Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ared-3_22-cv-00203/USCOURTS-ared-3_22-cv-00203-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 110
Nature of Suit: Insurance
Cause of Action: 28:2201 Declaratory Judgement

---

1 

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS

NORTHERN DIVISION 

ERIK KNIGHT, individually and on behalf of all 

others similarly situated, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

PROGRESSIVE NORTHWESTERN 

INSURANCE COMPANY, an Ohio corporation, 

Defendant. 

/ 

Case No. 3:22-cv-00203 

STIPULATED ORDER GOVERNING DISCOVERY OF 

ELECTRONICALLY STORED INFORMATION 

1. PURPOSE 

This Order will govern discovery of electronically stored information (“ESI”), as a 

supplement to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Scheduling Order, and this Court’s Local 

Rules. All disclosures and productions made pursuant to this Stipulated Order Governing 

Discovery of Electronically Stored Information (“ESI Protocol”) will be subject to the Stipulated 

Confidentiality Order. 

2. COOPERATION 

The parties are familiar with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governing discovery, and 

they are aware of the corresponding importance the Court places on cooperation. The parties 

commit to cooperate in good faith throughout the matter consistent with the Federal Rules of Civil 

Procedure and any other applicable orders and rules. 

3. PRESERVATION 

The parties agree to preserve ESI in accordance with the duties imposed by applicable law. 

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4. SEARCH PROTOCOL 

The parties agree to meet and confer concerning search methodologies, including without 

limitation, the use of keyword search terms and/or the use of technology assisted review. If any 

party to this litigation chooses to use keyword search terms or technology assisted review to cull 

documents for production in this litigation, the parties shall meet and confer regarding the protocol 

to be used for the application and testing of search terms or technology. 

5. PRODUCTION FORMAT FOR ESI 

The parties agree to produce electronic documents in accordance with this ESI Protocol 

and in the following format(s) and manner: 

(a) Database Load Files. Documents shall be provided with: (a) a delimited data file 

(.dat, .csv or .txt) [Unicode]; and (b) an image load file (.lfp, .opt or .dii), as detailed 

in Appendix 1. 

(b) Metadata Fields and Processing. Each of the metadata and coding fields set forth 

in Appendix 2 that exist and are reasonably available for a document shall be 

produced for that document. 

(c) Bates Numbering. Images must be assigned a Bates/control number that shall 

always: (1) be unique across the entire document production; (2) maintain a 

constant length (zero/0-padded) across the entire production; (3) contain no special 

characters or embedded spaces; and (4) be sequential within a given document. 

(d) TIFFs. Single-page Group IV TIFF images shall be provided using at least a 300 

dots per inch (“DPI”) print setting. Each image shall have a unique file name, 

which is the Bates number of the document. Original document orientation shall 

be maintained (i.e., portrait to portrait and landscape to landscape) where 

reasonably possible. If particular documents warrant a different format (e.g., 

Case 3:22-cv-00203-JM Document 27 Filed 10/04/23 Page 2 of 16
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“native”), the parties will cooperate to arrange for the mutually acceptable 

production of such documents. Documents containing color need not be produced 

in color. Upon the requesting party’s reasonable request, a document containing 

color will be provided in color if color is necessary to understand the meaning or 

content of the document. Any documents produced in color should be produced in 

JPG format. 

(e) Text Files. For each document, a single Unicode text file will be provided along 

with the image files and metadata. The text file name will be the same as the page 

Bates/control number of the first page of the document. File names will not have 

any special characters or embedded spaces. Electronic text will be extracted from 

the native electronic file to the extent reasonably available unless the document is 

an image file or contains redactions. In these instances, a text file created using 

OCR after the redactions have been applied will be produced in lieu of extracted 

text. 

(f) Native Files. Spreadsheets, PowerPoints, Access Databases, delimited text files, 

audio files, and video files shall be produced as native files subject to Section 5(g). 

