Shanghai Shuoxin International Co.,Ltd v. Jordache Enterprises Inc.

Background

The parties jointly requested a protective order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) because discovery might require disclosure of nonpublic and competitively sensitive information. The court found good cause for an appropriately limited order governing the pretrial phase of the action.

Terms of the Order

The order applies to the parties, their corporate parents, successors and assigns, representatives, agents, experts, consultants, third parties providing discovery, and other persons with actual or constructive notice of the order. It prohibits unauthorized disclosure of discovery materials designated as “Confidential.”

A producing party may designate information as confidential if it contains nonpublic financial, business, contractual, sales, operational, trade-secret, proprietary, or competitively sensitive information, or information whose disclosure the party reasonably believes would harm its business or the business of its customers or clients. The order describes procedures for marking documents and designating deposition testimony and exhibits, including a 30-day period after a deposition during which the entire transcript must be treated as confidential.

Confidential materials may be disclosed only to specified recipients, including the parties; their counsel and assigned staff; certain vendors; mediators or arbitrators; document authors and addressees; certain potential witnesses; experts and specialized advisers; deposition stenographers; and the court. Before disclosure to certain witnesses, experts, mediators, or arbitrators, the recipient must receive the order and sign a required nondisclosure agreement.

Court Filings and Challenges

A party filing confidential material must publicly file a redacted version and file the unredacted version under seal, along with the required courtesy copies. A party seeking to file documents under seal must also submit a letter brief and supporting declaration explaining specifically why continued sealing is justified. The court retains discretion over whether confidential treatment is appropriate for material submitted in connection with a motion or other proceeding that may lead to a court order or decision.

Parties may object to confidentiality designations or request additional disclosure limits, such as attorneys’-eyes-only treatment, before trial. If the parties cannot resolve the issue, counsel must bring the dispute to the court.

Use, Return, and Enforcement

Recipients may use confidential discovery materials only to prosecute or defend this action and related appeals, not for business, commercial, competitive, or unrelated litigation purposes. The order also addresses disclosures required by subpoenas, compulsory process, law, or government agencies, while requiring notice to the producing party when reasonably possible.

Within 60 days after final disposition of the action, including appeals, recipients generally must return or destroy the confidential materials and certify that they retained no copies or reproductions. Lawyers specifically retained for the action may keep archival copies of certain case materials, which remain subject to the order. The order survives the end of the litigation, and the court retains jurisdiction to enforce it and impose contempt sanctions. The order does not waive discovery objections or privileges and does not decide the admissibility of any evidence.

Disposition

The court entered the stipulated confidentiality and protective order. It did not resolve the underlying claims between the parties.