2009 Decisions

Opinions of the United

States Court of Appeals

for the Third Circuit

11-13-2009

Pichler v. UNITE, et al

Precedential or Non-Precedential: Precedential

Docket No. 08-2354

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PRECEDENTIAL

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

_____________

No. 08-2354

_____________

ELIZABETH PICHLER; KATHLEEN KELLY; RUSSELL

CHRISTIAN; DEBORAH BROWN; 

SETH NYE; HOLLY MARSTON; KEVIN QUINN; JOSE

L. SABASTRO; DEBORAH A. SABASTRO; 

THOMAS RILEY; AMY RILEY; RUSSELL DAUBERT;

CARRI DAUBERT, 

v.

UNITE (UNION OF NEEDLETRADES, INDUSTRIAL

AND TEXTILE EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO), A NEW YORK

UNINCORPORATED ASSOCIATION; BRUCE RAYNOR,

A NEW YORK RESIDENT; 

INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD TEAMSTERS, 

DOES 1-10

NATIONAL RIGHT TO WORK LEGAL DEFENSE

FOUNDATION INC,

 Intervenor in

D.C./Appellant
 The Honorable Joseph Irenas, Senior District Judge of the *

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey,

sitting by designation.

2

On Appeal From the United States District Court 

for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

(Civ. No. 2-04-cv-02841)

District Judge: Hon. Stewart Dalzell

Argued: February 2, 2009

Before: McKEE and STAPLETON, Circuit Judges

and IRENAS, Senior District Judge *

(Opinion filed: November 13, 2009)

WILLIAM L. MESSENGER, ESQ. (Argued)

WILLIAM J. YOUNG, ESQ.

National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation

8001 Braddock Road

Suite 600

Springfield, VA 22160 

Attorney for Intervenor in D.C. - Appellant

LAWRENCE T. HOYLE, ESQ. (Argued)

ARLENE FICKLER, ESQ. 

Hoyle, Fickler, Herschel & Mathes

One South Broad Street

Suite 1500
 In July of 2004, UNITE merged with the Hotel Employees 1

and Restaurant Employees International Union (“HERE”) and

the combined entity became known as “UNITE HERE.” We

will refer to the union simply as “UNITE.”

3

Philadelphia, PA 19107

Attorneys for UNITE – Appellee

OPINION

McKee, Circuit Judge.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation

(“NRTW”) appeals the district court’s order denying its motion

to modify a protective order that restricts access to certain

records. For the reasons that follow, we will affirm.

I. Factual Background.

In the fall of 2002, the Union of Needletrades, Industrial

& Textile Employees AFL-CIO (“UNITE”) decided to launch 1

a union organizing campaign targeting CINTAS Corporation,

the largest domestic employer in the industrial laundry industry.
 The International Brotherhood of Teamsters AFL-CIO 2

represented some of UNITE’s employees, and UNITE and the

Teamsters therefore agreed to work together to organize

CINTAS employees. The Teamsters are not involved in this

appeal.

4

CINTAS employs approximately 28,000 people at 350 locations

in the United States and Canada. Many of those employees are

female, Black, or Hispanic.

UNITE initiated that campaign because it believed that

CINTAS was paying low wages, offering poor benefits, and

subjecting its employees to unsafe working conditions,

discriminatory practices, and violations of various labor laws.2

“CINTAS . . . is philosophically opposed to unions and union

organizing.” Pichler v. UNITE, 542 F.3d 380, 383 (3d Cir.

2008). UNITE therefore believed that its organizing efforts

would not be successful unless representatives of the union

visited employees’ homes because employees would not speak
5

freely on the job where they could be observed by management

and exposed to coercion and/or retaliation.

 In order to contact CINTAS employees in their homes,

UNITE compiled lists of names and addresses of presumed

CINTAS workers from a variety of sources. The sources

included license plate numbers of cars parked in CINTAS

parking lots. The license plate numbers were used to obtain

names and addresses of the registered owners of the respective

cars from databases containing state motor vehicle records, a

technique known as “tagging.”

Tagging was generally accomplished by UNITE

organizers entering or observing a CINTAS parking lot and

recording license plate numbers of cars. The license plate

numbers were then checked by using either a Westlaw database

or private investigators known as “information brokers.” The

information brokers would – either directly or through
6

intermediaries – obtain the owners’ names and addresses

through state motor vehicle bureaus. This allowed UNITE to

obtain names and addresses of employees who might support

unionizing CINTAS, and it also allowed UNITE to identify

potential plaintiffs and construct a plaintiff class consisting of

approximately 1,800 to 2,000 CINTAS employees. The class

action subsequently asserted claims against CINTAS for

violating various employment laws.

