Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ared-4_23-cv-00567/USCOURTS-ared-4_23-cv-00567-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 355
Nature of Suit: Motor Vehicle Product Liability
Cause of Action: 28:1441 Petition for Removal- Product Liability

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS 

CENTRAL DIVISION 

JOSEPH SANSOM and STANLEY BOND; 

Trustee in the Bankruptcy for the Estate of 

Joseph Sansom 

v. No. 4:23-cv-567-DPM 

KIA CORPORATION, ffk/a KIA 

MOTORS CORPORATION; KIA 

AMERICA, INC., fjk/a KIA MOTORS 

AMERICA, INC.; and JOHN DOES 1-3 

PROTECTIVE ORDER 

PLAINTIFFS 

DEFENDANTS 

To facilitate a cooperative and good faith discovery process while 

protecting the legitimate and reasonable proprietary concerns related 

to any production of relevant documents and information, and for 

purposes of this lawsuit only, Plaintiffs Joseph Sansom and Stanley 

Bond, Trustee in the bankruptcy for the Estate of Joseph Sansom 

("Plaintiffs") and Defendants Kia America Inc. and Kia Corporation 

("Defendants") stipulate to the following: 

In recognition of the fact that Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs' counsel will 

seek from Defendants documents and information which constitute, 

refer to, or otherwise incorporate trade secrets, and confidential or 

proprietary information (the "Documents" or "Information"); and 

Case 4:23-cv-00567-DPM Document 51 Filed 01/16/25 Page 1 of 11
Defendants recognize certain such Documents and Information 

may be subject to discovery from time to time in the course of the 

litigation of Sansom v. Kia, No. 4:23-cv-567-DPM (the" Action"); 

Plaintiffs and Defendants, by and through their attorneys, 

stipulate to the following: 

1. All Documents and Information produced or disclosed by 

Defendants to Plaintiffs and by Plaintiffs to Defendants in this Action, 

whether voluntarily or pursuant to discovery demand or court Order, 

and which are not already a matter of public record, shall be provided 

only to Plaintiffs and Defendants in this Action. (Documents and 

information which do not constitute, refer to, or otherwise incorporate 

trade secrets and confidential or proprietary information or which have 

already been made public are not covered by this Order.) Those 

persons who are employees of Plaintiffs may have access to such 

Documents and Information on a need-to-know basis. Any consultant 

or expert retained by Plaintiffs may have access to such Documents and 

Information once they have agreed in writing, in the form described in 

paragraph 5 of this Order, to abide by the provisions of this Order. This 

Order shall not limit Plaintiffs' right to use the Documents and 

Information in connection with any legal proceeding related to this 

Action, including trial or appeal, including, but not limited to, the 

presentation of the Documents and Information to a jury, in open court, 

subject to court ruling on Defendants' challenge, if any, to such 

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disclosure. However, Documents and Information used in connection 

with any legal proceeding, including deposition testimony, related to 

this Action may be sealed upon application of Defendants or Plaintiffs 

and Order of the Court. 

2. The Documents and any Information derived from 

examination of the Documents as well as any other Information 

provided to Plaintiffs which Defendants identify, and provided to 

Defendants which Plaintiffs identify, as confidential shall be used only 

in connection with this Action and shall not be used in connection with 

any other lawsuit, arbitration, claim, proceeding, or for any other 

purpose, except upon the written stipulation of the parties or Order of 

the Court. 

3. Documents produced by Defendants or Plaintiffs which are 

subject to this Order and any Order entered by the Court must be 

marked by Defendants or Plaintiffs as "Privileged and Confidential -

Subject to Stipulation and Protective Order: Sansom v. Kia, No. 4:23-cv567-DPM. 

4. Plaintiffs and Defendants in this Action may publish or 

disclose the Documents and Information produced by Defendants and 

Plaintiffs in this Action only to those persons identified in paragraph 

1 of this Order who have a need to review, rely on, or analyze such 

Documents and Information for the purpose of prosecuting this Action. 

Plaintiffs and Defendants shall not provide such Documents or 

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Information to any other person or entity for any purpose whatsoever, 

except as permitted by this Order or by mutual consent of the parties. 

5. Except as provided in paragraph 4 above, the persons 

covered by this Order are prohibited from disseminating in any 

fashion, manner, or method the Documents and Information produced 

herein by the Defendants and Plaintiffs, or any of them, or any copies, 

notes, summaries, extracts, or digests thereof, without the further 

written stipulation of Defendants and Plaintiffs or by Order of the 

Court. 

6. Prior to the dissemination of any of the Documents or 

Information to any person, firm, or organization, Plaintiffs and 

Defendants shall ensure that each such person, firm, or organization 

has agreed to be subject to the jurisdiction of this Court in the event of 

any violation or alleged violation of this Order or any Order issued 

pursuant thereto. Plaintiffs and Defendants shall not disclose, by any 

means whatsoever, any Documents or Information until the person, 

firm, or organization to whom disclosure is to be made has: 

a. read this Order and any further Protective Order in its 

entirety; and, 

b. signed Appendix A to this Order signifying agreement to its 

provision and consent to the jurisdiction of the Court over them. 

7. Plaintiffs shall maintain a list of all persons, firms, or 

organizations who have received Documents or Information. At the 

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conclusion of this Action, Plaintiffs will furnish the attorneys for 

Defendants a list of all persons, firms, or organizations who have 

received any Documents or Information, as well as Appendix A to this 

Order signed by each of them. 

However, for consulting experts who were not designated as 

testifying experts, the receiving party may redact the name, address, 

and signature for the consultant before disclosing the executed 

Appendix A and document list for that person. To the extent the 

"Qualified Persons" described in paragraph 6( d) above include 

privileged non-testifying expert consultants, the receiving party shall 

retain each such executed Appendix A and shall keep a list identifying 

(a) all such non-testifying expert consultants described in the 

paragraph above to whom Protected Documents have been disclosed, 

and (b) all Protected Documents disclosed to such persons. If 

Defendants (or the producing party) seek to compel the production of 

each unredacted and executed Appendix A for good cause, the 

receiving party shall submit each unredacted and executed Appendix 

A and list to the Court for in camera inspection. Paralegals and staff 

employed by Counsel of Record shall be covered under the signature 

of Counsel of Record. 

8. The production of Documents or Information shall not 

constitute a waiver of Defendants' and Plaintiffs' claims in this Action, 

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Case 4:23-cv-00567-DPM Document 51 Filed 01/16/25 Page 5 of 11
or that the Documents or Information remain privileged or are 

otherwise non-discoverable. 

9. If Defendants or Plaintiffs inadvertently produce documents 

protected by the attorney-client privilege, the work-product doctrine, 

or any other applicable privilege or protection, Plaintiffs or Defendants 

shall make a good faith effort to immediately inform Defendants or 

Plaintiffs of the inadvertent disclosure and return the documents. 

Upon notice of the inadvertent disclosure, Plaintiffs and Defendants 

shall be prohibited from that moment to making any copy of the 

inadvertently disclosed documents or using them in any way. 

Defendants and Plaintiffs producing such protected information shall 

have the right to "claw back" the produced documents upon notice to 

Plaintiffs and Defendants. Further, Defendants' or Plaintiffs' 

inadvertent disclosure of such documents shall not constitute a waiver 

of any applicable privilege or protection in the pending case or in any 

other state or federal proceeding or arbitration. 

10. Within 120 days after the conclusion of this case, counsel for 

the parties who received Protected Documents, including any 

documents that any such party disclosed to any person described in 

this document above, shall either (a) return to Defendants (or the 

producing party) the Protected Documents; or (b) securely destroy the 

Protected Documents and certify such destruction to Defendants ( or the 

producing party) within 150 days after the conclusion of this case. 

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\,,, 

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However, Plaintiffs' counsel may retain its work product assembled for 

use by counsel. Such retained work product may only be used in the 

defense of any claim of legal malpractice or any defense of an ethics 

allegation in connection with the representation of the Plaintiffs. 

11. Any Documents or Information subject to this Order may 

later be removed from the terms of this Order only by (a) written 

stipulation of the parties, (b) by written statement provided by the 

Defendants and Plaintiffs, or ( c) by Order of the Court. 

