Segelbaum v. Equifax Information Services, LLC

Background

The parties jointly requested a protective order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). The order concerns nonpublic and competitively sensitive information that may be disclosed during discovery in the action brought by Yisroel Segelbaum against Equifax Information Services, LLC; Experian Information Solutions, Inc.; TransUnion, LLC; and TD Bank, N.A. The court found good cause for issuing a tailored confidentiality order governing the pretrial phase of the case.

Confidentiality Rules

The order permits a producing party to designate as confidential only material that it reasonably and in good faith believes includes previously undisclosed financial information, ownership or control information about a nonpublic company, business plans, product-development or marketing information, personal or intimate information, or another category later given confidential status by the court.

People subject to the order generally may disclose confidential discovery material only to specified recipients, including the parties, insurance-related representatives, counsel and their staff, litigation vendors, mediators or arbitrators, certain people identified in a document, potential witnesses, experts and specialized consultants, deposition stenographers, and the court. Witnesses, mediators, arbitrators, experts, and specialized consultants must first sign a non-disclosure agreement in the form attached to the order.

The 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 also requires precautions against unauthorized disclosure and provides that an accidental disclosure of attorney-client privileged or attorney-work-product material does not waive those protections. The receiving party must return or destroy such accidentally disclosed material within five business days after receiving notice, subject to the order’s procedures for seeking court review.

Court Filings and Enforcement

A party filing material under seal must also file a letter brief and supporting declaration explaining specifically why continued sealing is justified. When confidential discovery material is included in a court filing, the parties must publicly file a redacted version and file the unredacted version under seal. The court retains discretion over whether to keep designated material confidential when it is submitted in connection with a motion or other proceeding, and the order warns that material introduced at trial is unlikely to remain sealed.

Within 60 days after the final disposition of the action, including appeals, recipients must return all confidential discovery material or destroy it with the producing party’s permission and provide written certification. Counsel specifically retained for the action may keep archival copies of certain litigation records and work product, 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

The parties stipulated and agreed to the protective order, and Judge Philip M. Halpern ordered that the parties and other covered persons comply with its terms. This order addresses discovery confidentiality and does not decide the underlying claims or the admissibility of evidence at trial.