Russell Reynolds Associates, Inc. v. Usina

Background

Russell Reynolds Associates, Inc. and Nadezda Usina requested a protective order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). A protective order sets rules for handling information exchanged during discovery. The parties, through counsel, agreed to the proposed terms. They represented that discovery would involve confidential documents or information whose public disclosure could harm the person producing it or a third party owed a duty of confidentiality.

The order states that it does not automatically protect every discovery disclosure and does not create an entitlement to file confidential information under seal. Only information that qualifies for confidential treatment under applicable legal principles may receive protection.

Order’s Terms

The order permits a producing person to designate as confidential limited portions of discovery material whose disclosure is restricted by law or could harm business, commercial, financial, or personal interests. Examples include previously undisclosed financial information; information about ownership or control of a non-public company; business, product-development, or marketing plans; and personal or intimate information.

A producing person may designate material by marking the protected portions and providing a redacted copy for future public use. Special procedures apply to deposition testimony. During the 30 days after a deposition, the entire transcript is treated as confidential; the producing person must then identify the specific testimony or exhibits that remain protected.

Confidential discovery material may be disclosed only to categories of people identified in the order. These include the parties and certain insurers; counsel and their staff; litigation vendors; mediators or arbitrators; authors or recipients identified on a document; potential witnesses; experts and other specialized advisers; deposition stenographers; and the court. Several categories must first read the order and sign a nondisclosure agreement.

The material may be used only to prosecute or defend this action and appeals. It may not be used for business, commercial, competitive, or other litigation purposes. The order does not restrict a person’s use of that person’s own documents or information, or information obtained independently of discovery.

The order also provides procedures for objecting to a confidentiality designation, seeking heightened limits such as attorneys’ eyes only, responding to discovery requests involving third-party confidentiality obligations, and giving notice before disclosure required by a subpoena or other compulsory process. It requires secure handling of personally identifying information and sets procedures for inadvertently disclosed attorney-client privileged or attorney work-product material.

Sealing and Later Handling

The order does not guarantee that confidential discovery material will be sealed when filed with the court. A party seeking to file documents under seal must first submit a letter-motion explaining the basis for sealing, and the court retains discretion over whether to grant confidential treatment. Parties must publicly file redacted versions of confidential court submissions while filing unredacted versions under seal when appropriate.

The order continues after the litigation ends. Within 30 days of final disposition, recipients must return or, with the producing person’s permission, destroy confidential discovery material and certify that they have done so. Lawyers specifically retained for the case may keep archival copies of certain case materials, but those copies remain subject to the order. Willful violations may lead to contempt punishment, and the court retains jurisdiction to enforce the order.

Disposition

Judge Jennifer H. Rearden found good cause to issue a tailored confidentiality order and ordered the parties and other covered persons to follow its terms. The opinion is a discovery-related protective order; it does not decide the underlying claims or defenses.