Additionally, file types that are unable to be produced in accessible .tiff image 

format should also be produced as native files. Natively produced documents may 

include a Bates-numbered TIFF image placeholder stating that the document has 

been produced in native format. The parties also recognize that in some instances 

where documents have been produced in a form other than native, subsequent 

production of the same documents in native form may be warranted for certain 

purposes. 

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(g) Structured Data. Structured data ESI shall be produced in a reasonably useable 

format. 

(h) File Size Limitation/Non-Standard Files. The format of production of unusually 

large files or large oversized documents, etc., will be discussed before production 

to determine a reasonable optimal production format. 

(i) Attachments – Parent-Child Relationships. Parent-child relationships (the 

association between an attachment and its parent document) shall be maintained. 

6. PRODUCTION FORMAT OF PHYSICALLY STORED INFORMATION 

The parties agree to produce physically stored documents in accordance with this ESI 

Protocol and in the following format(s) and manner: 

(a) Database Load Files/Cross-Reference Files. Documents shall be provided with: 

(1) a delimited metadata file (.dat, .txt, or .csv) [Unicode]; and (2) an image load 

file (.lfp, .opt, or .dii), as detailed in Appendix 1. 

(b) Metadata Fields and processing. Appendix 2 sets forth the information that shall 

be produced for paper documents and provided in the data load file at the same time 

that the TIFF and the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) acquired text files are 

produced. 

(c) Bates Numbering. Images must be assigned a Bates/control number that shall 

always: (1) be unique across the entire document production; (2) maintain a 

constant length (zero/0-padded) across the entire production; (3) contain no special 

characters or embedded spaces; and (4) be sequential within a given document. 

(d) TIFFs. Hardcopy paper documents shall be scanned as single page, Group IV 

compression TIFF images using a print setting of at least 300 DPI. Each image 

shall have a unique file name, which is the Bates number of the document. Original 

Case 3:22-cv-00203-JM Document 27 Filed 10/04/23 Page 4 of 16
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document orientation shall be maintained (i.e., portrait to portrait and landscape to 

landscape) where reasonably possible. Upon request, producing parties will 

produce scanned hardcopy documents in PDF format in addition to TIFF format. 

The copy produced in PDF format will not include load files, metadata files, or text 

files included in the TIFF format production. 

7. DE-DUPLICATION 

The parties may perform de-duplication of ESI within and across custodians according to 

MD5 or SHA-1 hash values and may produce only a single copy of identical ESI. Entire document 

families may constitute duplicate ESI. De-duplication shall not break up document families. To 

the extent de-duplication is used, all custodians of a de-duplicated document must be identified in 

the “Duplicate Custodians” metadata field specified in Appendix 2. If the parties de-duplicate 

ESI, they shall provide custodian associations in a semi-colon delimited field that includes 

duplicate custodian name information for the duplicate custodians. An overlay data file shall be 

produced after every production to account for updated duplicate custodian information in the 

Custodian field. A producing party may also de-duplicate emails in such a way as to eliminate 

earlier or incomplete chains of emails and produce only the most complete iteration of an email 

chain (“email thread suppression”). If a producing party elects to utilize such email thread 

suppression for its productions, it shall use commercially acceptable e-discovery software to do so 

(e.g., Relativity Analytics, Brainspace, etc.). 

If there are any handwritten notes or any other markings, on a document, it shall not be 

considered a duplicate. Any document that contains an alteration, marking on, on addition to the 

original document shall be treated as a distinct version and shall be produced as such. These 

alterations include, but are not limited to, handwritten notes, electronic notes/tabs, edits, 

Case 3:22-cv-00203-JM Document 27 Filed 10/04/23 Page 5 of 16
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highlighting or redlining. If such markings/alterations are made in color, the documents must be 

produced in color. 

If the producing party becomes aware of any responsive file that was incorrectly filtered 

during the de-duplication process, the producing party shall promptly notify the other party and 

produce or privilege log the incorrectly filtered file. 

