Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ared-4_24-cv-00969/USCOURTS-ared-4_24-cv-00969-3/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 440
Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights
Cause of Action: 28:2201 Declaratory Judgement

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS 

CENTRAL DIVISION 

CHEROKEE NATION BUSINESSES, LLC; 

CHEROKEE NATION ENTERTAINMENT, LLC; 

AND JENNIFER MCGILL 

vs. NO. 4:24-cv-969-DPM 

SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, 

Arkansas Governor, in her official capacity; 

ALEX LIEBLONG, MARK LAMBERTH, STEVE ANTHONY, 

DENNY EAST, MICHAEL POST, BO HUNTER, 

AND STEVE LANDERS, in their official capacities 

PROTECTIVE ORDER 

PLAINTIFFS 

DEFENDANTS 

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the following 

Protective Order (hereinafter referred to as the "Order") is issued to govern certain 

disclosures in this case: 

1. Scope. All materials produced or adduced in the course of trial or discovery 

including, but not limited to, responses to discovery requests, deposition testimony and 

exhibits, and information derived directly therefrom (hereinafter collectively referred to as 

the "documents"), shall be subject to this Order concerning Confidential Information as 

defined below. This Order is subject to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on matters of 

procedure and calculation of time periods. 

2. Confidential Information. As used in this Order, "Confidential Information" 

means information designated as "CONFIDENTIAL - SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE 

ORDER" or "CONFIDENTIAL" or "CONFIDENTIAL -ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" by the 

producing party that falls within one or more of the following categories: (a) information 

prohibited from disclosure by statute; (b) trade secrets and/or information that reveals 

trade secrets; (c) research, technical, commercial or financial information that the party 

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or its affiliate has maintained as confidential; (d) business records, including, but not 

limited to, invoices, investments made in pursuit of establishing a casino, financial 

statements, financial reports, company manuals, operating agreements, etc. of a party or 

its affiliate; (e) personal identity information; (f) income tax returns (including attached 

schedules and forms), W-2 forms and 1099 forms; (g) personnel or employment records 

of a person who is not a party to the case; (h) identity of customers and/or customer lists; 

(i) information regarding any financial records of customers or vendors of the parties who 

are not parties to the case; G) all banking and financial records showing payment to third 

parties relative to CNE and CNB's pursuit of, or reliance on , the Pope County casino 

license, including but not limited to architects, contractors, consultants, attorneys, and 

engineers; and (k) all redacted portions of the redacted version of CNE's casino license 

application and any other application submitted by CNE, Legends or CNB to the Arkansas 

Racing Commission. 

It is the intention of this Protective Order that the following categories of information 

shall not be designated as Confidential Information, and that this Order should not be 

construed as governing or affecting a party's use or disclosure of: (a) any information that 

at the time of its disclosure in this action is part of the public domain by reason of publication 

or otherwise through no actual or alleged act, omission, or fault of any receiving party; (b) 

any information that after its disclosure in this action has become part of the public domain 

by reason of prior publication or otherwise through no actual or alleged act, omission, or fault 

of any receiving party; (c) any information that at the time of its disclosure in this action is 

rightfully in the possession of the receiving party, its trial counsel or any expert retained by 

or for the receiving party under no obligation of confidence to any third party with respect to 

that information, except information received from casino license applications; or (d) any 

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information that after its disclosure in this action is rightfully received by the receiving party, 

its trial counsel or any expert retained by or for the receiving party under no obligation of 

confidence or otherwise from any third party having the right to make such disclosure. During 

the pendency of this action, any dispute as to whether information is Confidential Information 

under the terms of this Order shall be resolved according to the procedure set forth below. 

3. Designation. 

A. Procedure. A party may designate a document as Confidential 

Information, or may designate an electronic folder containing documents, which shall 

include all documents contained in the electronic folder, as Confidential Information for 

protection under this Order by placing or affixing the words "CONFIDENTIAL - SUBJECT 

TO PROTECTIVE ORDER" or "CONFIDENTIAL" or "CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS' EYES 

ONLY' on the document, in an electronic folder or file name, and on all copies in a manner 

that will not interfere with the legibility of the document. As used in this Order, the term 

"copies" includes electronic images, duplicates, extracts, summaries or descriptions that 

contain the Confidential Information. The designation shall be applied prior to or at the time 

that the documents are produced or disclosed. Applying the designation to a document 

does not mean that the document has any status or protection by state or federal law or 

otherwise except to the extent and for the purposes of this Order. Any copies made of 

any documents marked "CONFIDENTIAL - SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER" or 

"CONFIDENTIAL" or "CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" shall also be so 

marked, except that indices, electronic databases or lists of documents that do not 

contain substantial portions or images of the text of marked documents and do not otherwise 

disclose the substance of the Confidential Information are not required to be marked. 

