Catapult Group International Ltd v. Watch Fantom Inc. ( 2022 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK CATAPULT GROUP INTERNATIONAL LTD, a foreign corporation, Civil Action No. 1:21-cv-10512 Plaintiff, v. WATCH FANTOM INC. d/b/a CATAPULTX, INC., a Delaware corporation Defendant. [PROPOSED] STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER WHEREAS, each of the parties to this action (collectively the “Parties,” and each individually, a “Party”) have requested that this Court issue a protective order pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) to protect the confidentiality of certain nonpublic and confidential material that will be exchanged pursuant to and during the course of discovery in this case; WHEREAS, the Parties, through counsel, have agreed to the following terms; WHEREAS, the Parties acknowledge that this Protective Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords only extends to the limited information or items that are entitled, under the applicable legal principles, to confidential treatment; WHEREAS, the Parties further acknowledge that this Protective Order does not create entitlement to file confidential information under seal; and WHEREAS, in light of these acknowledgements, and based on the representations of the Parties that discovery in this case will involve confidential documents or information the public disclosure of which will cause harm to the producing person and/or third party to whom a duty of confidentiality is owed, and to protect against injury caused by dissemination of confidential documents and information, this Court finds good cause 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 Protective Order—including, without limitation, the Parties to this action, 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 Protective Order—shall adhere to the following terms: 1. Any person subject to this Protective Order who receives from any other person subject to this Protective Order any “Discovery Material” (i.e., information of any kind produced or disclosed pursuant to and in course of discovery in this action) that is designated as “Confidential” or “Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only” pursuant to the terms of this Protective Order (hereinafter “Confidential Discovery Material” and “Highly Confidential Discovery Material,” respectively) shall not disclose such Confidential Discovery Material or Highly Confidential Discovery Material to anyone else except as expressly permitted hereunder. 2. The person producing any given Discovery Material may designate as Confidential only such portion of such material the public disclosure of which is either restricted by law or will cause harm to the business, commercial, financial, or personal interests of the producing person and/or a third party to whom a duty of confidentiality is used and that consists of: (a) previously nondisclosed financial information (including, without limitation, profitability reports or estimates, percentage fees, design fees, royalty rates, minimum guarantee payments, sales reports, and sale margins); (b) previously nondisclosed material relating to ownership or control of any non- public company; (c) previously nondisclosed business plans, product development information, or marketing plans; (d) any information of a personal or intimate nature regarding any individual; or (e) any other category of information hereinafter given confidential status by the Court. 3. The person producing any given Discovery Material may designate as Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only such portion of such material the public disclosure of which is either restricted by law or will cause harm to the business, commercial, financial, or personal interests of the producing person and/or a third party to whom a duty of confidentiality is used and that consists of: (a) previously nondisclosed financial information (including, without limitation, profitability reports or estimates, percentage fees, design fees, royalty rates, minimum guarantee payments, sales reports, and sale margins); (b) previously nondisclosed technical information or trade secrets; or (c) any other category of information hereinafter given highly confidential – attorneys’ eyes only status by the Court. 4. With respect to the Confidential or Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only portion of any Discovery Material other than deposition transcripts and exhibits, the producing person or that person’s counsel may designate such portion as “Confidential” or “Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only” by stamping or otherwise clearly marking as “Confidential” or “Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only” the protected portion in a manner that will not interfere with legibility or audibility. 5. With respect to deposition transcripts, a producing person or that person’s counsel by (a) indicating on the record during the deposition that a question calls for Confidential or Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only information and the court reporter will appropriately mark the transcript or exhibit; or (b) notifying the reporter and all counsel of record, in writing, within 30 days after a deposition has concluded, of the specific pages and lines of the transcript and/or the specific exhibits that are to be designated Confidential or Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only, in which case all counsel receiving the transcript will be responsible for marking the copies of the designated transcript or exhibit (as the case may be), in their possession or under their control as directed by the producing person or that person’s counsel by the reporter. During the 30- day period following the conclusion of a deposition, the entire deposition transcript will be treated as if it had been designated Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only. 6. If at any time prior to the trial of this action, a producing person realizes that some portion(s) of Discovery Material that she, he, or it had previously produced without limitation should be designated as Confidential or Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only, she, he, or it may so designate by so apprising all prior recipients of the Discovery Material in writing, and thereafter such designated portion(s) of the Discovery Material will thereafter be deemed to be and treated as Confidential or Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only under the terms of this Protective Order. 