Trustees Of The New York City District Council Of Carpenters Pension Fund v…

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 limited confidentiality order covering the pretrial phase of the case.

Protective-order terms

The order allows a producing party to designate only material it reasonably and in good faith believes contains specified types of information, including previously undisclosed financial information, ownership or control information about a nonpublic company, business or marketing plans, personal or intimate information, or another category later protected by the court.

Recipients may disclose designated confidential discovery material only to listed categories of people, including the parties, certain insurers and counsel, attorneys and litigation-support vendors, mediators or arbitrators, document authors and addressees, potential witnesses, experts, and the court. Witnesses, experts, mediators, and arbitrators generally must first receive the order and sign a nondisclosure agreement.

The material may be used only to prosecute or defend this case and any appeals, not for business, competitive, commercial, or other litigation purposes. The order does not waive objections to discovery, privilege, or other protections, and it does not decide whether evidence will be admissible at trial.

The order sets procedures for challenging confidentiality designations and requesting stronger disclosure limits. Parties filing confidential material with the court must publicly file a redacted version and file the unredacted version under seal, along with the materials required by the court’s individual practices. The court retains discretion over whether to keep material confidential and states that it is unlikely to seal material introduced as evidence at trial.

The order also addresses accidentally disclosed attorney-client-privileged or attorney-work-product material. Such disclosure does not by itself waive the protection. After notification, the receiving party generally must return or destroy the material within five business days, while retaining a right to ask the court to compel production. The producing party retains the burden of showing that the material is privileged or protected.

Within 60 days after final disposition of the case, including appeals, recipients generally must return or destroy confidential discovery material and certify that they have not retained copies or other reproductions. Attorneys specifically retained for the case may keep archival copies of certain litigation files, which remain subject to the order. The order continues after the litigation ends, and the court retains jurisdiction to enforce it and impose contempt sanctions.

Ruling

Judge Philip M. Halpern ordered all persons covered by the order—including the parties, their representatives, agents, experts, consultants, third parties providing discovery, and others with actual or constructive notice—to comply with its terms. The opinion is a stipulated protective-order ruling and does not resolve the merits of the parties’ dispute.