B. Inadvertent Failure to Designate. An inadvertent failure to 

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designate a document as Confidential Information does not, standing alone, waive the 

right to subsequently so designate the document; provided, however, that a failure to 

serve a timely Notice of Designation of deposition testimony as required by this Order at 

paragraph 4, even if inadvertent, waives any protection for deposition testimony. This 

Order shall be interpreted to provide the maximum protection allowed by Federal Rule of 

Evidence 502(d) and shall be enforceable and granted full faith and credit in all other state 

and federal proceedings by 28 U.S. Code§ 1738. In the event of any subsequent conflict 

of law, the law that is most protective of privilege and work product shall apply. If a party 

designates a document as Confidential Information after it was initially produced, the 

receiving party, on notification of the designation, must make a reasonable effort to assure 

that the document is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order. No party 

shall be found to have violated this Order for failing to maintain the confidentiality of 

material during a time when that material has not been designated Confidential 

Information. 

C. Inspection of Materials Prior to Production. In the event that 

documents, materials or other information are made subject to inspection prior to their 

production, no marking of those materials need be made by the producing party at the 

time of that inspection. For purposes of such an inspection, all materials made available 

for the inspection shall be considered Confidential Information and subject to this Order 

at the time of the inspection. Thereafter, if any materials subject to that inspection are 

produced and the producing party wishes those materials to be considered Confidential 

Information under this Order, the producing party shall so designate them in accordance 

with the procedures set forth in this Order. 

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D. Certification by Counsel or Party. The designation of materials as 

Confidential Information is a certification by an attorney or a party appearing pro se that 

the document contains Confidential Information as defined in this Order.

1 However, 

counsel shall not be required to parse out individual pages lacking Confidential 

Information from a larger document that contains Confidential Information; thereby 

meaning all of the larger document may be marked as Confidential Information without 

being in violation of this Order. 

4. Depositions. Deposition testimony may be designated as 

"CONFIDENTIAL - SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER" or "CONFIDENTIAL" or 

"CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY," in whole or in part, within seven days 

after receipt of the written transcript by the designating party. Until that time, all deposition 

testimony shall be treated as confidential to permit counsel an opportunity to designate 

the deposition testimony as confidential. 

5. Protection of Confidential Material. 

A. General Protections. Confidential Information shall not be used or 

disclosed by the parties, counsel for the parties, or any other persons identified in 

subparagraph (8) for any purpose whatsoever other than in this litigation, which includes 

any appeal thereof. 

B. Limited Third-Party Disclosures. The parties and counsel for the 

parties shall not disclose or permit the disclosure of any Confidential Information to any 

third person or entity except as set forth in subparagraphs (i)-(ix) below. Subject to these 

1 By designating documents as confidential pursuant to this Order, counsel submits to the 

jurisdiction and authority of this Court concerning such designations and the enforcement 

of this Order. 

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requirements, the following categories of persons may be allowed to review Confidential 

Information: (i) counsel for the parties and employees of counsel who have responsibility 

for the action; (ii) individual parties and officers, directors, employees, agents, or 

representatives of a party, but only to the extent counsel determines in good faith that the 

employee's assistance is reasonably necessary to the conduct of the litigation in which 

the information is disclosed; (iii) the Court and its personnel; (iv) court reporters and 

recorders engaged for depositions or hearings; (v) those persons specifically engaged for 

the limited purpose of making copies of documents or organizing or processing 

documents, including outside vendors hired to process electronically stored documents; 

(vi) consultants, investigators, or experts employed by the parties or counsel for the parties 

to assist in the preparation and trial of this action, but only after such persons have 

completed the certification contained in Attachment A ("Acknowledgment of 

Understanding and Agreement to Be Bound by Protective Order"); (vii) during their 

depositions, or in preparation for their trial or deposition testimony, witnesses in this action 

to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary. Witnesses shall not retain a copy of 

documents containing Confidential Information, except witnesses may receive a copy of 

all exhibits marked at their depositions in connection with review of the transcripts. Pages 

of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that are designated as 

Confidential Information pursuant to the process set out in this Order must be separately 

bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted 

under this Order; (viii) the author or recipient of the document in the regular course of business 

(not including a person who received the document in the course of litigation); and (ix) other 

persons only by written consent of the producing party or upon order of the Court and on such 

conditions as may be agreed upon or ordered. 