According to Westlaw’s records, UNITE conducted

approximately 13,700 motor vehicle searches on Westlaw from

August of 2002 to October 13, 2004. However, some of those

searches were duplicates and some did not result in the retrieval

of any information. Of the total Westlaw searches conducted by

UNITE, approximately 1,576 pertained to CINTAS. The

remainder of the searches - approximately 12,000 in number -

did not pertain to individuals related to UNITE’s labor
 The group includes CINTAS employees, as well as spouses 3

and friends of employees, whose cars were driven to work by

employees.

7

organizing campaign at CINTAS. This appeal centers around

Westlaw’s recreation of those 12,000 searches.

The named plaintiffs in this case, Elizabeth Pichler,

Kathleen F. Kelly, Deborah Brown, Russell Christian, Carri

Daubert, Holly Marston, Seth Nye, Kevin Quinn, Amy Riley,

Thomas Riley, Deborah A. Sabastro, Jose L. Sabastro and

Russell Daubert all have some connection to CINTAS’s plant

in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Employees Pichler, Quinn, Thomas 3

Riley and Jose Sabastro began complaining about UNITE’s

actions and inquiring into how UNITE could have obtained

their home addresses. 

Employee complaints eventually came to the attention of

CINTAS’s outside counsel, Jeffrey I. Kohn, of O’Melveny &
8

Myers. Kohn, in turn, contacted Paul R. Rosen, of Spector

Gadon & Rosen, P.C., to inquire whether he had any interest in

representing employees who were upset about what had

happened. In April 2004, employees Pichler, Brown, Kelly,

Nye, Russell Daubert, Thomas Riley and Jose Sabastro, met

with Kohn and James Bucci of Spector Gadon. Kohn

introduced himself and asked the employees to describe their

encounters with the union organizers. Soon after the meeting,

Bucci contacted nonemployees Christian Marston, Carri

Daubert, Amy Riley and Deborah Sabastro by telephone.

Ultimately, Spector Gadon was retained to bring a lawsuit

against UNITE based on UNITE’s tagging operation. 

On June 28, 2004, Spector Gadon filed a lawsuit on

behalf of the named plaintiffs. A few weeks later, a one-count

amended class action complaint was filed, alleging that UNITE

and Bruce Raynor, UNITE’s president (hereinafter collectively
9

“UNITE”), violated the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994

(“DPPA”), 18 U.S.C. §§ 2721-25. UNITE moved to dismiss

the amended complaint under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6);

however, the district court denied the motion. Pichler v.

UNITE, 339 F. Supp. 2d 665 (E.D. Pa. 2004) (“Pichler I”). On

May 31, 2005, the district court certified a class to proceed

against UNITE, though not against Raynor, and dismissed some

of the plaintiffs for lack of standing. Pichler v. UNITE, 228

F.R.D. 230 (E.D. Pa. 2005) (“Pichler II”). On August 30, 2006,

the district court found that UNITE had violated the DPPA,

granted summary judgment against UNITE, awarded the

plaintiffs $2,500 each, and granted summary judgment in favor

of Raynor. Pichler v. UNITE, 446 F. Supp. 2d 353 (E.D. Pa.

2006) (“Pichler III”). Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 54(b), the

district court also certified the case for appellate review,

deferring the questions about class-wide and injunctive relief.
10

Finally, on October 17, 2006, the district court amended its

previous judgment and granted summary judgment to UNITE

on the issue of punitive damages. Pichler v. UNITE, 457 F.

Supp. 2d 524 (E.D. Pa. 2006) (“Pichler IV”). The district court

also permanently enjoined UNITE and its employees from using

or disclosing any of the plaintiffs’ personal information

obtained by UNITE in violation of the DPPA. Both sides

appealed.

We affirmed the district court in part, vacated and

remanded in part. Although several issues were raised during

that appeal, the only issue relevant to our inquiry here is the

challenge to UNITE’s tagging operation, and the plaintiffs’

claim that it violated the DPPA. We affirmed the district

court’s conclusion that UNITE had violated the DPPA by

accessing plaintiffs’ motor vehicle records during its tagging

operation. Pichler v. UNITE, 542 F.3d 380 (3d Cir. 2008)
A “‘Protective Order’ properly denotes court orders over 4

information exchanged during discovery.” Pansy v. Borough of

Stroudsburg, 23 F.3d 772, 777 n.1 (3d Cir. 1994) (citing Fed. R.

