1 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

IN THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

SOUTHERN DIVISION 

HIRAMBO INC. 

 

Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant, 

v. 

LOGIC SOLUTIONS INC., 

 Defendant/Counter-Plaintiff. 

 / 

David Szostek (P78171) Catherine T. Dobrowitsky (P63245) 

Edward Allen Law, PLLC Rivenoak Law Group, P.C. 

Attorneys for the Plaintiff Attorneys for Defendant 

/Counter-Defendant /Counter-Plaintiff 

2010 44th St. S.E. 101 W. Big Beaver Road, Suite 1400 

Grand Rapids, MI 49508 Troy, MI 48084 

(616) 226-8002 (248) 677-1045 

dave@edwardallenlaw.com ecf@rivenoaklaw.com 

 / 

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 

Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and by 

stipulation of the Parties — Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant Hirambo, 

Inc. and Defendant/Counter-Plaintiff Logic Solutions, Inc. — the 

Court hereby enters a Stipulated Protective Order as follows: 

1. Confidential Information Protected from Disclosure 

Case No. 14-14236 

Hon. Robert H. Cleland 

Magistrate David R. Grand 

STIPULATED 

PROTECTIVE ORDER 

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a. Confidential Information. Any document or thing 

that a party reasonably and in good faith believes to contain 

confidential information that is not publicly available (such as 

research and development, commercial, or other sensitive 

information) may be produced by that party with the clear and 

obvious designation “CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE 

ORDER.” Such designation will make the documents and all copies, 

prints, summaries, excerpts, or other reproductions of such 

documents subject to this order. 

b. Highly Confidential Information – Attorney’s 

Eyes Only – Any document or thing that a party in good faith 

believes to contain highly confidential information that is not 

publicly available (such as a trade secret, or highly confidential 

research and development, commercial, or other sensitive 

information) may be produced by that party with the clear and 

obvious designation “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEY’S EYES 

ONLY.” 

c. Scope. For purposes of this agreement, 

documents or electronically stored information (as those terms are 

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defined in Fed. R. Civ. P. Rule 34(a)) that the parties produce will be 

used only in this action and for no other purpose. This includes 

information derived from documents, such as business or technical 

practices or processes. 

d. Protective Measures. The contents of the 

parties’ confidential documents will not, without leave of the Court, 

be communicated in any way to anyone other than (1) this Court, 

under seal; (2) counsel for the parties in this action and their 

paralegal and clerical assistants; (3) independent experts or 

consultants retained by a party or counsel to assist in the 

preparation and trial of this case, provided such persons have, 

before disclosure, agreed, in writing, to be bound by the terms of 

this Stipulated Protective Order, by signing Exhibit A; (4) 

deponents, according to the terms of subsection (f), below; and (5) 

the parties and/or their employees, to the extent that involvement 

with this action is part of their job duties. 

 Before any documents, testimony, or other information 

designated as “CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE 

ORDER” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY” 

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are disclosed to an independent expert or consultant, the receiving 

party shall give the producing party ten (10) days written notice of 

disclosure to the proposed expert or consultant. 

 With the exception of court personnel, persons permitted to 

review confidential documents under this order will, before 

obtaining access to the documents or information, be shown a copy 

of this Stipulated Protective Order and agree, in writing, to be 

bound by its terms, by signing Exhibit A. Counsel for the party 

wishing to disclose the material must retain the signed Exhibit A, 

hold it in escrow, and produce it to opposing counsel on request. 

 Each party to this action, its employees, and its counsel will 

be advised of, and be bound by, the terms of this Stipulated 

Protective Order. 

e. Non-Disclosure of Highly Confidential Information – 

Any document or thing designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – 

ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY” may only be used to prosecute or defend 

this action and shall not be disclosed to (nor the content discussed 

with) anyone other than the following persons: 

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i. Attorneys of record in this lawsuit and their 

support staff (e.g., copying and document management personnel).

ii. Independent experts or consultants engaged 

by a party’s attorneys to assist in the preparation and trial of this 

case, who also agree to abide by the terms of this Protective Order 

by signing Exhibit A. If a party names a current or former 

employee, contractor, executive, agent, or representative of the 

party as its independent expert or consultant, the party may not 

disclose any document or thing designated “HIGHLY 

CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY” to said expert or 

consultant.

iii. Deposition witnesses whose testimony is being 

taken with respect to the document or thing, or about the subject 

matter of the document or thing, who agree to abide by the terms of 

this Protective Order by signing Exhibit A. If a party deposes a 

current or former employee, contractor, executive, agent or 

representative of the party, the party may not disclose any

document or thing designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – 

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ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY” to said expert or consultant either in the 

course of or in preparation for the deposition.

iv. This Court and its staff members.

f. Depositions. Attendance at depositions taken in 

this action at which confidential documents or any information 

contained in those documents is identified, discussed, or disclosed 

will be limited to the deposition notary or court reporter, the 

witness, counsel for the witness, counsel for the parties, agents for 

counsel of the parties, and any representatives of the parties who 

have agreed in writing to be bound by the terms of this Stipulated 

Protective Order by signing Exhibit A. 

If any confidential documents are to be used during the 

deposition in this action of any person who is not an officer or 

employee of a party, the deponent will be required to acknowledge 

on the record that he or she is aware of, and agrees to be bound by, 

the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order. The portion of the 

deposition transcript concerning any confidential document will not 

be disclosed to any person, except as provided in this Stipulated 

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Protective Order, and it will be bound separately by the court 

reporter and labeled “Confidential.” 

Any portions of requested testimony, a transcript, and/or 

a brief, may be designated as “CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO 

PROTECTIVE ORDER” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEY’S 

EYES ONLY” if the party or attorney making the designation 

reasonably and in good faith believes it will reveal a trade secret or 

other confidential research and development, commercial, or 

sensitive information. 

g. Motions. All documents, testimony, and 

information designated as “CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO 

PROTECTIVE ORDER” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEY’S 

EYES ONLY” that are submitted to the Court Clerk as part of a 

motion or other paper shall be filed pursuant to Local Rule 5.3. A 

redacted copy of the motion or paper may be filed with the Court 

Clerk through the Court’s electronic filing system and an 

unredacted copy of the motion or paper may be filed under seal.

 An unsealed or unredacted copy of the confidential 

document, testimony, or information may be used for the judge’s 

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courtesy copy of the motion, but each page containing confidential 

information shall be marked in such a way that it clearly notifies 

the Court that the page contains confidential information that was 

filed pursuant to Local Rule 5.3. The judge’s courtesy copy of the 

motion shall be sent directly to the Judge’s chambers and not filed 

with the Court Clerk. 

h. Storing Electronic Confidential Information.

Any electronic confidential information received from 

other parties must be stored in a way that is designed to securely 

prevent unauthorized access or disclosure of the electronic 

confidential information.

i. Informal Waiver Permitted. Any party to this 

action may request from the other party or parties that the 

provisions of this Stipulated Protective Order be waived for one or 

more confidential documents. Any such waiver must be in writing, 

signed by counsel for all parties, and it must be limited to the 

particular document(s) specifically identified in the written waiver. 

2. Challenging a Designation of Confidentiality. 

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 The parties may challenge the propriety of another 

party’s designation of specific material as confidential by: (1) serving 

a written objection on the designating party’s counsel, (2) specifying 

the particular document(s) about which the objection is made, (3) 

and explaining the grounds for the objection. 

 The parties must promptly attempt to resolve any 

challenge informally, in good faith. If a challenge is not resolved 

informally, either party may, on reasonable notice, move for 

appropriate ruling(s) from this Court. The designating party shall 

have the burden of justifying its designation. The document(s) at 

issue must be treated as confidential and subject to the restrictions 

of this Stipulated Protective Order until the Court orders otherwise. 

3. Designation of Confidentiality Does Not Constitute an 

Admission or Agreement. 

 This Stipulated Protective Order is solely intended to 

facilitate the preparation and trial of the action and it must not be 

construed in any way as an admission or agreement by any party 

that the designated disclosure actually constitutes or contains any 

privileged, confidential, or proprietary information under applicable 

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law. This Stipulated Protective Order may not be used in evidence 

at trial. 

4. Late Designation of Confidential Documents. 

 A producing party may notify a receiving party that it 

inadvertently produced material that should have been designated 

as confidential documents under this order, without the 

confidential document designation. 

 On receipt of such notice, the receiving party will (1) 

immediately treat the material as if it had been designated as 

confidential documents; (2) place the appropriate designation on the 

material within two business days; and (3) provide the producing 

party with a list of all persons who are known to have seen, had 

access to, or learned the contents of the material. 

5. Post-Action Survival and Return of Confidential 

Documents. 

 All documents and things designated as “CONFIDENTIAL 

– SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” or “HIGHLY 

CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY,” and all copies 

thereof, shall either be returned to the party that produced them 

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upon the final disposition of this action or they must be 

destroyed, with permission of the party that produced them. This 

provision shall not apply to documents and things the Court 

determines are not confidential. Outside litigation counsel for 

each party may keep a copy of all pleadings and other documents 

filed with the Court for their files. 

 In the case of electronic confidential documents or 

things, if the producing party requests that the receiving party 

destroy its electronic confidential documents or things, the 

receiving party must provide the producing party a Certificate of 

Destruction that confirms that it destroyed the producing party’s 

electronic confidential documents and/or things. 

6. Trial Testimony. 

 This Protective Order shall not govern proceedings at 

trial. 

7. Privileged Information Subject to Claw Back 

a. Non-Waiver. Any inadvertent disclosure or 

production of documents protected by the attorney-client privilege 

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or work-product protection will not constitute a waiver of either any 

available privilege or protection by the disclosing party. 

No inadvertently produced attorney-client privilege or 

work-product-protected document may be used in evidence against 

the producing party. 

b. Notification by Receiving Party. In the 

event that the receiving party discovers that it has received either 

attorney-client privilege or work-product protected documents, it 

will bring that fact to the attention of the producing party 

immediately upon discovery. 

c. Demand and Return. Upon the request of the 

producing party, the receiving party will promptly return to the 

producing party any attorney-client privilege or work-productprotected document and any copies that the receiving party may 

have made and identify the names of any individuals who have read 

or have had access to the attorney-client privilege or work-productprotected document. 

 The disclosure of any particular material shall cease to 

be “inadvertent” if the receiving party notifies the producing party of 

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the disclosure and the producing party does not request the return 

of the privileged matter within 10 days. 

d. Enforcement Cost Shifting. If a party must seek 

judicial enforcement of this section, the costs and reasonable 

attorney’s fees of the party seeking enforcement will be paid by the 

party against whom such enforcement must be sought, but only if 

the Court finds the existence of a valid privilege and grants 

enforcement of this agreement by ordering the return and nonevidentiary use of the produced document. 

8. Further Protective Orders Permitted. 

 Nothing in this Stipulated Protective Order shall be 

construed to preclude a party from seeking additional protection of 

confidential or privileged materials or from otherwise seeking a 

modification of this Stipulated Protective Order. 

9. Discovery from Third Parties 

 This Protective Order shall apply to discovery sought 

from persons or companies who are not parties to this lawsuit. 

Third parties may designate information produced under either the 

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“CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” or “HIGHLY 

CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY” designation. 

If a receiving party is served with a subpoena or other form of 

compelled disclosure that requests a producing party’s confidential 

documents or things, the receiving party will promptly notify the 

producing party of the compelled disclosure request. The receiving 

party will also refrain from taking any actions that would interfere 

with any actions that the producing party may avail itself of to 

prevent the disclosure of its confidential documents or things. 

10. Protection Effective on Execution. 

 This Stipulated Protective Order will become effective on 

its execution by the undersigned counsel for the parties, 

notwithstanding the date that the Court enters this Stipulated 

Protective Order. 

SO ORDERED. 

Dated: February 5, 2015 S/Robert H. Cleland 

 Honorable Robert H. Cleland 

United States District Judge 

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Approved as to form and content: 

/s David Szostek (with consent) /s Catherine T. Dobrowitsky 

Edward Allen Law, PLLC 

Attorney for Plaintiff/CounterDefendant 

2010 44th St. S.E. 

Grand Rapids, MI 49508 

(616) 226-8002 

dave@edwardallenlaw.com 

(P78171) 

Rivenoak Law Group, P.C. 

Attorneys for Defendant/CounterPlaintiff 

101 W. Big Beaver Rd., Ste. 1400 

Troy, MI 48084 

(248) 677-1045 

ecf@rivenoaklaw.com 

(P63245) 

 

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

IN THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

SOUTHERN DIVISION 

HIRAMBO INC. 

 

Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant, 

v. 

LOGIC SOLUTIONS INC., 

 Defendant/Counter-Plaintiff. 

 / 

David Szostek (P78171) Catherine T. Dobrowitsky (P63245) 

Edward Allen Law, PLLC Rivenoak Law Group, P.C. 

Attorneys for the Plaintiff Attorneys for Defendant 

/Counter-Defendant /Counter-Plaintiff 

2010 44th St. S.E. 101 W. Big Beaver Road, Suite 1400 

Grand Rapids, MI 49508 Troy, MI 48084 

(616) 226-8002 (248) 677-1045 

dave@edwardallenlaw.com ecf@rivenoaklaw.com 

 / 

EXHIBIT A – AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND BY PROTECTIVE ORDER 

 I, __________________________, declare as follows: 

1. I have read the Protective Order in the above captioned 

case. 

2. I promise that I will only use the documents and things 

designated as “CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO 

PROTECTIVE ORDER” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – 

Case No. 14-14236 

Hon. Robert H. Cleland 

Magistrate David R. Grand 

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ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY” that are given to me for purposes 

of this lawsuit. 

3. I promise that I will not disclose or discuss information that 

I learn from documents and things designated as 

“CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” or 

“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY” with 

anyone other than the persons described in the Protective 

Order. 

4. I acknowledge that, by signing this agreement, I am 

subjecting myself to the jurisdiction of the United States 

District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan with 

respect to enforcement of this Protective Order. 

5. I understand that any disclosure or use of documents or 

things designated as “CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO 

PROTECTIVE ORDER” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – 

ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY,” or information learned from the 

documents or things, in any manner contrary to the 

provisions of the Protective Order may subject me to 

sanctions for contempt of court. 

Date: ___________ 

 ____________________________________ 

 [Signature] 

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