IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO, 

EASTERN DIVISION

JESUS CASAREZ,

PLAINTIFF,

V.

PRODUCERS SERVICE CORP.,

DEFENDANT.

CASE NO.: 2:17-CV-1086

CHIEF JUDGE EDMUND A. SARGUS, JR.

MAGISTRATE JUDGE KIMBERLY A.

JOLSON

STIPULATED CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROTECTIVE ORDER

WHEREAS, certain documents, materials, discovery responses, testimony, admissions, 

data, and other materials and their contents, which may be requested through the abovecaptioned case (hereafter "the Lawsuit”) may contain confidential and proprietary information, 

including without limitation client or customer lists and information, confidential compensation 

information, confidential financial and business information, as well as other confidential 

information. 

It is hereby ORDERED that the following terms and conditions shall govern the 

disclosure and use of confidential information in this Lawsuit.

1. To preserve the legitimate proprietary and privacy interests of sources of

information, this Order establishes a procedure for disclosing Confidential Information (defined 

in Paragraph 2 below) to the parties in this Lawsuit, imposes obligations on persons receiving 

Confidential Information to protect it from unauthorized use or disclosure, and establishes a 

procedure for challenging confidentiality designations. This Order applies only to information 

furnished by parties and non-parties that is not otherwise publicly available and properly 

designated under this Order.
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2. This Order covers information that the producing or disclosing party or nonparty 

(hereinafter “source”) designates in good faith as “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” 

(collectively, referred to as “Confidential Information”). The parties to this Agreement further 

agree that they will use “Confidential Information” material or information solely for the 

purposes of facilitating the prosecution or defense of this Lawsuit and not for any business or 

other purpose.

3. The designation “Confidential” shall be limited to information that the source 

reasonably and in good faith believes is of a proprietary or commercially sensitive nature, or 

should otherwise be subject to confidential treatment. The designation “Confidential” shall also 

include information the source reasonably and in good faith believes is subject to protection 

under the confidentiality provisions of any state or federal act, law, or statute. All materials 

produced in this Lawsuit containing the designation “Confidential” shall be used solely for the 

purposes of this Lawsuit and shall be returned to the source or destroyed at the end of this 

Lawsuit.

4. The designation “Attorney’s Eyes Only” shall be limited to information that the 

source reasonably and in good faith believes (a) to contain highly sensitive trade secrets and 

proprietary information of the highest level of sensitivity, and (b) to carry a substantial likelihood 

of competitive damage if it were disclosed to any other person or entity.

5. To designate information as “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only,” a source 

must so mark it or, in the case of a deposition or hearing transcript, designate it as provided in 

paragraphs 11 and 12 herein, respectively. Either designation may be withdrawn by the source. 

The source must mark each page of each document and/or each significant component of any 

other object containing Confidential Information with the appropriate designation as required. A 
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cover letter can be used, if appropriate, to designate material provided in a computerized format 

as “Confidential Information.” 

6. Accidental disclosure of Confidential Information without a designation does not 

alone waive the confidence and protections provided under this Order. Upon a source’s 

discovery that information was not correctly designated, the source shall provide notice to the 

parties or other party that the information was inappropriately designated or inadvertently not 

designated. The party to whom the inadvertent disclosure was made shall then immediately 

return such material and all copies the party made thereof. Also, in the event any party hereto 

receives any document from another party or third-party that upon its face is subject to the 

attorney-client privilege, attorney work product doctrine, or any other privilege, that party shall 

immediately notify the producing party or third-party and return such document and all copies 

the party made thereof if so requested by the party or third-party who produced the document. 

The source shall then have seven business days in which to redesignate the information after 

which the terms of this Order shall apply. In the interim, the information may not be used in a 

manner inconsistent with the notice.

7. Subject to the provisions of Paragraph 9, information designated as 

“Confidential” may be disclosed to and used only by:

a. Counsel of record for the parties and such counsel’s support staff involved 

in this Lawsuit;

b. In-house counsel and support staff to the parties involved in this Lawsuit;

c. Any party to this Lawsuit, or present or former employee of such party to 

whom it is necessary to show the information to for purposes of this 

Lawsuit;
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d. An outside consultant or expert who is being consulted or retained by 

counsel in this Lawsuit, including such consultant’s or expert’s support 

staff;

e. The author of the information and anyone shown by the information to have 

previously received it in the ordinary course of business;

f. Any person whose name is contained in the information and to whom it is 

necessary to show the information to for purposes of this Lawsuit;

g. Clerical or ministerial service providers, including outside copying services 

and court reporters, retained by a party’s counsel to assist such counsel in 

connection with this Lawsuit;

h. The Court and its support staff; and

i. Others specifically identified and authorized in writing by the disclosing 

party, or as ordered by the court.

8. Subject to the provisions of Paragraph 9, information designated as “Attorney’s 

Eyes Only” may only be disclosed to and used by the persons identified in Paragraph 7 (a), (b), 

(d), (e), (g), (h) and (i) above.

9. Counsel for the respective parties shall be responsible for obtaining, prior to 

disclosure and as a condition thereof, the written agreement of any person to whom any 

Confidential Information is disclosed (other than the Court, outside counsel for a party, and their 

respective staff) to be bound by the terms of this Order. Such written agreement shall be in the 

form annexed hereto as Attachment A.

10. Subject to the terms of this Order, and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, any 

party may use Confidential Information in the course of a deposition or hearing as may be 
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allowed, provided that prior to his or her examination, the witness is furnished with a copy of 

this Order and has executed Attachment A to this Order.

11. Deposition transcripts shall presumptively be considered to have been designated 

“Confidential” for a period of fourteen (14) days following receipt of the transcript by the 

parties. During that time period, upon further review of the transcript, the deponent, his counsel, 

or any party may designate all or portions of the transcript as “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes 

Only,” which designation shall remain in effect for the duration of this Order. If there is no 

designation within the fourteen (14) day period, then the deposition transcript shall no longer be 

considered as containing Confidential Information. The deponent, his counsel, or any party 

making such a designation must advise counsel of record and the court reporter of the 

designation. The court reporter shall mark the face of the transcript appropriately. If any portion 

of a videotaped deposition is designated pursuant to this Paragraph, the videocassette or other 

videotape or CD-ROM container shall be labeled with the appropriate legend. Nothing in this 

paragraph shall prevent a party from making specific designations on the record during the 

deposition, and the court reporter shall mark the face of the transcript appropriately in that event. 

Counsel retaining court reporters shall have the responsibility of informing them of these 

requirements.

12. To the extent that any pleadings or documents to be filed with the Court contain 

or reference Confidential Information, the party filing said pleadings or documents shall file a 

Motion with the court pursuant to Local Rule 5.2.1, requesting authority to file the pleadings or 

documents under seal, and requesting that the Clerk of the Court receive and maintain said 

pleadings or documents under seal. Leave to file pleadings or documents under seal will be 

granted only upon a showing of good cause, and only to the extent reasonably necessary to 
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protect privacy interests. When leave is granted to file pleadings or documents under seal, a 

redacted version of the document will be filed on the public record, when practicable. The use of 

Confidential Information in hearings or at trial shall be subject to the following:

a. The party may refer to Confidential Information in preliminary hearings and 

conferences before the Court. The source must designate the transcripts of 

such proceedings as “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” within seven 

(7) days of receipt.

b. The use of Confidential Information at trial and in post-trial proceedings, 

motions, and appeals may be addressed in a final pretrial order, except that 

the words “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” shall be removed by 

the offering party from documents before such documents are used at trial. 

The removal of those words shall not affect the protections afforded to the 

Confidential Information itself.

13. This Order may be applied equally to information obtained by or produced in 

response to any subpoena, including, in particular, information produced by non-parties. Any 

non-party that designates any information as “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” pursuant 

to this Order may agree to submit to the Court’s jurisdiction with regards to the determination of 

any disputes involving such designation.

14. All material produced or furnished in this Lawsuit (including but not limited to 

material not marked Confidential or Attorney’s Eyes Only) including documents, deposition 

transcripts, and deposition videos shall be used only in connection with this Lawsuit and shall 

not be otherwise disclosed except as agreed to by the parties, as required by any court, judicial 

tribunal, administrative agency, taxing body or other governmental unit or entity, or as otherwise 
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required by law. All material, including deposition transcripts or videos, produced or furnished in 

this Lawsuit shall not be used or disclosed for any business, commercial or competitive purpose 

and, furthermore, shall not be used in connection with the media or in connection with materials 

for public dissemination of any kind or type, including but not limited to dissemination of such 

material to the public via the internet, social media or any other means now or hereafter known.

15. The following procedures shall govern any challenges to confidentiality 

designations:

a. If a party reasonably believes that information should not be designated as 

“Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only,” it must specify to the source in 

writing (a) the information in issue, and (b) its grounds for questioning the 

confidentiality designation. The parties agree that prior to any challenge 

they will telephonically confer or meet in person in good faith. The source 

must respond in writing within ten (10) business days of the date of written 

notice, or within such additional time as is reasonable (taking into account 

the number of documents or other information in issue) and as is agreed to 

by counsel or ordered by the Court; and

b. If the party challenging the confidentiality designation is still not satisfied, it 

may move the Court to change the confidentiality designation. Until the 

Court rules on a motion challenging a confidentiality designation, the 

challenged confidentiality designation shall remain in effect.

c. The party claiming confidentiality will have the burden of proving that the 

challenged confidentiality designation is appropriate in the circumstances.
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16. Nothing in this Order shall prevent a party from using or disclosing its own 

Confidential Information as it deems appropriate.

17. This Order shall survive the termination of this proceeding. Within sixty (60) days 

after the final resolution of this proceeding, parties in possession of “Confidential” or 

“Attorney’s Eyes Only” information produced by other sources shall either destroy or return to 

counsel for the source that produced it, at their request and expense, all such information. As for 

those materials that contain or reflect “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” information, but 

also constitute or reflect counsel’s 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 Order, 

so long as it is clearly marked to reflect that it contains information subject to this Order, and so 

long as counsel shall take all other reasonable steps to ensure that such documents are securely 

maintained. Counsel shall be entitled to retain pleadings, deposition transcripts, and the hearing 

record (including exhibits) even if materials contain “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” 

materials so long as such information is marked to reflect that it contains information subject to 

this Order, and so long as counsel shall take all other reasonable steps to ensure that such 

documents are securely maintained. 

18. Any non-party that receives a subpoena for production or disclosure of 

information that they believe in good faith may be designated “Confidential” or “Attorney’s 

Eyes Only” shall assert objections as provided by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

19. The parties agree that if they receive a subpoena or other request for the 

production of documents from a non-party that may require the production of documents 

designated as “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only,” the party receiving the subpoena or 

request shall promptly give written notice to the source and to the parties identifying the 
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information sought and enclosing a copy of the subpoena. The person or party subject to the 

subpoena shall not produce or disclose the requested information without consent of the source 

or until ordered to do so by a court of competent jurisdiction.

20. Nothing in this Order shall bar or otherwise restrict any attorney from rendering 

advice to his or her client with respect to this proceeding and, in the course of rendering advice, 

referring to or relying generally on the examination of material designated “Confidential” or 

“Attorney’s Eyes Only.” 

21. The parties recognize that during the course of discovery, certain discovery 

requests may require the production of or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” information (including, but 

not limited to, business strategies) which either party may, in good faith, believe requires 

protections in addition to those provided for documents designated as “Attorney’s Eyes Only.” 

As a result, the parties reserve the right to seek modification of this Order to address any such 

potential issues. To the extent such a modification of this Stipulation and Protective Order is 

requested, the moving party will have the burden of demonstrating “good cause” for any such

protections.

22. If “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” materials are inadvertently disclosed 

to any person other than in the manner authorized by this Order, the person responsible for the 

disclosure must immediately bring all pertinent facts relating to such disclosure to the attention 

of counsel for the producing party and, without prejudice to any other rights and remedies of the 

parties, make every effort to prevent further disclosure by it or by the person who was the 
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recipient of such information.

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Date: March 28, 2018 /s/ Kimberly A. Jolson

KIMBERLY A. JOLSON

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

STIPULATED AND APPROVED:

/s/ Jason H. Beehler

Brendan P. Feheley (0079107)

Jason H. Beehler (0085337)

Kegler Brown Hill + Ritter Co., LPA

65 East State Street, Suite 1800

Columbus, Ohio 43215

Phone: (614) 462-5400

Fax: (614) 464-2634

bfeheley@keglerbrown.com

jbeehler@keglerbrown.com

Attorneys for Defendant

/s/ Robi J. Baishnab, per authorization JHB

Robert E. DeRose (0055214) 

Robi J. Baishnab (0086195)

250 E. Broad St., 10th Floor

Columbus, OH 43215

T: (614) 221-4221

F: (614) 744-2300

bderose@barkanmeizlish.com

rbaishnab@barkanmeizlish.com

Local Counsel for Plaintiff

Chris Burks (pro hac vice pending)

Sean Short (pro hac vice pending) 

Sanford Law Firm, PLLC

One Financial Center

650 S. Shackleford Road, Suite 411

Little Rock, AR 72211

T: (501) 221-0088

F: (888) 787-2040

josh@sandfordlawfirm.com

sean@sandfordlawfirm.com

Attorneys in Charge for Plaintiffs
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EXHIBIT A

CERTIFICATE

I hereby certify that I have read and understand the foregoing Stipulated Confidentiality 

and Protective Order regarding certain documents and information produced in discovery in Case 

No. 2:17-cv-1086, Casarez v. Producers Service Corp. I agree to abide by the terms and 

conditions of that Protective Order. I also understand that any violation of said Protective Order 

by me or anyone acting under my direction may subject me to penalties for contempt of court.

Dated: _____________ ____________________________

Signature

____________________________

Address

____________________________