7. No person subject to this Protective Order other than the producing person shall disclose any of the Discovery Material designated by the producing person as Confidential to any other person whomsoever, except to: (a) the Parties to this action, their insurers, and counsel to their insurers; (b) in-house or outside counsel, including any paralegal, clerical and other assistant employed by such counsel and assigned to this matter; (c) outside vendors or service providers (such as copy-service providers and document-management consultants, graphic production services or other litigation support services) that counsel hire and assign to this matter, including computer service personnel performing duties in relation to a computerized litigation system; (d) any mediator or arbitrator that the Parties engage in this matter or that this Court appoints,; (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 retained by a Party 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; (i) this Court, including any appellate court, and the court reporters and support personnel for the same. 8. No person subject to this Protective Order other than the producing person shall disclose any of the Discovery Material designated by the producing person as Highly Confidential –Attorneys’ Eyes Only to any other person whomsoever, except to: (a) in-house and outside counsel, including any paralegal, clerical and other assistant employed by such counsel and assigned to this matter; (b) outside vendors or service providers (such as copy-service providers and document-management consultants, graphic production services or other litigation support services) that counsel hire and assign to this matter, including computer service personnel performing duties in relation to a computerized litigation system; (c) any mediator or arbitrator that the Parties engage in this matter or that this Court appoints,; (d) as to any document, its author, its addressee, and any other person indicated on the face of the document as having received a copy; (e) any person retained by a Party 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; (f) stenographers engaged to transcribe depositions conducted in this action; and (g) this Court, including any appellate court, and the court reporters and support personnel for the same. 9. Prior to any disclosure of any Confidential or Highly Confidential Discovery Material to any person referred to in subparagraphs 7(f), 7(g), or 8(e) above, such person shall be provided by counsel with a copy of this Protective Order and shall sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement in the form annexed as an Exhibit hereto stating that that person has read this Protective Order and agrees to be bound by its terms. Said counsel shall retain each signed Non-Disclosure Agreement, hold it in escrow, and produce it to opposing counsel either prior to such person being permitted to testify (at deposition or trial) or at the conclusion of the case, whichever comes first. 10. Any Party who objects to any designation of confidentiality may at any time prior to the trial of this action serve upon counsel for the designating person a written notice stating with particularity the grounds of the objection. If the Parties cannot reach agreement promptly, counsel for all Parties will address their dispute to this Court. 11. A Party may be requested to produce Discovery Material that is subject to contractual or other obligations of confidentiality owed to a third party. The receiving Party subject to such obligation shall inform the third party of the request and that the third party may seek a protective order or other relief from this Court. If neither the third party nor the receiving receiving Party shall produce the information responsive to the discovery request but may affix the appropriate controlling designation. 12. Recipients of Confidential or Highly Confidential Discovery Material under this Protective Order may use such material solely for the prosecution and defense of this action and any appeals thereto, and specifically (and by way of example and not limitations) may not use Confidential Discovery Material or Highly Confidential Discovery Material for any business, commercial, or competitive purpose. Nothing contained in this Protective Order, however, will affect or restrict the rights of any person with respect to its own documents or information produced in this action. Nor does anything contained in this Protective Order limit or restrict the rights of any person to use or disclose information or material obtained independently from and not through or pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 13. Nothing in this Protective Order will prevent any person subject to it from producing any Confidential or Highly 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, however, that such person receiving a request, will provide written notice to the producing person before disclosure and as soon as reasonably possible. Upon receiving such notice, the producing person will have the right to oppose compliance with the subpoena, other compulsory process, or other legal notice if the producing person deems it appropriate to do so. 14. Each person who has access to Discovery Material that has been designated as Confidential or Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only shall take all due precautions to prevent the unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of such material. 15. This Protective Order shall survive the termination of the litigation. Within 30 days of the final disposition of this action, all Discovery Material designated as “Confidential” or “Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only,” and all copies thereof, shall be promptly returned to the producing person, or destroyed. 16. All persons subject to this Protective Order acknowledge that willful violation of this Protective Order could subject them to punishment for contempt of Court. This Court shall retain jurisdiction over all persons subject to this Protective Order to the extent necessary to enforce any obligations arising hereunder or to impose sanctions for any contempt thereof. 17. Inadvertent disclosures of material protected by the attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine shall be handled in accordance with Federal Rule of Evidence 502 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5)(B). 18. All redacted or sealed filings must comport with this Court’s Individual Rule 7. SO STIPULATED AND AGREED. Dated: April 21, 2022 Dated: April 21, 2022 /s/_ Martin Schwimmer /s/_ David Leit LEASON ELLIS LLP LOWENSTEIN SANDLER LLP Martin Schwimmer David Leit Lauren Sabol Andrew Dubin One Barker Avenue, Fifth Floor 1251 Avenue of the Americas While Plains, NY 10601 New York, NY 10020 Tel: (914); 288-8011 Tel: (212) 262-6700 Email: Schwimmer@leasonellis.com Email: dleit@lowenstein.com Email: Sabol@leasonellis.com Email: adubin@lowenstein.com Attorneys for Plaintiff Catapult Group Attorneys for Defendant Watch Fantom Inc. International Ltd d/b/a Catapultx, Inc. SO ORDERED Dated:April 25, 2022 New York, New York JESSE URMAN Ufited States District Judge 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). UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK CATAPULT GROUP INTERNATIONAL LTD, a foreign corporation, Civil Action No. 1:21-cv-10512 Plaintiff, v. WATCH FANTOM INC. d/b/a CATAPULTX, INC., a Delaware corporation Defendant. ACKNOWLEDGMENT 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 or Highly Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only. I agree that I will not disclose such Confidential or Highly Confidential Discovery Material to anyone other than for purposes of this litigation and that at the conclusion of the litigation I will either return all discovery information to the party or attorney from whom I received it or destroy such discovery information. 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 of Court. Dated: