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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

(DETROIT) 

KASSEM BEZIH, 

 Plaintiff, 

 v. 

UNIFUND CCR, LLC, 

 Defendant. 

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Case No. 2:15-cv-11660 

Judge Robert H. Cleland 

Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 

ORDER 

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

parties, the Court hereby enters the following protective order: 

 1. 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.” 

 2. Non-Disclosure of Confidential Information – Any document or 

thing designated as “CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” 

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may only be used to prosecute or defend this action and shall not be disclosed to 

(or the content discussed with) anyone other than the following persons: 

a. The named parties in this case, their attorneys, and their support 

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

b. Independent experts or consultants engaged by a party’s 

attorneys to assist in the preparation and trial of this case who 

agree to abide by the terms of this Protective Order by signing 

Exhibit A and who are approved by the producing party 

pursuant to paragraph 4 below. 

c. 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. 

d. This Court and its staff members. 

 3. Disclosure to Experts and Consultants – Before any documents, 

testimony, or other information designated as “CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO 

PROTECTIVE ORDER” are disclosed to an independent expert or consultant, the 

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

proposed expert. If the producing party objects to the expert, no designated 

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material or information of the producing party shall be disclosed to the expert or 

consultant until the issue is resolved by the Court. 

 4. Deposition Testimony – Any portions of requested testimony, a 

transcript and/or a brief may be designated as “CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO 

PROTECTIVE ORDER” 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. 

 5. Protection of Confidential Information -- Any party receiving 

documents designated as CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE 

ORDER shall take reasonable precautions to safeguard the documents’ 

confidentiality. 

 6. Motion Practice – All documents, testimony, and information 

designated as “CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” 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 courtesy copy of the motion, but each 

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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. 

 7. 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 as “CONFIDENTIAL – 

SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER”. 

 8. Challenging “Confidential” or “Highly Confidential” Designation

– Any party that wishes to challenge the designation of any document, thing, or 

testimony as confidential or highly confidential under Federal Rule of Civil 

Procedure 26(c) may do so at any time by way of motion to this Court. The 

designating party shall have the burden of justifying its designation. Before filing 

any such motion, however, the parties shall first attempt to resolve their 

disagreement without Court intervention. 

 9. Trial Testimony – This Protective Order shall not govern 

proceedings at trial. 

 10. Termination of Lawsuit – Upon request, all documents and things 

designated as “CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER,” and 

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

final disposition of this action or they may 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. 

 11. Inadvertent Production of Privileged Material – Any inadvertent 

production of privileged or work product protected material shall not result in the 

waiver of any associated privilege (attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine, 

etc.). However, the disclosure of any particular material shall cease to be 

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

and the producing party does not request the return of the privileged matter within 

10 days. 

SO ORDERED. 

Dated: December 11, 2015 

 s/Robert H. Cleland 

 Honorable Robert H. Cleland 

 United States District Court Judge 

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STIPULATED: 

/s/ Cathleen M. Combs /s/ Alan H. Abes 

Daniel A. Edelman Alan H. Abes 

Cathleen M. Combs DINSMORE & SHOHL LLP 

EDELMAN, COMBS, 255 E. 5th St., Suite 1900 

LATTURNER & GOODWIN, LLC Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 

20 South Clark Street, Suite 1500 (513) 977-8149 

Chicago, Illinois 60603 (513) 977-8141 (Fax) 

(312) 739-4200 alan.abes@dinsmore.com

(312) 419-0379 (Fax) 

ccombs@edcombs.com

Adam G. Taub (P48703) Charity A. Olson (P68295) 

ADAM G. TAUB & ASSOCIATES 2723 S. State St., Suite 150 

CONSUMER LAW GROUP, PLC Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 

17200 West Ten Mile Rd, Ste 200 (734) 222-5179 

Southfield, Michigan 48075 colson@olsonlawpc.com

(248) 746-3790 

adamgtaub@clgplc.net

Attorneys for Plaintiff Attorneys for Defendant 

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

(DETROIT) 

KASSEM BEZIH, 

 Plaintiff, 

 v. 

UNIFUND CCR, LLC, 

 Defendant. 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

: 

Case No. 2:15-cv-11660 

Judge Robert H. Cleland 

Magistrate Judge R. Steven Whalen

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” 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 

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PROTECTIVE ORDER” 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 

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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