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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO 

EASTERN DIVISION 

Eli J. Duffey, : 

 : Case No. 2:11-cv-16 

 Plaintiff, : 

 : Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. 

 v. : 

Gregory S. Pope, et al., : Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King 

 : 

 Defendants. : 

 : 

AGREED PROTECTIVE ORDER

 Upon agreement of the parties, the Court hereby enters the following Agreed Protective 

Order: 

 1. “Confidential Information” shall mean any information, whether oral or written, 

produced during the course of discovery in this matter which is believed in good faith by the 

producing party to constitute, reflect or disclose its Confidential Information as that term is 

understood under Rule 26(c)(1)(G) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Information 

obtained from public sources or that is in the public domain shall not be deemed confidential. 

 2. “Attorney’s Eyes Only” information shall mean any information, whether oral or 

written, produced during the course of discovery in this matter which is believed in good faith by 

the producing party to constitute, reflect or disclose information of such a confidential nature that 

it is for review and use of the attorneys and their staff. It will only be disclosed to the client, if 

necessary, after a court order. 

3. At the time, Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information is 

produced, the person producing the Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only 

information, whether a party or a non-party responding to a subpoena, shall designate the 

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information it believes in good faith is entitled to confidential treatment as “CONFIDENTIAL” 

or “CONFIDENTIAL: SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” or “CONFIDENTIAL: 

ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY”. 

4. In the event of an inadvertent omission of the “CONFIDENTIAL” or 

“CONFIDENTIAL: SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” or “CONFIDENTIAL: 

ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY” designation from any item containing Confidential Information 

and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information, the producing person shall notify the receiving person 

promptly upon discovery of the omission, and the receiving person will promptly apply the 

appropriate “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL: SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” 

or “CONFIDENTIAL: ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY” label in accordance with this Agreed 

Protective Order, and, thereafter, treat the material as Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s 

Eyes Only information in the manner set forth in this Agreed Protective Order.. 

5. Deposition testimony that constitutes, reflects or discloses Confidential 

Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information may be designated “CONFIDENTIAL” or 

“CONFIDENTIAL: SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” or “CONFIDENTIAL: 

ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY” either on the record at the deposition or upon written notice to all 

parties within seven (7) days after the deposition. If deposition testimony is designated as 

Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information, that testimony shall be 

transcribed separately, designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL: SUBJECT TO 

PROTECTIVE ORDER” or “CONFIDENTIAL: ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY” and filed under 

seal if it is filed with the Court. 

6. A non-party subject to a subpoena that the non-party believes requires the 

production of Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information is permitted to 

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designate that information as such and is provided the same protections under this Agreed 

Protective Order as are the parties to this litigation. 

 7. If a party reasonably anticipates using Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s 

Eyes Only information at a hearing or trial, the party anticipating its use shall provide written 

notice to the party producing the Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only 

information of its intention to use the Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only 

information at least seven days prior to the hearing or trial. If a hearing that requires the use of 

the Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information is scheduled with less 

than seven days notice, the party desiring to use the Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s 

Eyes Only information, upon learning of the hearing, shall give immediate notice of its intention 

to use the Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information in association with 

the hearing. 

 8. If a party uses a non-party’s Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes 

Only information at a deposition in this matter, that party shall give the non-party written notice 

within two days following the deposition that the Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s 

Eyes Only information was used. Upon receipt of that notice, the non-party whose Confidential 

Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information was disclosed at the deposition, hearing or 

trial shall have fourteen (14) business days from receipt of the written notice to designate the 

confidentiality of the transcript or portion thereof. Until expiration of the fourteen (14) business 

day period during which the producing non-party shall have the opportunity to deem the 

transcript, or a portion thereof, confidential, the parties agree that the entire contents of the 

transcript shall be treated as Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information. 

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 9. A party shall not be obliged to challenge the propriety of a Confidential 

Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information designation at the time the designation is 

made, and a failure to do so shall not preclude a subsequent challenge thereto. In the event a 

party objects to the designation or non-designation of any particular deposition testimony, 

document, discovery response or other thing as Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes 

Only information, the parties (and non-party if non-party Confidential Information and/or 

Attorney’s Eyes Only information is involved) shall meet and confer in an attempt to informally 

resolve the dispute. If the parties (and non-party if non-party Confidential Information and/or 

Attorney’s Eyes Only information is involved) cannot informally resolve the dispute, after 

giving reasonable notice to the designating party, the objecting party may file a motion with the 

Court for a determination of whether such evidence actually qualifies as Confidential 

Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information. If no such motion is made, the material 

will retain its designation. Any documents or other materials that have been designated as 

Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information shall be treated as 

confidential until such time as the Court, or any magistrate to whom the matter is assigned, rules 

that such materials should not be treated as Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes 

Only information. The person or party designating information as Confidential Information 

and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only shall have the burden of demonstrating the reasonableness of that 

designation. 

