Craven v. City Of New York ( 2020 )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK + ee ee ee ee ee ee ee ee ee x CHERYL CRAVEN, laintiff STIPULATED Plaintiff, CONFIDENTIALITY avainst- AGREEMENT AND PROTECTIVE ORDER THE CITY OF NEW YORK, AMY WEISWASSER, LAURA PARKER, and JOHN and JANE DOE (said names being fictitious, the persons intended being 19 Civ. 1486 (IMF\(OTW) those who aided and abetted the unlawful conduct of the named Defendants), Defendants. ee ee ee ee ee ee ee ee x WHEREAS, all the parties to this action (collectively the “Parties” and individually a “Party”) request that the Court issue a protective order pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) to protect the confidentiality of nonpublic and competitively sensitive information that they may need to disclose in connection with discovery in this action; WHEREAS, the Parties, through counsel, agree to the following terms; and WHEREAS, the Court finds good cause exists for issuance of an appropriately tailored confidentiality order governing the pretrial phase of this action, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that any person subject to this Order — including without limitation the Parties to this action (including their respective corporate parents, successors, and assigns), their representatives, agents, experts and consultants, all third parties providing discovery in this action, and all other interested persons with actual or constructive notice of this Order — will adhere to the following terms: 1. With respect to “Discovery Material” (Ze., information of any kind produced or disclosed in the course of discovery in this action) that a person has designated as “Confidential” pursuant to this Order, no person subject to this Order may disclose such Confidential Discovery Material to anyone else except as this Order expressly permits: 2. The Party or person producing or disclosing Discovery Material (“Producing Party”) may designate as Confidential only the portion of such material that it reasonably and in good faith believes consists of: a) any information concerning any third-party in the care, custody, and control of The New York City Human _ Resources Administration/Department of Social Services (“HRA”), the City of New York (“City”), or any of its agencies; b) any information of a personal or intimate nature regarding any individual who is not a plaintiff in this action, including, but not limited to, personal information such as home addresses, telephone numbers, social security numbers, and personnel files including all information contained therein such as salary, promotions, discipline, medical information, investigations, and evaluations; c) previously non-disclosed business plans, —_ product-development information, or marketing plans; or d) any other category of information the Court subsequently affords confidential status. 3. With respect to the Confidential portion of any Discovery Material other than deposition transcripts and exhibits, the Producing Party or its counsel may designate such portion as “Confidential” by: (a) marking “Confidential” on each page of the document or otherwise marking the Confidential portion “Confidential” in a fairly conspicuous fashion; or (b) by designating in writing the Bates-stamp numbered pages to be designated as “Confidential.” 4, A Producing Party or its counsel may designate deposition exhibits or portions of deposition transcripts as Confidential Discovery Material either by: (a) indicating on the record during the deposition that a question calls for Confidential information, in which case the reporter will mark the designated testimony it as “Confidential Information Governed by Protective Order;” or (b) notifying the reporter and all counsel of record, in writing, within 30 days after receipt of the final transcript, of the specific pages and lines of the transcript that are to be designated “Confidential,” in which case all counsel receiving the transcript will be responsible for marking the copies of the designated transcript in their possession or under their control as directed by the Producing Party or that person’s counsel. During the 30-day period following a deposition, all Parties will treat the entire deposition transcript as if it had been designated Confidential. Any depositions taken in this action (where either the Confidential Discovery Material or the documents containing the Confidential Discovery Material may be disclosed or used) shall be attended only by the deponent, the deponent’s attorney, the parties, the parties’ counsel of record, and any other members of their firm and/or office (including any contractors, experts or individuals engaged by counsel in connection with performing services in this litigation), the court reporter and/or videographer. All persons attending any deposition(s) in this case shall be subject to this Order. 5. If at any time before the trial of this action a Producing Party realizes that it should have designated as Confidential some portion(s) of Discovery Material that it previously produced without limitation, the Producing Party may so designate such material by so apprising all prior recipients in writing. Thereafter, the Court and all persons subject to this Order will treat such designated portion(s) of the Discovery Material as Confidential. 6. Nothing contained in this Order will be construed as: (a) a waiver by a Party or person of its right to object to any discovery request; (b) a waiver of any privilege or protection; or (c) a ruling regarding the admissibility at trial of any document, testimony, or other evidence. This Order also does not bar the Parties from redacting from any documents produced in discovery the personal identifying information of potential, current or former employees of the City, including, but not limited to, home addresses, social security numbers, dates of birth and telephone numbers of those employees and any family members. Upon the receipt of any documents with redacted information, the non-Producing Party reserves the right to object to any redactions and the Parties shall meet and confer within five (5) business days of the objection to discuss whether the redacted information shall be disclosed. If the Parties cannot resolve the dispute, the objecting Party may file a discovery dispute in accordance with the applicable Court rules. 7. Where a Producing Party has designated Discovery Material as Confidential, other persons subject to this Order may disclose such information only to the following persons: a) the Parties to this action; b) counsel retained specifically for this action, including any paralegal, clerical, or other assistant that such outside counsel employs and assigns to this matter; c) outside vendors or service providers (such as copy-service providers and document-management consultants) that counsel hire and assign to this matter; d) any mediator or arbitrator that the Parties engage in this matter or that the Court appoints, provided such person has first executed a Non-Disclosure Agreement in the form annexed as an Exhibit hereto; e) as to any document, its author, its addressee, and any other person indicated on the face of the document as having received a copy; f) any witness who counsel for a Party in good faith believes may be called to testify at trial or deposition in this action, provided such person has first executed a Non-Disclosure Agreement in the form annexed as an Exhibit hereto; g) any person a Party retains to serve as an expert witness or otherwise provide specialized advice to counsel in connection with this action, provided such person has first executed a Non-Disclosure Agreement in the form annexed as an Exhibit hereto; h) stenographers engaged to transcribe depositions the Parties conduct in this action; and 1) the Court, including any appellate court, its support personnel, and court reporters. 8. Before disclosing any Confidential Discovery Material to any person referred to in subparagraphs 7(d), 7(f), or 7(g) above, counsel must provide a copy of this Order to such person, who must sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement in the form annexed as an Exhibit hereto stating that he or she has read this Order and agrees to be bound by its terms. Said counsel must retain each signed Non-Disclosure Agreement, hold it in escrow, and produce it to opposing counsel upon opposing counsel’s request. 9. The Court also retains discretion whether to afford confidential treatment to any Discovery Material designated as Confidential and submitted to the Court in connection with any motion, application, or proceeding that may result in an order and/or decision by the Court. The public has a presumptive right of access to judicial documents. As such, all persons are hereby placed on notice that the Court is unlikely to seal or otherwise afford confidential treatment to any Discovery Material introduced in evidence at trial, even if such material has previously been sealed or designated as Confidential. 10. Any Party who objects to any designation of confidentiality may at any time before the trial of this action serve upon counsel for the Producing Party a written notice stating with particularity the grounds of the objection. If the Parties cannot reach agreement promptly, counsel for all affected Parties will address their dispute to the Court in accordance the Court’s Individual Practices. 11. Any Party who requests additional limits on disclosure (such as “attorneys’ eyes only” in extraordinary circumstances), may at any time before the trial of this action serve upon counsel for the recipient Parties a written notice stating with particularity the grounds of the request. If the Parties cannot reach agreement promptly, counsel for all affected Parties will address their dispute to the Court in accordance the Court’s Individual Practices. 12. Recipients of Confidential Discovery Material under this Order may use such material solely for the prosecution and defense of this action and any appeals thereto, and not for any business, commercial, or competitive purpose or in any other litigation proceeding. Nothing contained in this Order, however, will affect or restrict the rights of any Party with respect to its own documents or information produced in this action. 13. Nothing in this Order will prevent any Party from producing any Confidential Discovery Material in its possession in response to a lawful subpoena or other compulsory process, or if required to produce by law or by any government agency having jurisdiction, provided that such Party gives written notice to the Producing Party as soon as reasonably possible, and if permitted by the time allowed under the request, at least 10 days before any disclosure. Upon receiving such notice, the Producing Party will bear the burden to oppose compliance with the subpoena, other compulsory process, or other legal notice if the Producing Party deems it appropriate to do so. &K 14. The Parties agree to the following regarding production of Protected Material as governed by Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d): a) Any party’s production in this proceeding of any documents or other information protected by the attorney-client privilege, attorney work product protection or any other privilege or protection recognized by law as well as any non-party personally identifying information (collectively, “Protected Material’), whether inadvertent or otherwise, shall not constitute a waiver of any privilege or protection applicable to that information in this action. b) A party that produces Protected Material (the “Producing Party”) may demand that any party receiving Protected Material (the “Receiving Party’’) return or destroy the Protected Material (the “Clawback Demand”). Such demand shall be made promptly after the Producing Party discovers that the Protected Material was produced and shall state on a privilege log the Protected Material to be returned or destroyed (including the Bates number of the document, or if no Bates number appears on the document, sufficient information to identify the document) and the basis for the claim of privilege or protection. c) Upon receiving a Clawback Demand, the Receiving Party shall within five business days, destroy the Protected Material or return it to the Producing Party, including any copies, and notify any third-party to whom the Receiving Party sent such identified Protected Material to return it to the Producing Party or destroy it. The Receiving Party shall provide written assurance of these actions