8. PRIORITIZING 

When a party propounds discovery requests pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 34, the parties agree 

to meet and confer regarding the phasing of production of ESI (if necessary, appropriate, and 

reasonable) by prioritizing selected sources and/or custodians. 

9. MODIFICATION 

This Stipulated Order may be modified by a Stipulated Order of the parties or by the Court 

for good cause shown. 

10. MISCELLANEOUS 

1. Review for Responsiveness and/or Privilege. Irrespective of any search protocols 

agreed upon by the parties, the producing party, at its election, may review ESI for responsiveness, 

privilege, confidentiality, etc. prior to producing documents to another Party. 

2. Documents Protected from Discovery. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 

502(d), the production of a privileged or work-product-protected document, whether inadvertent 

or otherwise, is not a waiver of privilege or protection from discovery in this case or in any other 

federal or state proceeding. The process by which a Party may “claw back” privileged ESI and 

documents without waiver of any applicable protections pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 

502(d) shall be that set forth in the Confidentiality Order entered in this action. Communications 

involving trial counsel need not be placed on a privilege log. Communications may be identified 

on a privilege log by category, rather than individually, if appropriate. 

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3. Redactions. To the extent that a document is produced in redacted form, any 

redactions shall be clearly indicated on the face of the document. Where a responsive document 

contains both redacted and non-redacted content, the Producing Party shall produce the remainder 

of the non-redacted portions of the document. Documents that are to be produced in Native 

Format, but that require redactions, may be produced as TIFF images with the relevant portions 

redacted, or if a TIFF image production is not practicable (e.g., the file is a video or very large 

spreadsheet), the Producing Party may produce a copy of the native file with the relevant portions 

replaced with “[REDACTED]” or a similar mark. 

IT IS SO STIPULATED, through Counsel of Record. 

DATED: October 2, 2023 

 [Signatures on the following page] 

 

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/s/ Lee Lowther 

Hank Bates 

Lee Lowther 

Tiffany M. Wyatt Oldham 

CARNEY BATES & PULLIAM, PLLC 

519 W. 7th Street 

Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 

Phone: (501) 312-8500 

Fax: (501) 312-8505 

Email: hbates@cbplaw.com 

Email: llowther@cbplaw.com 

Email: toldham@cbplaw.com 

Andrew J. Shamis (pro hac vice) 

Edwin Eliu Elliott (pro hac vice) 

SHAMIS & GENTILE, P.A.

14 NE 1st Avenue, Suite 705 

Miami, FL 33132 

Phone: (305) 479-2299 

Email: ashamis@shamisgentile.com 

Email: edwine@shamisgentile.com 

Counsel for Plaintiff and 

the Proposed Class 

/s/ Graham Talley 

Graham Talley 

MITCHELL, WILLIAM, SELIG, GATES &

WOODYARD, P.L.L.C 

425 West Capitol Ave., Suite 1800 

Little Rock, Arkansas 

Phone: (501) 688-8800 

Fax: (501) 688-8807 

gtalley@mwlaw.com 

Jeffrey S. Cashdan (pro hac vice) 

Zachary A. McEntyre (pro hac vice) 

J. Matthew Brigman (pro hac vice) 

Allison Hill White (pro hac vice) 

Logan R. Hobson (pro hac vice) 

KING & SPALDING LLP 

1180 Peachtree Street, NE 

Atlanta, Georgia 30309 

Phone: 404.572.4600 

Fax: 404.572.5100 

Email: jcashdan@kslaw.com 

Email: zmcentyre@kslaw.com 

Email: mbrigman@kslaw.com 

Email: awhite@kslaw.com 

Email: lhobson@kslaw.com 

Julia C. Barrett (pro hac vice) 