 10. All Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information produced 

during discovery shall be maintained in strict confidence and shall be disclosed only to the 

following individuals as appropriate and only as necessary for the conduct of this action: (a) the 

parties identified in this action with the exception of Attorney’s Eyes Only information, (b) 

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attorneys, members and employees of counsels’ firms who are engaged in the preparation for 

trial or the trial of this action, (c) court reporters in the performance of their official duties, (d) 

this Court or any other court before which the litigation is pending, including any court 

personnel, (e) with respect to a particular item of information or document, persons, including 

parties, who prepared or assisted in the preparation of that item or document, or to whom the 

item or document or a copy thereof was addressed or delivered, (f) expert witnesses or 

consultants who have been informed that they are bound by this Agreed Protective Order and are 

retained solely for purposes of this litigation, and (g) witnesses at depositions or hearings or in 

preparation for depositions or hearings. 

 11. Any party seeking to file with or submit to the Court a document containing 

Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information shall file a Motion with the 

Court to have the document under seal. The Court will determine if there is good cause to file 

the document under seal. If the Court grants the Motion, the document shall be filed under seal 

and shall not be disclosed except as provided in the Agreed Protective Order. 

 12. If any Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information is filed 

with or submitted to the Court without a Motion to File under Seal, any party may file such a 

Motion with the Court. The Court will determine if there is good cause to file the document 

under seal. 

 13. Any person receiving Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only 

information under the terms of this Agreed Protective Order shall make no use of the information 

for any purpose other than preparation for trial and the trial of this action and any pretrial or posttrial proceeding in this action and this action only. 

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 14. Within thirty (30) days after termination of this action, whether by settlement, 

judgment or otherwise, all Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information, 

shall be returned to counsel of record for the party who disclosed the Confidential Information 

and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information. All individuals to whom Confidential Information 

and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information was disclosed in accordance herewith shall also return 

such information to counsel of record for the disclosing party within thirty (30) days after 

termination of this action. In the alternative, individuals in possession of Confidential 

Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information may certify in writing that the Confidential 

Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information was destroyed within thirty (30) days after 

termination of this action. As to those materials that contain or reflect Confidential Information 

and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information but constitute or reflect counsels’ work product, 

counsel of record for the parties shall be entitled to retain such work product in their files in 

accordance with the provisions of this Agreed Protective Order, so long as it is clearly marked to 

reflect that it contains information subject to this Agreed Protective Order. Counsel shall be 

entitled to retain pleadings, affidavits, motions, briefs, other papers filed with the Court, 

deposition transcripts, and the trial record (including exhibits) even if such materials contain 

Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only information, so long as such materials are 

clearly marked to reflect that they contain information subject to this Agreed Protective Order. 

 15. Upon final resolution of this action and exhaustion of all rights of appeal, this 

Agreed Protective Order shall remain in effect and continue to be binding, unless expressly 

modified, superseded or terminated by consent of all parties or by Order of the Court. This 

Court expressly retains jurisdiction over this action for the enforcement of the provisions of this 

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Agreed Protective Order during the litigation of this action and following final resolution of this 

action. 

 16. By the signatures of counsel below, as duly authorized agents of the respective 

parties, the parties are bound by the terms of this Agreed Protective Order. 

 17. Compliance with the terms of this Agreed Protective Order shall not operate as an 

admission by any party that any particular document is or is not confidential. 

IT IS SO ORDERED 

March 26, 2012 s/ Norah McCann King 

Date Norah McCann King, Magistrate Judge 

APPROVED: 

LANE, ALTON & HORST, LLC 

/s:/ Christopher R. Pettit_________________ /s:/ Rachel K. Robinson________________ 

Christopher R. Pettit (0069926) Rachel K. Robinson (0067518) 

Two Miranova Place, Suite 500 57 Jefferson Avenue, Suite G100 

Columbus, Ohio 43215 Columbus, Ohio 43215 

Email: cpettit@lanealton.com Email: rachel.robinson.law@gmail.com

Attorney for Defendants Gregory S. Pope & 

Pope Law Office 

 /s:/ Edward A. Icove___________________ 

 Edward A. Icove (0019646) 

 550 Public Square, Suite 627 

 Terminal Tower 

 Cleveland, Ohio 44113 

 ed@icovelegal.com

 /s:/ Stephen R. Felson__________________ 

 Stephen R. Felson (0038432) 

 215 East Ninth Street, Suite 650 

 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 

 SteveF8953@aol.com

 Attorneys for Plaintiff Eli J. Duffey 

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