IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO 

EASTERN DIVISION 

MISTY CLARK, 

 

Plaintiff, Case Number: 2:11CV980 

v. JUDGE EDMUND A. SARGUS 

MAGISTRATE JUDGE MARK R. ABEL 

 

RYAN BRITTON, 

Defendant. 

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER FOR THE PROTECTION 

OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 

 

 Undersigned counsel, on behalf of their respective parties move the Court to enter into 

the following protective order (“Stipulated Order”). The Order is made pursuant to Rule 26(c) of 

the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to limit the disclosure of discovered information, for the 

protection of third parties and to preserve confidentiality of certain matters. The parties agree to 

be bound by the restrictions of this Order limiting the use of such information as hereinafter 

provided from the date that each party signs this order. 

 Each party signing this Stipulated Order and anyone else who may subscribe to this 

Stipulated Order agrees as follows: 

INFORMATION SUBJECT TO THIS ORDER

 1. It is anticipated that some information (a) conveyed by or contained in a document 

produced or (b) stated in answer to an interrogatory or request for admission or (c) disclosed in 

an oral deposition by a party or a non-party is the course of discovery in this proceeding or (d) 

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disclosed pursuant to a voluntary agreement among counsel, may include protected information 

regarding correction officers as prohibited under R.C. § 149.43, or may constitute a security risk, 

or may include other personal, sensitive information to which the public would not ordinarily 

have access, including but not limited to, personnel files, names of individuals who are not a 

party to this action that may be protected from disclosure under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c), or any 

other statute or regulation restricting disclosure, when justice so requires. The word “document” 

means all documents and things subject to copying and inspection under Rule 34 of the Federal 

Rules of Civil Procedure. 

 2. Any party or non-party that produces information as to which it then has a reasonable 

good faith basis in law and fact to believe is of the type described in Paragraph 1, at the time of 

production, shall designate such information “confidential.” Information so designated 

(hereinafter “confidential information”) shall thereafter be subject to the provisions of this 

Stipulated Order. Such records will be for counsel for parties’ eyes only, to include any experts 

retained by any party or any staff working for any counsel of any party. 

 3. Confidential information, as described in this section, shall, if in writing, be stamped 

on the face of the writing, or shall otherwise be clearly marked “confidential” or “confidential 

material.” The stamp shall be affixed in such a manner that the written material is not obliterated 

or obscured. 

 4. Parties may designate as confidential information referenced at any deposition or 

portion thereof by making such designation on the record at the time of the deposition. If no 

confidential designation is made during a deposition, the contents shall be treated as confidential 

under this Stipulated Protective Order until 15 days after receipt of the transcript or 20 days after 

the court reporter mails copies of the transcripts, whichever is longer. Within that period, any 

party wishing to designate all or any portion of the deposition transcript as confidential shall 

make the appropriate designation in writing and then serve that designation by mail upon the 

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court reporter and counsel for all parties. However, if no party orders a copy of the transcript at 

the time of the deposition or within 5 business days of the deposition, the contents of the 

deposition shall only be treated as confidential information for 5 business days. 

 5. The designation of any material as “confidential” or “confidential material” will also 

render confidential any copies, excerpts, summaries, disclosures, or other documents containing 

the substance or content of such material. 

 In the event of an inadvertent disclosure of confidential information without proper 

designation, the producing party shall inform the receiving party of the error. Inadvertent failure 

to designate any information pursuant to this Protective Order shall not constitute a waiver of 

any otherwise valid claim for protection, so long as such claim is asserted within thirty (30) days 

of the discovery of the inadvertent failure. The producing party shall provide within three (3) 

business days a properly designated set of such confidential information to the receiving party, 

which shall destroy copies of the improperly designated documents and certify such destruction 

to the producing party. 

PERSONS AUTHORIZED TO RECEIVE “CONFIDENTIAL” INFORMATION

 6. Confidential information protected by this Stipulated Order may be disclosed only to: 

 a. Counsel of record; 

 b. Members of the legal, paralegal, secretarial, and clerical staff of such 

counsel who are engaged in the preparation for and trial of this action; 

 c. The court in which this action is pending and persons associated with it; 

 d. Expert consultants. 

 e. Defendant in the presence of his counsel. 

f. A deponent and his or her attorney, but only during the course of his or her 

deposition. 

 g. A court reporter. 

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h. Plaintiff is specifically excluded from the pre-trial viewing or obtaining, 

either directly or indirectly, any of the information contained in 

Defendant’s personnel files. Information obtained during a trial in this 

matter will be governed as set forth in Paragraph 19. 

 7. If counsel for any party intends to disclose confidential information to any person 

described in Paragraph 7(d), counsel for that party shall require, prior to disclosure, that such 

person first read this Stipulated Order, agree to be bound by its terms and submit to the authority 

of this Court for enforcement of this Stipulated Order, and execute the Agreement attached 

hereto as Exhibit A. The signed Agreement shall be maintained by counsel until the conclusion 

of this action. 

LIMITATIONS ON THE USE OF “CONFIDENTIAL” INFORMATION

 8. While protected by this Stipulated Order, any information designated “confidential” 

or “confidential material” pursuant to Paragraphs 1-6 of this Stipulated Order shall be held in 

confidence by each person to whom it is disclosed, shall be used by the person who receives such 

information only for the purposes of this proceeding, and shall not be used by the recipient of the 

information for the purposes of any other proceeding. 

 9. Unless otherwise agreed in advance in writing by counsel for the parties, in the event 

any party to this action files with the Court any pleading, motion, exhibit, or other paper that 

appends, attaches, or discloses any confidential information, that confidential information shall 

be filed under seal and bear the following legend: 

THIS DOCUMENT IS FILED UNDER SEAL AND IS SUBJECT TO 

AN ORDER REGARDING CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 

ENTERED BY THE COURT IN THIS ACTION. 

 10. Within thirty (30) days following a final determination of this litigation, every person 

or party to whom confidential information has been furnished or produced shall destroy all 

copies, and provide the producing party with counsel’s certification of that destruction. This 

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paragraph includes deposition exhibits, but not attorney notes. This paragraph does not require 

any party to return or destroy any information which was filed with the Court. 

 11. This Stipulated Order is entered solely for the purpose of protecting the 

confidentiality of information and facilitating the exchange of documents and information 

between the parties to this proceeding, and may be amended as need may rise by the mutual 

consent and agreement of counsel, subject to the ultimate approval of the Court, as provided 

below. 

 12. This Stipulated Order shall be without prejudice to the right of any party or non-party 

to move for a separate protective or other discovery order as to any such particular document or 

information, to seek exemptions or restrictions differing from those specified herein, or to 

challenge the status of any information as being protected by Fed. Civ. R. 26(c), regardless of its 

designation as confidential information by a producing party. 

 13. After the termination of this proceeding, this Protective Order shall continue to be 

binding upon the parties hereto, and upon all persons to whom confidential information has been 

disclosed or communicated, and the Court shall retain jurisdiction for enforcement of its 

provisions. 

MODIFICATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION

 14. If any party disputes the designation of any document as “confidential,” that party 

shall notify the producing party of the objections in writing. The designating party of the 

materials shall, within five (5) business days of receipt of such notice, review the designated 

material sought to be reclassified, and notify the objecting party in writing whether or not it will 

agree to the reclassification requested. Counsel shall attempt to resolve the dispute extrajudicially in good faith. 

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 15. If counsel for the parties are unable to resolve a dispute extra-judicially, then the 

procedures set forth in Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c) shall be followed by the party asserting 

confidentiality. 

 16. If another court or a government entity or agency, or any other person or entity, 

subpoenas or orders production of any of the documents or information that a party has obtained 

under the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, such party shall promptly provide written 

notice to the party or other person who produced the documents or information, and counsel for 

the other parties to this action of the pendency of such subpoenas or order as soon as reasonably 

possible, and, in any event, before the return date of the subpoena or order. If written notice 

cannot be provided at least fourteen (14) days before the time for production or other disclosure, 

the party receiving the subpoena or order shall immediately, in addition to the written notice, 

give notice by telephone to the party or person who produced the documents or information. In 

no event shall production or disclosure be made before notice is given. The purpose of this 

paragraph is to provide the party or person who produced the documents or information the 

opportunity to intervene at its own expense to object to the production of documents or 

information. This Protective Order shall not alter a party’s or person’s obligations to comply 

with subpoenas or orders of production to produce the documents or information made by a 

government entity or agency, or any other person or entity. 

 17. Notwithstanding anything above to the contrary, this Stipulated Protective Order does 

not govern the procedures for the use of the documents or information to which this Stipulated 

Protective Order applies at any trial of this matter. Rather, in the event of any trial of this matter, 

the parties will work to enter into an agreement as to the use of the documents or information to 

which this Stipulated Protective Order applies at any such trial, subject to the instructions of the 

Court. 

This Protective Order is subject to modification by the Court. 

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IT IS SO ORDERED. 

 s/Mark R. Abel 

 United States Magistrate Judge 

 

Approved by and agreed to: 

/s/ David A. Singleton 

David A. Singleton, #0074556 

Trial Attorney for Plaintiff 

Bruna Lozano, Legal Intern 

Michael Strunk, Legal Intern 

Ohio Justice & Policy Center 

215 East 9th Street, Suite 601 

Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 

(513) 421-1108, ext. 17 

(513) 562-3200 – fax 

dsingleton@ohiojpc.org

lozanob1@mymail.nku.edu

strunkm1@mymail.nku.edu

Trial Counsel for Plaintiff 

MICHAEL DEWINE 

Ohio Attorney General 

s/Debra Gorrell Wehrle 

DEBRA GORRELL WEHRLE (0062747) 

Debra.Wehrle@OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov

Assistant Attorney General 

Criminal Justice Section 

150 East Gay St., 16th Floor 

Columbus, Ohio 43215 

Phone: (614)644-7233 

Fax: (866)429-9043 

Trial Counsel for Defendant 

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EXHIBIT A 

County of ______ : 

 : ss 

State of Ohio : 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

 I, _____________________________________, the undersigned, acknowledge that I 

have received a copy of the “Stipulated Protective Order for the Protection of Confidential 

Information” entered in this action, which is attached hereto as Exhibit 1, have read the 

Stipulated Order, and agree to be bound by all of the provisions in it. I recognize that during my 

participation in this case, I may have occasion to read or hear matters which are designated as 

“confidential information.” I agree not to disclose any such confidential information to any 

person not entitled to receive disclosure of same under the provisions of the Stipulated Order, 

and to use any such confidential information solely in connection with my participation in this 

case. I also agree to return to counsel for the party that produces, in accordance with the 

Stipulated Order, any such confidential materials as soon as my participation in this case is 

concluded. 

 ______________________________ 

 Signature 

SUBSCRIBED TO AND SWORN BEFORE ME THIS ____ DAY OF _____________, 2013. 

 ______________________________ 

 Notary Public 

 My commission expires: ___________ 

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