KING & SPALDING LLP 

500 W 2nd Street 

Austin, Texas 78701 

Phone: 512.457.2000 

Fax: 512.457.2100 

Email: jbarrett@kslaw.com 

Counsel for Defendant 

Progressive Northwestern Insurance 

Company 

Case 3:22-cv-00203-JM Document 27 Filed 10/04/23 Page 8 of 16
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APPENDIX 1: PRODUCTION MEDIA AND LOAD FILE FORMATS 

Production Media 

 The Producing Party shall produce documents on readily accessible, computer or electronic 

media including CD-ROM, DVD, external hard drive (with standard PC and Apple/Mac 

OS compatible interface), or via secure FTP site. Each piece of Production Media shall be 

assigned a unique identifying label corresponding to the date of the production of 

documents on the Production Media. The Producing Party shall accompany all document 

productions with a transmittal cover letter identifying by Bates Number the documents 

produced. 

Image Load Files 

 Production image load files shall have all corresponding images logically grouped together; 

 Production volumes should only include one image load file per production volume; 

 The name of the image load file shall mirror the name of the delivery volume, and should 

have an .lfp, .opt or .dii1 extension (e.g., ABC001.lfp); 

 The volume names shall be consecutive (i.e., ABC001, ABC002, et seq.); 

 The load file shall contain one row per TIFF or JPG image; 

 Every image in the delivery volume shall be contained in the image load file; 

 The image key shall be named the same as the Bates number of the page; 

Metadata Load Files 

 Data for documents shall be produced in only one data load file throughout the productions, 

unless that document is clearly noted as being a replacement document; 

 The first line shall contain the field names in the order of the data set forth in Appendix 2; 

Case 3:22-cv-00203-JM Document 27 Filed 10/04/23 Page 9 of 16
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 Metadata fields that are not applicable to a document shall still be populated in the data 

load file with Empty Quotes, e.g., þþ, etc. If information is redacted from a document that 

corresponds to a metadata field’s content (e.g., “Subject”), the metadata field will be 

present, but the content will be removed; 

 A carriage-return line-feed shall be used to indicate the start of the next record; 

 The name of the metadata load file shall mirror the name of the delivery volume, and shall 

have a .dat, .csv or .txt extension (i.e., ABC001.dat); 

 The volume names shall be consecutive (i.e., ABC001, ABC002, et seq.)

Case 3:22-cv-00203-JM Document 27 Filed 10/04/23 Page 10 of 16
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APPENDIX 2: ESI METADATA AND CODING FIELDS 

Field Name Field Description 

Populated For 

(Email, Edocuments, 

E-attachments, 

Physicals) Example Values 

ProdBeg

Production Bates 

Number of the 

first page of the 

document. All Prefix-0000000001 

ProdEnd

Production Bates 

Number for the 

last page of the 

document. All Prefix-0000000002 

BegAttach 

First production 

Bates Number of 

the first document 

in the attachment 

family. All Prefix-0000000001 

EndAttach 

Last production 

Bates Number of 

the last document 

in the attachment 

family. All Prefix-0000000005 

DocumentType 

Descriptor for the 

type of document: 

“E-document” for 

electronic 

documents not 

attached to emails; 

“Email” for all 

emails; “Eattachment” for 

files that were 

attachments to 

emails; and 

 “Physicals” for 

hard copy physical 

documents that 

have been scanned 

and converted to 

an electronic 

image. All Email 

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Field Name Field Description 

Populated For 

(Email, Edocuments, 

E-attachments, 

Physicals) Example Values 

FileName 

File name of the 

E-document, 

Email, or Eattachment 

including the 

native file 

extension. 

Email, Edocuments, Eattachments 

Text of the subject 

line.htm 

Dupe Custodian, 

FileName, 

FilePath 

Duplicative 

Custodian, File 

path, and 

FileName of 

email, attachment, 

or loose document 

including native 

file extension. 

