US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

OFFICE OF HEARINGS 

WASHINGTON, DC 

IN THE MATTER OF 

SKYWEST AIRLINES 

FAA DOCKET No. [TO BE ASSIGNED] 

(Civil Penalty Action) 

FDMS No. FAA-2011-0485 

IN THE MATTER OF 

SKYWEST AIRLINES 

FAA DOCKET No. [TO BE ASSIGNED] 

(Civil Penalty Action) 

FDMS No. FAA-2011-0486 

2: 03 

,, 
2 

IN THE MATTER OF 

SKYWEST AIRLINES 

FAA DOCKET No. CPllSWOOOO 

(Civil Penalty Action) 

FDMS No. FAA-2011-0680 and ~0779 

ORDER GRANTING MOTION IN PART 

Respondent SkyWest Airlines, Inc. ("Respondent" or "SkyWest") has filed a Motion for 

Protective and/or Confidential Order ("Motion") under §§13.220(g) and (h) ofthe Rules of 

Practice in FAA Civil Penalty Proceedings, 14 C.F .R. § 13.201 et seq. The Motion asks that 

certain documents it has been asked to provide as part of the discovery process ("the 

documents") be disclosed only to parties to these actions and that the documents otherwise be 

withheld from public disclosure. In support of its request, SkyWestasserts that the documents 

include proprietary information and commercial, business and competitive information, the 

disclosure of which would result in unwarranted prejudice and harm to its business interests. 

Complainant Federal Aviation Administration ("Complainant"), which was supplied an index to 

the documents but not the documents themselves, 1 opposes the Motion. Complainant argues that 

the documents appear to contain information which ought to be public and, as such, should not 

be withheld from public disclosure; it also asserts that Respondent has failed to submit 

supporting evidence demonstrating that either a protective or confidential order is.,appropriate. 

The Motion is hereby GRANTED IN PART. It is granted unless and until the 

documents, or information contained in them, are referenced on the record at the hearing. At that 

point a motion in the nature of a motion to withhold from. public disclosure may be renewed. In 

the meantime I will order the documents to be submitted to Complainants' attorneys. 

Complainant's staff and witnesses may also see and use the documents if they sign agreements 

pledging to keep the matters contained therein confidential and for use in these proceedings only. 

I discern no reason why the documents should be made public prior to the hearing. At 

this stage, no record has been made; indeed, some or all of the documents may wind up on the 

sideline and not part of the record. In these circumstances, no harm to Complainant results from 

the documents' non-disclosure. On the other hand, SkyWest may suffer competitive harm if 

information'contained therein becomes publicly available. Circumstances will change 

sufficiently and re-examination of the rationale for non-disclosure becomes appropriate when 

any of the matters contained therein are sought to be part of the evidentiary record. 

In view of the foregoing, 

1 A complete set of the documents was supplied to the Court. 
3 

1-The documents subject to this Order, which are listed in Respondent's Motion, 

shall be produced to Complainant's attorneys within ten days from the date of this 

Order; 

2 -Prior to the production of the documents, Respondent shall affix the word 

"CONFIDENTIAL" in a conspicuous manner on the face of the document or on the 

face of an envelope or similar packet containing the document; 

3 - Any documents designated as CONFIDENTIAL shall be subject to the following 

restrictions: 

(a) Such documents, the contents thereof, any notes, drafts, summaries, excerpts 

or copies thereof, and any information obtained therein shall be used only for the 

preparation of this case, and not for any other purpose whatsoever and shall not be 

disclosed, given, shown, made available, discussed, or otherwise communicated 

. in any way to anyone other than the judge, the parties, counsel of record for the 

parties, their employees and witnesses designated by the parties to whom 

disclosure is necessary to enable adequate preparation for the case. 

(b) Counsel obtaining copies of such documents shall retain such copies in their 

custody and shall assure that copies of documents obtained are not recopied for 

any purpose other than the preparation for this case. 

(c) To the extent that the contents of or information obtained from any documents 

designated as CONFIDENTIAL are quoted, attached to, paraphras~d, referred to, 

or described in any pleading, motion, memorandum, appendix, or other filing of 

any party or with the judge in this case, counsel for such party shall file such 

submission under seal. Further, such party shall ensure that all parties to whom 

he/she gives this information are familiar with the requirements of this Order. 

(d) Each person fb whom documents and information designated a~{ . 

CONFIDENTIAL is to be disclosed in any way, shall, by Declaration in writing, 

state his/her awareness ofthe provisions of this Order and agree to protect such 

information in accordance with its terms. This Declaration shall be binding and it 

shall be filed with the judge. 

4- This Order shall expire atthe point in which any of the documents, or any of the 

information contained therein, is proffered for the evidentiary record; and 
4 

5- Any relief requested and not expressly granted by this Order is hereby DENIED. 

Attachments - Service List 

,, 
Federal Aviation Administration 

800 Independence Avenue, S.W. 

Washington, DC 20591 , 

SERVICE LIST 

ORIGINAL & ONE COPY 

, Attention: Hearing Docket Clerk, AGC-430 

Wilbur Wright Building-Suite 2W10001 , 

ONE COPY 

Todd C. Emerson, Respondent's Representative 

Director - Government and Legal Affairs 

SkyWest Airlines 

444 South River Road 

St. George, UT 84 790 

TEL: 435-634-3530 

FAX: 435-634-3505 

Michael L. Dworkin, Respondent's Counsel 

465 California Street, Suite 210 

San Francisco, CA 94104 ,, 

TEL: 415-421-02500 

FAX: 415-421-2560 

Jeffrey M. Harper, Complainant's. Counsel 

Attorney, Office of the Regional Counsel 

Northwest Mountain Region, ANM-7 

Federal Aviation Administration 

1601 Lind Avenue, S.W. 

Renton, W A 98057 

TEL: 425-227-2161 

FAX: 425-227-1007 

FDMS Nos. FAA-2011-0485 

& FAA-2011-0486, 0779, 

0680 

(Civil Penalty Action) 

,, '"o 

1 SeiVice was by U.S. Mail.: For seiVice in person or by expedited courier, use the following address: Federal 

Aviation Administration, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Wilbur Wright Building-Suite 2W1000,. Washington, 

DC 20591; Attention: Hearing Docket Clerk, AGC-430. :; 

, .. 
The Honorable Richard C. Goodwin, Administrative Law Judge 

Office of Hearings, M-20 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. (E11-310) · 

Washington, DC 20590 · 

TEL: 202-366-2139 Attorney-Advisor 

202-366-5121 Staff Assistant 

FAX: 202-366-7536 

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