12. If a party to this litigation disagrees with the designation of 

any information as "Privileged and Confidential," the parties shall 

confer in good faith in person before bringing any dispute to the Court, 

as required by this Court. Doc. 38 at 2-3. Further, the parties shall not 

file a motion to quash or motion for protective order unless there is an 

emergency. The parties will not file a motion for sanctions. The parties 

will file a "Joint Report of Discovery Dispute" as outlined in this 

Court's Second Amended Final Scheduling Order, and redact any 

attachments as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 to 

protect confidential information. 

13. To the extent that Protected Documents or Information 

obtained from them are used in written discovery or in the taking of 

depositions (including exhibits) or other pretrial discovery or 

testimony, or used as exhibits at trial, such Documents or Information 

shall remain subject to the provisions of this Order, including any 

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Case 4:23-cv-00567-DPM Document 51 Filed 01/16/25 Page 7 of 11
transcript pages of the deposition testimony or trial testimony dealing 

with, referring to, or referencing the Protected Documents or 

Information. Designation of the portion of the transcript (including 

exhibits) which contains references to Protected Documents or 

Information shall be made (a) by a statement to such effect on the record 

during the proceeding in which the testimony is received, or (b) by 

written notice served on counsel of record in this litigation within thirty 

business days after the receipt of the draft or final transcript (whichever 

is received earlier) of such proceeding (as used here, the term "draft 

transcript" does not include an ASCII or rough transcript). However, 

before such thirty-day period expires, all testimony, exhibits, and 

transcripts of depositions or other testimony shall be treated as 

Protected Documents. All portions of the transcripts not designated as 

Confidential within the time frame provided here shall be deemed not 

confidential. 

14. If any party disagrees with the designation of or part of a 

deposition transcript designated as "Protected" pursuant to paragraph 

13 above, such party must notify the designating party in a written 

letter and identify the testimony (by line and page designation) and the 

specific grounds for the objection to the designation. If the parties are 

unable to resolve the issue of the confidentiality regarding the 

challenged deposition testimony, the parties shall confer in good faith 

in person or via videoconference before bringing any dispute to the Court. 

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If the parties are still unable to resolve the issue, the parties shall 

proceed as outlined in paragraph 12 above, per the Court's Second 

Amended Final Scheduling Order. 

15. Per the Court's Second Amended Final Scheduling Order, 

the parties agree to comply with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2 

Privacy Protections for Filings Made with the Court. Under this rule, 

the parties will redact private information prior to filing, including an 

individual's social security number, taxpayer identification 

information, birth dates, financial account information, and name(s) of 

minor individual(s). 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, on any related motion, 

brief, or paper containing that material, under seal. The moving party 

must justify sealing document by document, with specifics and solid 

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

16. This Order shall remain in effect for exactly one year after 

the conclusion of this Action, including any appeal. Any party seeking 

to enforce this Protective Order, future Order, or claiming a breach may 

request by noticed motion for contempt or other appropriate sanctions 

provided by Arkansas law. After one year following the conclusion of 

litigation, the obligations imposed shall continue, but shall be solely a 

matter of contract between the parties. 

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Case 4:23-cv-00567-DPM Document 51 Filed 01/16/25 Page 9 of 11
So Ordered. 

D.P. ~~ Marshall Jr. 

United States District Judge 

I la ffern-vM-( :J.1J~S" 

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Case 4:23-cv-00567-DPM Document 51 Filed 01/16/25 Page 10 of 11
APPENDIX A TO THE STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 

I, ______________ _.J certify that I have read 

the Stipulated Confidentiality Protective Order dated 

______ __, entered in the above-captioned action and further 

certify that I fully understand the procedural and substantive 

requirements of that Order, a copy of which is attached. Before 

reviewing or receiving access to any document, material, information, 

or discovery subject to the protection of that Order and as a condition 

for such review or access, I understand and agree that I am personally 

bound by and subject to all of the terms and provisions of the Order. I 

subject myself to the jurisdiction and venue of said Court for purposes 

of enforcement of the Order. 

DATED: ------

Recipient of Document(s) (Signature) 

Print Name 

Company 

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