Civ. P. 26(c)). 

11

(“Pichler V”).

A. The Protective Order.

Shortly after the district court denied UNITE’s motion to

dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), UNITE filed a

motion for a protective order which it claimed was necessary 4

to safeguard the privacy of the individuals involved in the

Pichler class action, prevent disclosure of UNITE’s organizing

strategy, and also prevent CINTAS from using the Pichler class

action as a tactical weapon against UNITE. The district court

issued the requested protective order on January 7, 2005. That

order allows UNITE to designate “potential evidence as

confidential if that potential evidence directly relates to

defendants’ labor union organizing or mobilization strategies.”
12

(J. App. 29.) According to UNITE, the protective order has

allowed the Pichler class action to proceed independently of

both UNITE’s organizing efforts and the ongoing litigation

involving UNITE and CINTAS.

The protective order in the Pichler class action pertains

to the records that were disclosed in response to the Pichler

plaintiffs’ subpoena duces tecum as well as the testimony of a

representative of the company which operates Westlaw. Those

records included Westlaw’s recreation of the searches UNITE

conducted between July 1, 2002 and October 13, 2004. UNITE

designated those records as confidential pursuant to the

protective order, and therefore never filed them with the court.

Accordingly, they never became part of the judicial record. 

Most importantly for our purposes, the disclosed records

that are subject to the protective order include the names of the

approximately 12,000 people whose motor vehicle information
13

was accessed by UNITE, but who were not connected to

UNITE’s union organizing campaign at CINTAS, and who

were not putative members of the Pichler class action against

UNITE (the “Disputed Search Records”).

As we mentioned at the outset, this appeal arises from

the district court’s refusal to modify that protective order to

allow the NRTW access to the Disputed Search Records. The

NRTW is a foundation that describes itself as “a non-profit,

legal aid organization that provides information and legal

assistance to employees who have suffered violations of their

rights as a result of compulsory unionism.” (Appellant’s Br. 7.)

The NRTW summarizes its interest in the Pichler class action

as follows: “[T]he [NRTW] seeks to inform individuals whose

motor vehicle records were searched by UNITE, and who are

outside the Plaintiff Class, that UNITE accessed their motor

vehicle records in potential violation of the DPPA.”
14

(Appellant’s Br. 8.)

B. The NRTW’s Attempt to Intervene.

On July 30, 2007, the NRTW sent a letter to counsel for

the Pichler plaintiffs requesting access to the Disputed Search

Records for the purpose of contacting the approximately 12,000

individuals whose motor vehicle records were accessed by

UNITE, who are not connected to UNITE’s union organizing

campaign at CINTAS, and who are not putative members of the

Pichler class. Pichler class counsel responded by informing the

NRTW that they had no objection to such disclosure if it was

consistent with the limitations imposed by the district court’s

protective order and the DPPA. Class counsel agreed not to

object to the NRTW’s intervention in the Pichler litigation, but

stated that they would take no position on the merits of the

NRTW’s efforts to obtain the records. 

Thereafter, on September 19, 2007, while the
15

interlocutory appeal of the district court’s grant of summary

judgment in Pichler III was pending, the NRTW moved to

intervene in the Pichler class action. The NRTW asked the

court to modify the protective order to allow it to access the

Disputed Search Records in order to notify each of the

approximately 12,000 individuals whose names and addresses

are contained in the Disputed Search Records that their privacy

rights under the DPPA may have been violated by UNITE. 

If allowed access to the records, the NRTW intends to

inform those individuals that UNITE may have violated their

rights under the DPPA. The NRTW represented to the district

court that it would use the Disputed Search Records to mail one

letter to each of the 12,000 individuals to inform them that

UNITE accessed their motor vehicle records. 

The proposed letter states: 

The [NRTW] is a non-profit legal-aid organization that
16

provides information and free legal advice and

representation to employees who have suffered

violations of their rights as a result of compulsory

unionism.

*******

If your [sic] are interested in determining whether

UNITE’s search of your motor vehicle records violated

your rights under the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act,

you should contact an attorney. If you wish, you can

contact the [NRTW] to learn about your rights and

options under the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act.

(J. App. 118-19.) 

UNITE sought to prevent the NRTW from accessing the

Disputed Search Records. UNITE contended that “NRTW is

philosophically opposed to UNITE’s organizing activities, and

the information NRTW seeks can be used to reverse engineer

organizing strategies and combat UNITE’s organizing mission.”

(J. App. 9.)