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6. Confidential Information -Attorneys' Eyes Only 

Any Confidential Information produced during this litigation and designated 

by the producing party or non-party as "Confidential-Attorneys' Eyes Only" will be used 

solely for the purpose of this litigation and, except as otherwise stated herein, will be 

disclosed only to counsel for the other party discovering the documents; employees and 

consultants of such counsel; persons who were the authors or recipients of the documents 

or information in the ordinary course of business (after such individual has been given a 

copy of this Order and properly executed a non-disclosure agreement in the form attached 

hereto as Exhibit A); and the Court and stenographers transcribing the testimony or 

argument at hearing, trial or depositions in this action or any appeal therefrom. However, 

the records or documents may be revealed to experts retained by counsel to assist in 

preparation of this action for trial, but only after the individual has been given a copy of this 

Order and properly executed a non-disclosure agreement in the form attached hereto as 

Exhibit A. 

7. Control of Documents. Counsel for the parties shall make reasonable 

efforts to prevent unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of Confidential Information. 

Counsel shall maintain the originals of the forms signed by persons acknowledging their 

obligations under this Order for a period of three years after the termination of the case. 

8. Filing of Confidential Information. The parties must comply with Fed. R. 

Civ. P. 5.2's mandate for redaction, if practicable, before filing under seal. If an entire 

page contains Confidential Information, substituting a page marked "Redacted" is an 

acceptable redaction method. If redaction is impracticable, a party must move for 

permission to file any Confidential Information and any related motion, brief, or paper 

containing that material under seal. The moving party must justify sealing with specifics 

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and solid reasons, including an explanation about why redaction cannot be done. 

9. Challenges by a Party to Designation as Confidential Information. The 

designation of any material or document as Confidential Information is subject to 

challenge by any party. The following procedure shall apply to any such challenge: 

A. Procedure. Counsel should confer in good faith in person before 

bringing any dispute arising under this Protective Order to the Court. A party or any other 

person objecting shall provide written notice of the dispute to the appropriate party or 

parties, specifying the materials that are the subject of the dispute. Within seven days 

after this objection, the parties and any other objecting person(s) shall confer in good 

faith, and in person, to resolve the dispute. If the parties reach an impasse, they must file 

a joint report explaining the disagreement. The parties will file this paper under the 

CM/ECF event called "Joint Report of Discovery Dispute". The joint report must not 

exceed ten pages, excluding the style and signature block. Each side gets five pages. 

The joint report must be filed sufficiently before the trial cutoff so that the dispute can be 

resolved without undermining pretrial deadlines. The parties will alert the law clerk on the 

case to the joint report's filing. The parties will not proceed on the disputed issue until the 

Court issues a ruling or schedules a hearing. 

B. No Waiver. A party shall not be obligated to challenge the propriety 

of any Confidential Information designation at the time made, and failure to do so shall 

not preclude a subsequent challenge thereto or constitute an admission that such 

designation was proper. 

10. Use of Confidential Documents or Information at Trial. Subject to the 

Federal Rules of Evidence, Confidential Information may be offered in evidence at trial or 

any hearing, or in support of, or opposition to, a motion. Any party may move the Court 

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to prevent unnecessary disclosure of Confidential Information. 

11. Confidential Information Subpoenaed or Ordered Produced in Other 

Litigation. 

A. If a receiving party is served with a subpoena or an order issued in 

other litigation or regulatory or criminal investigation that would compel disclosure of any 

material or document designated in this action as Confidential Information, the receiving 

party must so notify the designating party, in writing, immediately and in no event more 

than three business days after receiving the subpoena or order. Such notification must 

include a copy of the subpoena or court order. 

B. The receiving party also must immediately inform, in writing, the 

person or entity that caused the subpoena or order to issue in the other litigation that 

some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is the subject of this Order. 

In addition, the receiving party must deliver a copy of this Order promptly to the party in 

the other action that caused the subpoena to issue. 

c. The purpose of imposing these duties is to alert the issuing person 

or entity to the existence of this Order and to afford the designating party in this case an 

opportunity to make attempts to protect its Confidential Information in the court from which the 

subpoena or order issued. The designating party shall bear the burden and the expense of 

seeking protection in that court of its Confidential Information, and nothing in these provisions 

should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a receiving party in this action to disobey a 

lawful directive from another court. The obligations set forth in this paragraph remain in effect 

while the party has in its possession, custody or control Confidential Information by the other party 

to this case. 

12. Obligations upon Conclusion of Litigation. 

A. Order Continues in Force for One Year After Litigation Ends. 

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This Order shall remain in effect for one year after this case ends, including any appeal. 

Thereafter, the obligations imposed shall continue, but shall be solely a matter of contract 

between the parties. 

B. Obligations upon Conclusion of Litigation. Within sixty days after 

dismissal or entry of final judgment not subject to further appeal, the producing party may 

make demand upon the receiving party for return or destruction of all materials considered 

Confidential Information under this Order, including "copies" as defined above. Where 

the demand for return or destruction is made, the subject documents shall be returned to 

the producing party unless: (i) the document has been offered into evidence or filed 

without restriction as to disclosure; (ii) the parties agree to destruction to the extent 

practicable in lieu of return; (iii) as to documents bearing the notations, summations, or 

other mental impressions of the receiving party (i.e. , attorney work product), that party 

elects to destroy the documents and certifies to the producing party that it has done so; 

or (iv) to the extent retention is required by other laws, rules or regulations, including 

those of the Arkansas Bar Association and Arkansas Supreme Court. To the extent a 

request is not made, the parties agree that the receiving party shall destroy all documents 

containing Confidential Information before expiration of one year following dismissal or 

judgment not subject to further appeal. 

C. Retention of Work Product and One Set of Filed Documents. 

Notwithstanding the above requirements to return or destroy documents, counsel may 

retain : (i) attorney work product, including an index that refers or relates to designated 

Confidential Information, so long as that work product does not duplicate verbatim 

substantial portions of Confidential Information, and (ii) one complete set of all documents 

filed with the Court including those filed under seal. Any retained Confidential Information 

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shall continue to be protected under this Order. An attorney may use his or her own work 

product in subsequent litigation, provided that its use does not disclose or use Confidential 

Information or otherwise violate this Order. 

13. Order Subject to Modification. This Order shall be subject to modification 

by the Court on its own initiative or on motion of a party or any other person with standing 

concerning the subject matter. 

14. Persons Bound. This Order shall take effect when entered and shall be 

binding upon all counsel of record and their law firms, the parties, and persons made 

subject to this Order by its terms. 

IT IS SO ORDERED, this I lalv'day of January, 2025. 

~J)_ i . 

PREPARED BY: 

Bart W. Calhoun, Ark. Bar No. 2011221 

McDaniel Wolff, PLLC 

1307 West 4th Street 

Little Rock, AR 72201 

Phone: (501) 954-8000 

bart@mcdanielwolff.com 

Attorney for Plaintiffs 

AGREED AS TO FORM AND SUBSTANCE: 

Ryan Hale, Ark. Bar No. 2024310 

Arkansas Attorney General's Office 

323 Center Street, Suite 200 

Little Rock, AR 72201 

Phone: (501) 295-7419 

ryan .hale@arkansasag.gov 

Attorney for Defendants 

U.S. District Judge D. Ph 

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ATTACHMENT A 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTANDAGREEMENTTOBEBOUND 

The undersigned hereby acknowledges that he/she has read the Protective Order 

dated _____________ in the above-captioned action and attached 

hereto, understands the terms thereof and agrees to be bound by those terms. The 

undersigned submits to the jurisdiction of the District Court of the Eastern District of 

Arkansas in matters relating to the aforementioned and attached Protective Order and 

understands that the terms of the Protective Order obligate him/her to use materials 

designated as Confidential Information in accordance with the Protective Order solely 

for the purposes of the above-captioned action, and not to disclose any such 

Confidential Information to any other person, firm or concern. The undersigned 

acknowledges that violation of the Protective Order may result in penalties for 

contempt of court. 

NAME (PRINTED): 

JOB TITLE: 

EMPLOYER: 

BUSINESS ADDRESS: 

DATE: 

SIGNATURE: 

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