Delux Public Charter, LLC v. County of Westchester, New York
- Philip Halpern
- 7:22-cv-01930
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 10
In Delux Public Charter v. County of Westchester, Judge Halpern approved the parties’ protective order governing confidential discovery.
The plaintiffs, defendants, their counsel and representatives, third parties providing discovery, witnesses, experts, advisers, vendors, and other persons subject to the order may be affected. They must follow the order when handling discovery material designated as confidential.
What happened
The case, Delux Public Charter, LLC d/b/a JSX Air and others v. County of Westchester, New York and others, concerns the handling of private information exchanged during discovery. The parties asked the court to issue a confidentiality and protective order.
The order limits disclosure of information marked confidential, including certain financial, ownership, business, personal, and other court-approved information. It allows disclosure only to specified people, requires safeguards for accidentally disclosed privileged material, and restricts use of the information to this case and related appeals. It also sets procedures for challenging confidentiality designations and filing confidential material with the court.
Judge Philip M. Halpern found good cause and issued the protective order on November 8, 2022. The order does not decide whether evidence is admissible or resolve the underlying claims, and it remains effective after the case ends.
The detailed version
- Delux Public Charter, LLC v. County of Westchester, New York · No. 7:22-cv-01930
- Philip Halpern
- Nov. 8, 2022
Nature of the Order
This is a stipulated confidentiality and protective order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). The parties, through counsel, requested 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.
Confidential Information
A producing party may designate only material that it reasonably and in good faith believes is confidential. The listed categories include previously undisclosed financial information; previously undisclosed information about ownership or control of a nonpublic company; business, product-development, and marketing plans; personal or intimate information; and any other category the court later protects. The order includes a dispute in which the plaintiffs contend that information produced by the County, its agents, or Avports should generally be presumed public, while the County disagrees and points to exceptions under the Freedom of Information Law and Freedom of Information Act. The order does not resolve that dispute generally; it provides procedures for challenging designations.
Who May Receive Protected Material
Confidential discovery material may be disclosed only to specified recipients, including the parties and their insurers, counsel and litigation support personnel, certain outside vendors, mediators or arbitrators, authors and addressees of documents, potential witnesses, experts and specialized advisers, deposition reporters, and the court. Some recipients must first read and sign a nondisclosure agreement. Covered persons must take precautions against unauthorized or accidental disclosure, and violations may subject a person to contempt of court.
Court Filings and Use
The material may be used only to prosecute or defend this action and related appeals, not for business, competitive, commercial, or unrelated litigation purposes. A party filing confidential material must publicly file a redacted version and file the unredacted version under seal. The order emphasizes that a confidentiality designation does not automatically require sealing: the court retains discretion and requires particularized justification under its individual practices. The court also states that it is unlikely to seal material introduced into evidence at trial.
Privilege and Return of Materials
If privileged or work-product material is inadvertently disclosed, the disclosure does not waive the protection. The receiving party generally must return or destroy the material within five business days after notice and provide a certification. The producing party must then provide a privilege log, and the receiving party may ask the court to compel production. Within 60 days after final disposition, including appeals, recipients must return or, with the producing party’s permission, destroy confidential material and certify that no copies or related reproductions remain, subject to an archival-copy exception for specifically retained litigation attorneys.
Disposition
Judge Philip M. Halpern issued the stipulated protective order and retained jurisdiction to enforce its obligations and impose contempt sanctions. The order expressly states that it does not waive objections to discovery, waive privilege or other protection, or decide whether documents, testimony, or other evidence will be admissible at trial.
Read the full 10-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.