On February 7, 2008, the district court granted the

NRTW’s motion to intervene, but denied the NRTW’s motion
 The right of access to judicial proceedings and judicial 5

records is beyond dispute. Pansy v. Borough of Stroudsburg, 23

F.3d 772 (3d Cir. 1994) (citations omitted). However, because

the documents the NRTW seeks have never been filed with the

district court, they are not judicial records, and, therefore, the

NRTW cannot obtain access to them under the right of access

17

to modify the protective order. The district court explained that

“NRTW’s only basis for accessing this information is the

common law right of access to judicial records; they do not, and

we believe cannot, point to any other common law, statutory, or

Constitutional right that would create a path of access to the

documents they desire. . . .” (J. App. 10-11.) The court

explained further that “what NRTW seeks has not been filed

with the court in any motions or pleadings; instead, it consists

of defendants’ production to the plaintiffs; such documents are

raw discovery and are ordinarily inaccessible to the public

through the common law right of access; thus, NRTW has no

path of access to this information or a presumptive right to it.”5
doctrine. Id. at 780-83. The NRTW does not dispute that it

cannot obtain the documents under the right of access doctrine.

18

(J. App. 12.)

On February 19, 2008, the NRTW moved for

reconsideration, arguing that it never claimed it had a public

right of access to the documents. Rather, the NRTW had relied

on the fact that Pichler class counsel would provide the

documents to it but for the protective order prohibiting

disclosure. 

On April 15, 2008, the district court denied the NRTW’s

motion for reconsideration. The district court clarified that in

its February 7, 2008 order, it had “held that NRTW did not have

standing to seek the documents in question because it had no

path of access to the documents, i.e., there is no legal basis for

NRTW to get at these documents other than the fact that

plaintiffs have them.” (J. App. 3.) In the alternative, the district
 We have jurisdiction under the collateral order doctrine to 6

review the denial of the motion to modify the Protective Order

and the denial of the motion to reconsider. See Shingara v.

Skiles, 420 F.3d 301, 304-05 (3d Cir. 2005). Our review is for

abuse of discretion, but we exercise plenary review over the

district court’s interpretation and application of the legal

standard for granting or modifying a confidentiality order. Id.

at 305 (citation omitted). 

19

court held that, even if the NRTW did have standing,

modification of the protective order would not be appropriate

under the applicable legal standard.

This appeal followed.6

II. The Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994.

The DPPA forbids state officials from “knowingly

disclos[ing] or otherwise mak[ing] available to any person or

entity: personal information . . . about any individual obtained

by the department [of motor vehicles] in connection with a

motor vehicle record,” unless certain specified exceptions to the

prohibition apply. 18 U.S.C. § 2721(a). The DPPA also
20

prohibits others from knowingly “obtain[ing] or disclos[ing]

personal information, from a motor vehicle record” for an

unlawful purpose and from “mak[ing] false representation[s] to

obtain any personal information from an individual’s motor

vehicle record.” 18 U.S.C. § 2722. Those who “knowingly

obtain[], disclose[] or use[] personal information, from a motor

vehicle record” are “liable to the individual to whom the

information pertains. . . .” 18 U.S.C. § 2724(a). If a defendant

is found liable, a court may award:

(1) actual damages, but not less than liquidated

damages in the amount of $2,500;

(2) punitive damages upon proof of willful or

reckless disregard of the law;

(3) reasonable attorneys’ fees and other litigation

costs reasonably incurred; and

(4) such other preliminary and equitable relief as

the court determines to be appropriate.

18 U.S.C. § 2724(b). 
21

However, the DPPA also specifies a total of 14

exceptions to the general prohibition against disclosing motor

vehicle records. See 18 U.S.C. § 2721(b). In Pichler III, the

district court rejected UNITE’s claim that its tagging operation

fit within two of the 14 exceptions in the DPPA, and that it

should therefore not be held liable for violating the DPPA’s

prohibitions. Those two exceptions allow access in connection

with litigation (the “litigation exception”) or for use by a

governmental agency or any private person or entity acting on

an agency’s behalf (the “agency exception”). Specifically, the

litigation exception states that motor vehicle records may be

accessed: 

For use in connection with any civil, criminal,

administrative, or arbitral proceeding in any

Federal, State, or local court or agency or before

any self-regulatory body, including the service of

process, investigation in anticipation of litigation,

and the execution or enforcement of judgments

and orders, or pursuant to an order of a Federal,
22

State, or local court.

18 U.S.C. § 2721(b)(4). The agency exception allows records

to be accessed “[f]or use by any government agency, including

any court or law enforcement agency, in carrying out its

functions, or any private person or entity acting on behalf of a

Federal, State, or local agency in carrying out itsfunctions.” 18

U.S.C. § 2721(b)(1). 

As we have just noted, in defending against the Pichler

class action, UNITE argued that tagging was a permissible use

under the litigation and agency exceptions. UNITE contended

that the litigation exception applied because it had obtained the

plaintiffs’ personal information as part of a union organizing

effort, activity protected under the National Labor Relations

Act. See 29 U.S.C. § 157. UNITE also argued that the agency

exception applied because it had subsequently filed

discrimination charges against CINTAS with the EEOC and
 “From 2002 through October 13, 2004, UNITE brought or 7

assisted in bringing against CINTAS, six federal cases, three

state court cases, eighteen charges with the Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), and four charges with the

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”).

Pichler III, 446 F. Supp. 2d at 363 (footnotes omitted). “UNITE

also filed unfair labor practice charges with various offices of

the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), some of which

were settled without any admission of liability.” Id. “In

addition . . ., UNITE . . . filed a charge with the Ohio Civil

Rights Commission, and the California Department of Fair

Employment and Housing.” Id. 

23

was therefore acting as a private attorney general to eradicate

employment discrimination at CINTAS. It further contended

that the agency exception applied because it either assisted, or

itself filed, four OHSA complaints against CINTAS. The 7

district court rejected UNITE’s contentions and concluded that

UNITE’s tagging operation violated the DPPA. See Pichler III,

446 F. Supp. 2d at 373-74.

III. Discussion.

Although the litigation involving UNITE,CINTAS, and
24

the Pichler class ismultifaceted and ongoing, the dispute before

us is discrete and straightforward. As we noted at the outset,

the NRTW argues that the district court erred in not modifying

the protective order to allow it access to the Disputed Search

Records.

The district court held that the NRTW lacked standing to

request modification of the protective order because the

Disputed Search Records are not judicial records, and the

NRTW therefore lacked a path of access. The NRTW contends

on appeal that it has standing to seek modification of the

protective order, not based on the common law right of access

to judicial records, but rather because Pichler class counsel

would provide the Disputed Search Records to NRTW if not for

the protective order. In response, UNITE argues that the

NRTW lacks standing under this second theory as well.

Because we agree that the NRTW lacks standing, that ends our
 Standing is a jurisdictional requirement under Article III. 8

See Soc’y Hill Towers Owners’ Ass’n v. Rendell, 210 F.3d 168,

175 (3d Cir. 2000). In Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better

Environment, 523 U.S. 83, 93-102 (1998), the Supreme Court

held that a federal court may generally not rule on the merits of

a case without first determining jurisdictional issues.

 A confidentiality order “denote[s] any court order which in 9

any way restricts access to or disclosure of any form of

information or proceeding, including but not limited to

‘protective orders,’ ‘sealing orders’ and ‘secrecy orders.’”

Pansy, 23 F.3d at 777 n.1.

25

inquiry, we need not consider the district court’s alternative

holding that modification of the protective order is

inappropriate on the merits.8

In Pansy v. Borough of Stroudsburg, we addressed a

third party’s standing to challenge protective orders or

confidentiality orders in an effort to access information or 9

judicial proceedings. 23 F.3d 772 (3d Cir. 1994). We began

our standing analysis by explaining: 

Art. III requires the party who invokes the court’s
 No party involved in the appeal addressed the issue of 10

FOCUS’s standing.

26

authority to show that he personally has suffered

some actual or threatened injury as a result of the

putatively illegal conduct of the defendant, and

that the injury fairly can be traced to the

challenged action and is likely to be redressed by

a favorable decision.

Id. at 777 (quoting Valley Forge Christian Coll. v. Am. United

for Separation of Church and State, Inc., 454 U.S. 464, 472

(1982) (citation and internal quotations omitted)). 

In FOCUS v. Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas,

we considered whether a citizen’s advocacy group (“FOCUS”)

had standing “to present . . . free speech challenges to the gag

orders” that had been entered by a state trial court. 75 F.3d 10

834, 838 (3d Cir. 1996). We noted that: 

The party invoking federal jurisdiction bears the

burden of establishing the elements of standing,

and each element must be supported in the same

way as any other matter on which the plaintiff
27

bears the burden of proof, i.e., with the manner

and degree of evidence required at the successive

stages of the litigation.

Id. (citations and internal quotations omitted).

