Page 1 of 11

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT

COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN

DISTRICT OF OHIO WESTERN

DIVISION

The parties to this Stipulated Protective Order have agreed to the terms of this

Order; accordingly, it is ordered:

1. Scope. All documents produced in the course of discovery, including all responses to

discovery requests, all deposition testimony and exhibits, other material that may be subject

to restrictions on disclosure for good cause and information derived directly therefrom

(collectively “documents”), shall be subject to this Order concerning confidential

information asset forth below. The Order is subject to federal and state public-records laws,

and to the Local Rules for the United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, and

the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on matters of procedure and calculation of time

periods.

2. Form and timing of designation. A party may designate documents as confidential

and restricted in disclosure under this Order by placing the words “CONFIDENTIAL—

SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” on the document in a manner that will not interfere

Joseph Cotterman,

Plaintiff,

vs.

Shelby County, et al.,

Defendants.

Case No. 3:18-cv-00177

Judge Walter H. Rice

Magistrate Judge Michael J. Newman

STIPULATED PROTECTIVEORDER
Page 2 of 11

with the legibility of the document and that will permit complete removal of the

CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER designation. Ordinarily,

documents should be designated CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE

ORDER before or at the time of production or disclosure of the documents. The parties,

however, may agree to retroactive designations of documents already produced (e.g., in a

party’s initial disclosures), and any party may retroactively designate any document(s) otherwise

eligible for the designation. The designation “CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO

PROTECTIVE ORDER” does not mean that the document has any status or protection by

statute or otherwise except to the extent and for the purposes of this Order. It does not, for

example, exempt any document from the coverage of any state or federal public-records law.

3. DocumentsthatmaybedesignatedCONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECTTO

PROTECTIVE ORDER. Any party may designate documents as CONFIDENTIAL—

SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER upon making, or if able to make, a good-faith

determination that the documents contain information protected from disclosure by statute or

that should be protected from disclosure as confidential personal information, medical or

psychiatric information, trade secrets, personnel records, or such other sensitive commercial

information that is not publicly available. Public records that are publicly available may not be

designated as CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER.

4. Depositions. Deposition testimony shall be deemed CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT

TO PROTECTIVE ORDER only if designated as such. Such designation shall be specific as

to the portions of the transcript or any exhibit to be designated as CONFIDENTIAL—

SUBJECT

TO PROTECTIVE ORDER. Thereafter, the deposition transcripts and any portions so

designated shall be protected as CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE
Page 3 of 11

ORDER, pending objection, under the terms of this Order.

5. Protection of confidential material.

a. General protections. Documents designated CONFIDENTIAL—

SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER under this Order shall not be used

or disclosed by the parties, counsel for the parties, or any other persons

identified in

¶5(b) for any purpose whatsoever other than to prepare for and to conduct

discovery and trial in this action, including any appeal(s).

b. Limited third-party disclosures. The parties and counsel for the parties

shall not disclose or permit the disclosure of any CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT

TO PROTECTIVE ORDER documents to any third person or entity except as

set forth in subparagraphs(i)-(v). Subject to these requirements, the following

categories of persons may be allowed to review documents that have been

designated CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER:

i. Counsel. Counsel for the parties and employees and agents of

counsel who have responsibility for the preparation and trial of the action;

ii. Parties. Parties to this action and employees of a party who

are assisting in the preparation and trial of this action;

iii.Court reporters and recorders. Court reporters and

recorders engaged for depositions;

iv. Consultants, investigators, and experts. Consultants,

investigators, and experts(collectively “experts”) employed by the parties

or counsel for the parties to assist in the preparation and trial of this action,

but only after such persons have completed the certification contained in
Page 4 of 11

Attachment A (Acknowledgement of Understanding and Agreement to be

Bound); and

v. Others by consent. Other persons only by written consent of the

producing party or upon order of the Court and on such conditions as may

be agreed or ordered. All such persons shall execute the certification

contained in Attachment A (Acknowledgement of Understanding and

Agreement to be Bound).

c. Control of documents. Counsel for the parties shall take reasonable and

appropriate measures to prevent unauthorized disclosure of documents designated

as CONFIDENTIAL under the terms of this Order. Counsel shall maintain the

originals of the forms signed by persons acknowledging their obligations under this

Order for a period of one year after dismissal of the action, the entry of final

judgment, and/or the conclusion of any appeal(s).

d. Copies. Before production to another party, all copies, electronic images,

duplicated, extracts,summaries, or descriptions(collectively “copies”) of

documents designated as CONFIDENTIAL under this Order, or any individual

portion of such a document, shall be affixed with the designation

“CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” if the word

does not already appear on the copy. All such copies so marked shall be entitled to

the protection of this Order. The term “copies” shall not include indices, electronic

databases, or lists of documents provided these indices, databases, or lists do not

contain substantial portions orimages of the text of confidential

documents or otherwise disclose the substance of the confidential information
Page 5 of 11

contained in those documents.

e. Inadvertent production. Inadvertent production of any document or

information without a designation of “CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO

PROTECTIVE ORDER” shall be governed by Fed. R. Evid. 502. Inadvertent

production of any privileged document or information will not operate as a waiver

of any applicable privilege or work-product protection.

i. Upon written notice of an unintentional production by the producing

party or oral notice if notice must be delivered at a deposition, the receiving party

must promptly return or destroy the specified document and any hard copies the

receiving party has and may not use or disclose the information until the privilege

claim has been resolved. To the extent that the producing party insists on the return

or destruction of electronic copies, rather than disabling the documents from

further use or otherwise rendering them inaccessible to the receiving party, the

producing party shall bear the costs of the return or destruction of such electronic

copies.

ii. To the extent that the information contained in a document subject to

a claim has already been used in or described in other documents generated or

maintained by the receiving party, then the receiving party will sequester such

documents until the claim has been resolved. If the receiving party disclosed the

specified information before being notified of its unintentional production, it must

take reasonable steps to retrieve it. The producing party shall preserve the specified

information until the claim is resolved.
Page 6 of 11

iii.The receiving party shall have 10 days from receipt of notification of

the unintentional production to determine in good faith whether to contest such

claim and to notify the producing party in writing of an objection to the claim of

privilege and the grounds for that objection.

iv. The producing party will then have 10 days from the receipt of

the

objection notice to submit the specified information to the Court under seal for

a determination of the claim and will provide the Court with the grounds for

the asserted privilege or protection. Any party may request expedited treatment

of any request for the Court's determination of the claim.

v. Upon a determination by the Court that the specified information

is

protected by the applicable privilege, and if the specified information has

been sequestered rather than returned or destroyed, the specified information

shall be returned or destroyed.

vi. Upon a determination by the Court that the specified information is

not

protected by the applicable privilege, the producing party shall bear the costs

of placing the information into any programs or databases from which it was

removed or destroyed and render accessible any documents that were disabled

or rendered inaccessible, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.

6. Filing of CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECTTO PROTECTIVEORDER

documents under seal. Per authority of Procter & Gamble Co. v. Bankers Trust Co., 78 F.3d 

219 (6th Cir. 1996) and Shane Group, Inc. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mich., 825 F.3d 299 (6th 

Cir. 2016), no document may be filed with the Court under seal without prior permission 
Page 7 of 11

from the Court as to each document, upon motion and upon demonstrating “why the 

interests in support of nondisclosure are compelling, why the interests supporting access 

are less so, and why the seal [requested] is no broader than necessary[.]” Shane Group, 825 

F.3d at 306. Parties granted leave to file material under seal, or parties seeking an in 

camera inspection of materials by the Court, shall comply with all applicable provisions of 

the Southern District of Ohio Local Rules. This Stipulated Protective Order does not, in 

and of itself, authorize filing any materials under seal and any provisions in this Stipulated 

Protective Order to the contrary are hereby stricken. Parties intending to file any 

information designated as Confidential under this Order shall confer with all counsel 

sufficiently in advance of filing so as not to delay any deadlines set by the Court.

7. Challenges by a party to a designation as confidential. Any

CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER designation is subject to

challenge by any party or non-party with standing to object (“party”). Before filing any motions

or objections to a confidentiality designation with the Court, the objecting party shall have an

obligation to meet and confer in a good-faith effort to resolve the objection by agreement. If

agreement is reached confirming or waiving the CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO

PROTECTIVE ORDER designation as to any documents subject to the objection, the

designating party shall serve on all parties a notice specifying the documents and the nature of

the agreement.

8. Action by the Court. Applications to the Court for an order relating to any documents

designated CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER shall be by

motion under Local Rule 7.2. Nothing in this Order or any action or agreement of a party

under this Order limits the Court’s power to make any orders that may be appropriate

regarding the use and disclosure of any documents produced or used in discovery or at trial.
Page 8 of 11

9. Use of confidential documents or information at trial. All trials are open to the

public. Absent order of the Court, there will be no restrictions on the use of any document that

may be introduced by any party during the trial. If a party intends to present at trial

CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER documents or information

derived from such documents, such party shall provide advance notice to the other party at least

five days before trial begins by identifying the documents or information at issue as specifically

as possible (i.e., by Bates number, page range, deposition transcript lines, etc.) without divulging

the actual CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER documents or

information. The Court may then make such orders as are necessary to govern the use of such

documents or information at trial.

10. Obligations on conclusion of litigation.

a. Order remains in effect. Unless otherwise agreed or ordered, this Order

shall remain in force after dismissal or entry of final judgment not subject to further

appeal.

b. Return of CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TOPROTECTIVE ORDER

documents. Within 30 days after dismissal or entry of final judgment not subject to

further appeal, all documents treated as CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO

PROTECTIVE ORDER under this Order, including copies as defined in ¶5(d), shall

be returned to the producing party unless: (1) the document has been offered into

evidence or filed without restriction as to the disclosure; (2) the parties agree to

destruction in lieu of return; or (3) as to documents bearing the notations, summations,

or other mental impressions of the receiving party, that party elects to destroy the

documents and certified to the producing party that it has done so. Notwithstanding

the above requirements to return or destroy documents, counsel may retain attorney
Page 9 of 11

work product, including an index that refers or relates to information designation

CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER, so long as that work

product does not duplicate verbatim substantial portions of the text orimages of

confidential documents. This work product shall continue to be CONFIDENTIAL—

SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER under this Order. An attorney may use his or

her work product in a subsequent litigation provided that its use does not disclose or

use CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER documents.

c. Return of documents filed under seal. After dismissal or entry of final

judgment not subject to further appeal, the Clerk may elect to return to counsel for the

parties or, after notice, destroy documents filed or offered at trial under seal or

otherwise restricted by the Court as to disclosure.

11. Order subject to modification. This Order shall be subject to modification by the

Court on its own motion or on motion of a party or any other person with standing

concerning the subject matter.

12. No prior judicial determination. This Order is entered based on the

representations and agreements of the parties and for the purpose of facilitating discovery.

Nothing in this Order shall be construed or presented as a judicial determination that any

documents or information designated CONFIDENTIAL—SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE

ORDER by counsel or the parties is subject to protection until such time as the Court may rule

on a specific document or issue.

13. Persons bound. This Order shall take effect when entered and shall be binding upon

all counsel and their law firms, the parties, and persons made subject to this Order by its terms.

14. Court retains jurisdiction. The Court shall maintain jurisdiction to enforce this

Stipulated Protective Order even following the final termination of this action. All persons
Page 10 of 11

receiving or given access to confidential materials in accordance with the terms of this

Stipulated Protective Order consent to such continuing jurisdiction forthe purposes of

enforcing this Stipulated Protective Order and remedying any violations thereof.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Date: February 4, 2019 s/ Michael J. Newman

Michael J. Newman

United States Magistrate Judge