cv-01654
- Paul Gardephe
- Apr. 23, 2021
Nature of the order
The parties jointly requested a protective order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). The order governs nonpublic and competitively sensitive information that may be produced during discovery. The court found good cause for issuing a tailored confidentiality order for the pretrial phase of the action and ordered covered persons to comply with it, subject to contempt sanctions.
Confidentiality categories
The order establishes two categories of protected discovery material:
- Confidential: This may include nonpublic know-how, proprietary data, marketing information, financial information, commercially sensitive business information, and sensitive personal information such as home addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, medical information, personnel files, wage statements, benefits data, and tax records. - Highly Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes Only: This may include information whose disclosure is restricted by law or could harm business, commercial, financial, or personal interests. Examples include trade secrets, user data and security features, pricing information, forecasts, budgets, sales initiatives, customer dealings, marketing plans, and competitive information.
The producing party may designate material by marking the protected portions and producing a redacted copy for future public use. Deposition testimony may be designated during the deposition or within 30 days afterward. A producing party may also correct a prior failure to designate material before trial by notifying earlier recipients in writing.
Permitted disclosures and use
Confidential material may be disclosed to specified participants, including the parties and their insurers, litigation counsel and assigned staff, litigation vendors, mediators or arbitrators, certain people identified in a document, potential witnesses, experts, deposition stenographers, and the court. Several recipients must first receive the order and sign a nondisclosure agreement.
Highly Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes Only material may be disclosed to a narrower group, generally including litigation counsel and staff, litigation vendors, mediators or arbitrators, certain people identified in a document, experts, deposition stenographers, and the court. Required nondisclosure agreements must be retained by counsel and produced to opposing counsel before the person testifies or at the end of the case, whichever comes first.
Protected material may be used only to prosecute or defend this action and related appeals, not for business, commercial, competitive, or other litigation purposes. The order does not limit a party’s rights regarding its own documents or information, waive objections or privileges, or decide whether evidence will be admissible at trial.
Court filings and challenges
A party seeking to file protected material with the court must move to seal it and provide a particularized justification. The order requires public redacted filings and permits unredacted versions to be filed under seal. The court retains discretion over whether to keep material confidential when it is submitted in connection with a motion or other proceeding. The order states that material introduced at trial is unlikely to remain sealed unless it qualifies as a trade secret.
A party may object to a confidentiality designation before trial by serving written notice that specifically states the grounds for the objection. If the parties cannot resolve the dispute, counsel must bring it to the court under the judge’s individual practices.
End of the case and enforcement
Within 60 days after final disposition of the action, including appeals, recipients must return protected material or destroy it with the producing party’s permission and provide written certification. Litigation counsel may retain archival copies of specified case materials, which remain subject to the order. The order survives the end of the litigation, and the court retains jurisdiction to enforce its obligations and impose contempt sanctions.
Disposition and classification
Judge Paul G. Gardephe entered the stipulated protective order on April 23, 2021. This was a procedural discovery order; it did not resolve the merits of Greenpoint Capital Management, LLC’s claims or Apollo Hybrid Value Management, L.P. and Apollo Hybrid Value Management GP, LLC’s defenses.
Read the full 12-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.