Questions of standing arose in FOCUS because gag

orders had constrained the attorneys and parties in other

litigation from disclosing information to FOCUS that was

pertinent to the group’s mission. FOCUS argued that the gag

orders entered in the other litigation prevented a willing speaker

fromdisclosing information to it, even though the orders did not

“constrain [FOCUS’s] speech in any way[,]” and that FOCUS

therefore had standing. Id. We agreed that the impact of the

orders on FOCUS could be sufficient to give FOCUS standing

to challenge the protective orders. We explained that “‘[w]e

have routinely found, . . . that third parties have standing to

challenge protective orders and confidentiality orders in an

effort to obtain access to information or judicial proceedings.’”
28

Id. (quoting Pansy, 23 F.3d at 777). However, we also noted:

[That] putative recipients of speech usually have

standing to challenge orders silencing would-be

speakers does not necessarily mean that [FOCUS

has] standing . . . . [FOCUS] must still show that

the gag orders have caused them injury in fact

and that their injury is likely to be redressed by a

favorable decision. . . . Accordingly, courts have

found that third parties have standing to challenge

a gag order only when there is reason to believe

that the individual subject to the gag order is

willing to speak and is being restrained from

doing so.

Id. at 838-39 (citations omitted). Consistent with the last

sentence recited above, we wrote:

Looking at the allegations in the verified

complaint in the lightmostfavorable to [FOCUS]

here, there are reasons to conclude that [FOCUS]

has adequatelymet a “willingness of the speaker”

requirement for standing at this stage of the

litigation. As we have noted, while neither party

to the [other litigation] is on record as being

opposed to the gag orders, the [foster parents

involved in the other litigation] at least were

willing to talk at some point prior to the entry of

the gag orders: The complaint alleges that the

[foster parents] “recently released a book
29

detailing their experiences with [a child they were

trying to adopt] and their frustration with

[Allegheny County Children and Youth Services]

and the courts.” Moreover, the complaint further

alleges that the judge “has threatened to remove

[the child] from the [foster parents’] home if [the

foster parents] appear to publicly promote their

book or otherwise discuss their case.” It is

reasonable to infer from these allegations that the

[foster parents] are willing but restrained speakers

who dare not challenge the gag orders for fear of

reprisal from the judge. At this stage, we must

accept these allegations and this permissible

inference in [FOCUS’s] favor. 

In sum, we find that [FOCUS] has alleged facts

in [its] verified complaint which would be

sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss for lack

of standing.

Id. at 839. 

We also discussed the “willing speaker” doctrine in

United States v. Wecht, 484 F.3d 194 (3d Cir. 2007). The case

involved Dr. Cyril Wecht, a well-known forensic pathologist,

who had been indicted for theft of honest services, mail fraud,

wire fraud, and theft from an organization receiving federal
30

funds. After the indictment, the government and defense

counsel agreed to a gag order pursuant to a local rule of the

United States District Court for the Western District of

Pennsylvania which limited the extent to which attorneys could

comment on a case. About two months after the gag order was

entered, the government notified the district court about

statements that Wecht’s attorneys had made to the press. 

At some point, two newspapers and two TV stations

successfully moved to intervene and then challenged the gag

order under the willing speaker doctrine. They argued that

since defense counsel wanted to speak about the case, the gag

order placed an improper restriction on their access to the

attorneys’ statements. The media outlets claimed this improper

restriction gave rise to theirthird-party standing to challenge the

constitutionality of the localrule allowing such gag orders, and,

therefore, they could bring claims for disclosure under the First
31

Amendment on behalf of the public. Wecht, 484 F.3d at 202. 

The government contended that the defense attorneys

could not be willing speakers because they agreed to the gag

order. The government argued that defense counsel’s consent

to the gag orders precluded the media outlets from establishing

third-party standing.

We began our discussion of third party standing by

recalling our analysis in FOCUS:

We noted [in FOCUS] that “putative recipients of

speech usually have standing to challenge orders

silencing would-be speakers,” but that “plaintiffs

still must show that the gag orders have caused

them injury in fact and that their injury is likely to

be redressed by a favorable decision.” [Focus, 75

F.3d] at 838. Accordingly, we held that “third

parties have standing to challenge a gag order

only when there is reason to believe that the

individual subject to the gag order is willing to

speak and is being restrained from doing so.”

[Focus, 75 F.3d] at 838-39.

Wecht, 484 F.3d at 202. We rejected the government’s
32

argument that defense counsel’s consent to the gag order

negated third party standing because that argument

“misconstrue[d] the purpose of the ‘willing speaker’ rule as

well as the requirements for standing.” Id. We explained:

The purpose of the “willing speaker”

requirement, therefore, is not to tie the third

party’s interests to those of the speaker, but to

ensure that there is an injury in fact that would be

redressed by a favorable decision. Here, it is

undisputed that Wecht’s attorneys are willing to

speak about the case and that [the local rule

pursuant to which the gag order was entered]

limits their ability to do so. To the extent that an

occasion arises in the future where defense

counsel desires to make public statements about

the case, we believe the media and the public

have a legitimate interest in those comments not

being inhibited by overly restrictive limitations.

Accordingly, we hold that the consent of the

parties to the order limiting speech is irrelevant to

third-party standing analysis as long as the third

party can demonstrate that an individual subject

to the order would speak more freely if the order

is lifted or modified. . . . The media outlets have

satisfied this requirement and have standing to

challenge the constitutionality of the [local rule].
33

Id. at 202-03. 

Based on these cases, the NRTW contends that it has

third party standing to seek modification of the protective order

and obtain access to the Disputed Search Records

because Pichler class counsel would provide the Disputed

Search Records absent the protective order. However, the

NRTW misinterprets the parameters of the willing speaker

doctrine as well as the obstacles to disclosure of the Disputed

Search Records. 

Pichler class counsel cannot accurately be characterized

as willing to provide the Disputed Search Records but for the

protective order. In response to the NRTW’s July 30, 2007

letter requesting disclosure, Pichler class counsel wrote:

We and our clients have no objection to

providing you with this information, at your

expense, provided that we are assured that doing

so will not violate any obligations we may have

to maintain the confidentiality of that
 In addition, the challenges in FOCUS and Wecht were 11

premised on violations of First Amendment rights. FOCUS

alleged that the gag order violated its First Amendment rights,

and the media outlets in Wecht asserted First Amendment claims

on behalf of the public. Obviously, the NRTW cannot make a

First Amendment challenge to the protective order here.

34

information, whether pursuant to the Court’s

protective order or under the DPPA. In this

regard we would accept your proposal that you

intervene in this case to seek an order permitting

our disclosure of this information to you. We

would consent to your motion to intervene, but

not take a position as to the merits of your effort

to obtain the information.

(J. App. 115 (emphasis in original).) 

Thus, Pichler class counsel are not in the same position

as the foster parents in FOCUS or defense counsel in Wecht, all

of whom were willing to speak, but silenced solely by gag

orders.

11 The protective order is not the only reason the NRTW

is prevented from accessing the Disputed Search Records here,

and NRTW’s claim to the contrary is just plain wrong. Even
35

absent the protective order, disclosure still cannot be allowed if

it would violate the prohibitions and protections Congress

established under the DPPA. 

The NRTW argues that it can obtain the Disputed Search

Records under the DPPA’s “litigation exception.” As

previously noted, that exception allows disclosure of otherwise

protected records: 

For use in connection with any civil, criminal,

administrative, or arbitral proceeding in any

Federal, State, or local court or agency or before

any self-regulatory body, including the service of

process, investigation in anticipation of litigation,

and the execution or enforcement of judgments

and orders, or pursuant to an order of a Federal,

State, or local court.

18 U.S.C. § 2721(b)(4). The NRTW makes three arguments in

support of its contention. First, it claims that the Disputed

Search Records will be used “pursuant to an order of a Federal

. . . court” because it is requesting that a federal court enter an
36

order that permits it to use the Disputed Search Records to send

notices to the victims of UNITE’s motor vehicle record

searches. Second, NRTW contends that its use of the Disputed

Search Records will be “in connection with any civil . . .

proceeding in any Federal . . . court” because using evidence of

the wrongdoing in Pichler to inform similarly situated victims

is an action “in connection with” the Pichler class action against

UNITE. Third, it contends that its use of the Disputed Search

Records will be pursuant to an “investigation in anticipation of

litigation” because it intends to provide free legal aid to

employees who contact it upon learning that UNITE violated

their DPPA rights. We are not persuaded by any of these

arguments.

When we decided Pichler V, we agreed with the district

court’s conclusion that the litigation exception did not extend

to UNITE’s tagging operation. In rejecting UNITE’s contrary
37

position there, the district court explained:

[T]he exception applies only if a defendant obtains

protected information for a permitted “use.” As we

construe the term, “use” implies a reasonable likelihood

that the decision maker would find the information

useful in the course of the proceeding.

Pichler I, 339 F. Supp. 2d at 668 (emphasis added). We agreed

with the district court that the litigation exception of the DPPA

requires something more than merely using the protected

records to identify potential litigants. The two examples that

the district court used in explaining the limitation of the

exceptions UNITE relied upon illustrate the point:

[I]f the Unions claimed before the [National Labor

Relations] Board that Cintas somehow rigged a

certification election so that the results did not accurately

reflect the number of employees who wanted union

representation, they would need to identify which

employees actually desired such representation.

Obtaining personal information about employees to

contact them regarding how they voted would be a

permissible “use” because it is reasonably likely that the

Board would need to know which employees supported

unionization. On the other hand, the litigation exception
38

would not apply if the Unions argued before the NLRB

that Cintas engaged in an unfair labor practice by hiring

security guards to keep them from recording employee

license plate numbers because it is not reasonably likely

that the Board would require any information about

which employees parked in a particular lot to resolve the

issue.

Id. 

Just as the litigation exception protected the records of

CINTAS employees who might have been interested in

pursuing legal or administrative remedies against their employer

from UNITE’s tagging operation, it also protects the 12,000

persons whose records comprise the Disputed Search Records

from the NRTW’s efforts to identify persons who might be

interested in pursuing legal remedies against UNITE. 

The records the NRTW is seeking will not advance the

inquiry of any decisionmaker charged with deciding any claims

under the DPPA that may arise from disclosure to the NRTW.

The information the NRTW wants to obtain would do nothing
39

more than identify potential litigants and claimants who may

wish to pursue remedies for UNITE’s violation of the DPPA.

That is not enough to compromise the privacy afforded

motorists by the DPPA. In fact, 

The least sympathetic case for discovery sharing is presented by

a request for access on behalf of someone who is merely

contemplating the commencement of litigation. The risk of a

fishing expedition or some other form of mischief is greatest in

this context. The safest course seems to be denial of discovery

sharing until the requesting party actually has begun a lawsuit,

unless he demonstrates extraordinary need.

Arthur R. Miller, Confidentiality, Protective Orders, and Public

Access to the Courts, 105 Harv. L. Rev. 427, 499 (1991).

UNITE’s use of the information obtained through

tagging was impermissible because it amounted to nothing more

than discovery of potential plaintiffs. We see no distinction

between UNITE’s impermissible purpose, and the purpose for

which the NRTW is seeking the information. 
40

We realize that the district court’s analysis in Pichler I

turned in part upon the “tenuous connection between the

protected information and issues tangentially related to a

conceivable litigation strategy,” Pichler I, 339 F. Supp. 2d at

668, and that it is far more likely that litigation could result

from disclosure here because there islittle doubt that each of the

persons whose records were accessed has a cause of action

under the DPPA. However, that is not determinative. Rather,

as the district court explained, the applicable exceptions to the

protections of the DPPA turn on whether there is a “reasonable

likelihood” that the disputed records would assist the fact

finder’s resolution of the dispute before it. 

As the district court explained in Pichler III, “[t]he

DPPA . . . does not permit one to acquire and use statutorily

proscribed personal information to solicit or find claims.” 446

F. Supp. 2d at 370. The district court believed that “UNITE’s
41

actions amounted to . . . trolling [that was] far short of the

concreteness Congress had in mind to remove the DPPA’s

protection.” Id. The NRTW’s trolling is almost certain to result

in a much richer catch than UNITE’s because the waters the

NRTW is trolling have been stocked with 12,000 potential

plaintiffs. The waters UNITE was trolling had far fewer fish,

and there was no certainty of finding any claimants or plaintiffs

at all. However, that quantitative distinction does not result in

a qualitative difference.

In Pichler v. UNITE argued that Congress could not

have intended to punish tagging under the DPPA because

Congress had enacted legislation to protect labor organizing.

Thus, according to UNITE, Congress could not have intended

to prohibit a disclosure that advances labor rights conferred by

Congress. We rejected that argument. We now reject the

NRTW’s attempt to argue that since Congress created a cause
42

of action for the improper disclosure of motor vehicle records,

it could not have intended to prohibit disclosure to advance that

cause of action. None of the Disputed Search Records could

advance the adjudication of pending or future litigation. The

NRTW is not seeking to obtain information for use in the

Pichler class action; on the contrary, as UNITE notes, the

NRTW is seeking information about people who are not even

members of the Pichler class.

Since the proposed use for which the NRTW seeks the

Disputed Search Records is not permissible under the DPPA,

Pichler class counsel cannot be deemed a “willing speaker.”

Accordingly, the court action cannot redress the NRTW’s

asserted injury. The NRTW therefore lacks standing to

challenge the protective order.

III. Conclusion.

For the above reasons, we will affirm the district court’s
43

order denying the NRTW’s motion to modify the protective

order and its order denying the NRTW’s motion for

reconsideration.