Email, Edocuments, Eattachments 

Custodian

Name of person or 

entity with care, 

custody, and 

control of file at 

time of collection. All 

DupeCustodian All custodians All 

DocExt 

The file extension 

of the document is 

defined as the 

substring of the 

file name which 

follows but does 

not include the last 

occurrence of the 

dot character. 

Email, Edocuments, Eattachments Htm 

NativeFilePath 

Relative path to 

native files in the 

production. 

E-documents, Eattachments .\natives\001\ Prefix0000000001 

TextFilePath 

Relative path to 

text files in the 

production. 

Email, Edocuments, Eattachments 

.\text\001\ Prefix0000000001 

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Field Name Field Description 

Populated For 

(Email, Edocuments, 

E-attachments, 

Physicals) Example Values 

EmailSubject 

Subject line of an 

email. Email 

Text of the subject 

line 

To 

All SMTP 

addresses of all 

recipients that 

were included on 

the “To” line of 

the email. 

Multiple recipients 

should be 

delimited by the 

semicolon 

character. Email 

larry.murphy@email.

com 

From 

The name and 

email address of 

the sender of the 

email. Email 

Bart.Cole@email.co

m 

CC 

All recipients that 

were included on 

the “CC” line of 

the email. Email 

sstephens44@email.c

om 

BCC 

All recipients that 

were included on 

the “BCC” line of 

the email. Email ceo-gs@email.com 

DateSent 

Date email was 

sent Email mm/dd/yyyy 

TimeSent 

Time email was 

sent; time zone is 

eastern time. Email 

10:50:45 -0400 

DateRcvd

 Date email was 

received. Email mm/dd/yyyy

TimeRcvd

Time email was 

received; time 

zone is eastern 

time Email 

10:50:45 -0400 

ParentDate Date of parent file. 

Native / Email, 

E-documents, 

E-attachments mm/dd/yyyy 

Case 3:22-cv-00203-JM Document 27 Filed 10/04/23 Page 13 of 16
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Field Name Field Description 

Populated For 

(Email, Edocuments, 

E-attachments, 

Physicals) Example Values 

DateCreated

Date document 

was created. 

Email, Edocuments, 

E-attachments mm/dd/yyyy 

Title 

Any value 

populated in the 

Title field of the 

document 

properties. 

E-documents, 

E-attachments Title 

Subject 

Any value 

populated in the 

Subject field of 

the document 

properties. 

E-documents, 

E-attachments Subject 

Author

Any value 

populated in the 

Author field of the 

document 

properties. 

E-documents, 

E-attachments Author

DateLastMod

Date document 

was last modified 

to the file system 

of the original 

media from which 

it was collected. 

Email, Edocuments, Eattachments 

mm/dd/yyyy 

TimeZone 

Time zone is 

eastern. 

E-documents, Eattachments (UTC-04:00) Eastern 

Time (US & Canada) 

MD5Hash 

Checksum for a 

file, a 128-bit 

value. 

Email, Edocuments, Eattachments 

e4d909c290d0fb1ca0

68ffaddf22cbd0 

AttachmentCount 

The total number 

of attachments 

including any 

attachments that 

were not 

processed and the 

contents of 

additional attached 

containers. A 

value of zero (0) 

should be returned 

for any

Email, Edocuments, Eattachments 3 

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Field Name Field Description 

Populated For 

(Email, Edocuments, 

E-attachments, 

Physicals) Example Values 

files/documents 

without 

attachments. 

PgCount 

Number of printed 

pages in the 

document. All 2 

ProdVol 

Name of media 

that data was 

produced on. All Volume 001 

Size 

Size (in bytes) of 

the original file. 

Email, Edocuments, Eattachments 1408 

 

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IT IS SO ORDERED that the foregoing Stipulated Order Governing Discovery of 

Electronically Stored Information is approved. 

DATED: This 4th day of October, 2023. 

___________________________ 

James M. Moody, Jr. 

United States District Judge 

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