within five days of receiving a Clawback Demand. If the document or information subject to the Clawback Demand contains protected material only in part, then the Producing Party shall, within five business days of the Clawback Demand, produce redacted versions of the documents subject to the Clawback Demand. d) If the Receiving Party identifies a document or record produced by the Producing Party that appears to be Protected Material it shall immediately notify the Producing Party of the existence of the document, including the Bates number of the document, or if no Bates number appears on the document, sufficient information to identify the document so that the Producing Party may make a Clawback Demand. e) If a Receiving Party disagrees with a Producing Party’s claim that certain documents or information constitutes Protected Material, then, within five business days of receiving the Clawback Demand, the Receiving Party may move the Court for an Order compelling production of any of the documents or information covered by the Clawback Demand, (or, in the case of redacted documents, compelling that the redactions be removed). The motion shall not assert as a ground for production the fact that such documents or information was previously produced, nor shall such motion disclose or otherwise refer to the content of the documents or information (beyond any information appearing on the above-referenced privilege log, or any portion of the document that the parties agree is not Protected Material). f) The Receiving Party shall not disclose Protected Material to any person or entity that has not already had access to the material after receiving a Clawback Demand. Disclosure of Protected Material before a Receiving Party receives a Clawback Demand shall not be a violation of this Order. g) The Producing Party shall not, by reason of producing Protected Material, move to disqualify counsel for any Receiving Party whether or not the Receiving Party contests the Producing Party’s claim that it is Protected Material. 15. Each person who has access to Discovery Material designated as Confidential pursuant to this Order must take all due precautions to prevent the unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of such material. 16. Within 60 days of the final disposition of this action — including all appeals — all recipients of Confidential Discovery Material must either return it — including all copies thereof — to the Producing Party, or, destroy such material — including all copies thereof. In either event, upon request of the Producing Party, the recipient must certify its return or destruction by submitting a written certification to the Producing Party that affirms that it has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, or other forms of reproducing or capturing any of the Confidential Discovery Material. Notwithstanding this provision, the attorneys that the Parties have specifically retained for this action may retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, transcripts, expert reports, legal memoranda, correspondence, or attorney work product, even if such materials contain Confidential Discovery Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Confidential Discovery Material remain subject to this Order. 17. This Order will survive the termination of the litigation and will continue to be binding upon all persons to whom Confidential Discovery Material is produced or disclosed. oO 18. The Court will retain jurisdiction over all persons subject to this Order to the extent necessary to enforce any obligations arising hereunder or to impose sanctions for any contempt thereof. Dated: New York, New York. New York, New York August 21, 2020 August 21, 2020 MADUEGBUNA COOPER LLP JAMES E. JOHNSON Attorney for Plaintiff Corporation Counsel of the 30 Wall Street, 8" Floor City of New York New York, New York 10005 Attorney for Defendants 100 Church Street, Room 2-117 New York, New York 10007-2601 (212) 356-1180 oval dency Chrstognere By: By: _Christopher Coyne ws aie amuel O. Maduegbuna Christopher Coyne Attorney for Plaintiff Assistant Corporation Counsel SO ORDERED: August 24, 2020 Date U.SSOK This stipulation binds the parties to treat as confidential the documents so classified. This Court, however, has not reviewed the documents referenced herein; therefore, by so ordering this stipulation, the Court makes no finding as to whether the documents are confidential. That finding will be made, if ever, upon a document-by-document review pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Court’s Individual Rules and Practices and subject to the presumption in favor of public access to “judicial documents.” See generally Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga, 435 F.3d 110, 119-20 (2d Cir. 2006). To that end, the Court does not “so order” any provision to the extent that it purports to authorize the parties to file documents under seal without a prior court order. See New York ex rel. Khurana v. Spherion Corp., No. 15-CV-6605 (JMF), 2019 WL 3294170 (S.D.N.Y. July 19, 2019). ] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- x CHERYL CRAVEN, Plaintiff, -against- THE CITY OF NEW YORK, AMY WEISWASSER, NON-DISCLOSURE LAURA PARKER, and JOHN and JANE DOE (said AGREEMENT names being fictitious, the persons intended being those who aided and abetted the unlawful conduct of 19 Civ. 1486 (JMF)(OTW) the named Defendants), Defendants. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- x I, , acknowledge that I have read and understand the Protective Order in this action governing the non-disclosure of those portions of Discovery Material that have been designated as Confidential. I agree that I will not disclose such Confidential Discovery Material to anyone other than for purposes of this litigation and that at the conclusion of the litigation I will return all discovery information to the Party or attorney from whom I received it. By acknowledging these obligations under the Protective Order, I understand that I am submitting myself to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for the purpose of any issue or dispute arising hereunder and that my willful violation of any term of the Protective Order could subject me to punishment for contempt ofCourt. Dated: