1 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

 FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

Civil Case No. 1:11-cv-02097-REB-KMT

M. GABRIEL MCFARLAND, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

TRANS UNION et al. 

Defendants. 

______________________________________________________________________________

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

______________________________________________________________________________ 

1. Plaintiff M. Gabriel McFarland has filed this lawsuit (the “Litigation”) against 

Defendants Trans Union LLC, Equifax, and Experian, (“Defendants”), alleging that 

Defendants are liable to Plaintiff for damages resulting from alleged violations of the Fair 

Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. and other laws. In connection with the 

Litigation, Plaintiff may seek discovery or testimony regarding certain of Defendants’ 

confidential and proprietary trade secrets and other business information and 

Defendants may seek discovery or testimony regarding the personal identifying 

information of Plaintiff (herein after collectively referred to as the “Confidential 

Information”). All Confidential Information shall only be utilized by the Parties in 

connection with the Litigation and in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Order. 

2. The Parties shall have the right, in good faith, to designate as Confidential 

Information any part or the whole of any answers to discovery, answers to 

interrogatories, answers to requests for admission, deposition transcripts, responses to 

Case 1:11-cv-02097-REB-KMT Document 34 Filed 12/13/11 USDC Colorado Page 1 of 8
2 

production requests, documents, expert reports, disclosures, exhibits, trial or deposition 

testimony or other information that the Parties deem to be confidential. Any document, 

discovery, testimony, or other information that the Parties have designated as 

Confidential Information shall constitute Confidential Information, both in form and 

substance. Counsel for a producing party will review the information to be disclosed and 

designate the information it believes, in good faith, is confidential or otherwise entitled to 

protection. 

3. The Confidential Information provided by any of the Parties shall be used 

strictly in accordance with the terms in this Order. At no time shall the Confidential 

Information be disclosed to or used by any person, corporation, or entity in competition 

with or against any of the Parties. 

4. The Parties may designate any document, discovery, or other information 

as Confidential Information by an appropriate marking that prominently displays the 

words “Confidential” or “Confidential Information.” Deposition or trial testimony can be 

designated by the Parties as Confidential Information. Such designation will be made on 

the record if possible, but the Parties can designate portions of such testimony as 

Confidential Information by providing written notice of such designation to the opposing 

Parties within thirty (30) days of receipt of the transcribed testimony by counsel. Until 

thirty (30) days after receipt of the transcribed testimony, such testimony shall be treated 

by the Parties as Confidential Information. Counsel for deposed party will review the 

information to be disclosed and designate the information it believes, in good faith, is 

confidential or otherwise entitled to protection. 

Case 1:11-cv-02097-REB-KMT Document 34 Filed 12/13/11 USDC Colorado Page 2 of 8
3 

5. In the event a Party disagrees with the designation of Confidential 

Information, the Parties shall first try to resolve the disagreement in good faith on an 

informal basis, such as by producing redacted copies. In the event such a dispute cannot 

be resolved by agreement, a Party may ask the Court to resolve the dispute upon an 

appropriate motion. The Confidential Information designation shall be maintained as 

confidential pending disposition of such a motion. 

6. A party may object to the designation of particular Confidential Information 

by giving written notice to the party designating the disputed information. The written 

notice shall identify the information to which the objection is made. If the parties cannot 

resolve the objection within ten (10) business days after the time the notice is received, it 

shall be the obligation of the party designating the information as confidential to file an 

appropriate motion requesting that the court determine whether the disputed information 

should be subject to the terms of this Protective Order. If such a motion is timely filed, 

the disputed information shall be treated as confidential under the terms of this 

Protective Order until the Court rules on the motion. If the designating party fails to file 

such a motion within the prescribed time, the disputed information shall lose its 

designation as confidential and shall not thereafter be treated as Confidential Information 

in accordance with this Protective Order. In connection with a motion filed under this 

provision, the party designating the information as confidential shall bear the burden of 

establishing that good cause exists for the disputed information to be treated as 

confidential. 

Case 1:11-cv-02097-REB-KMT Document 34 Filed 12/13/11 USDC Colorado Page 3 of 8
4 

7. The Parties, their attorneys, or anyone else acting on their behalf shall take 

such precautions with the Confidential Information as are necessary to strictly maintain 

its confidentiality and comply with the terms of this Order. 

8. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, or agreed to in writing by the 

Parties, information designated by any of the Parties as Confidential Information shall not 

be revealed to any person or entity except: (a) Plaintiff and Defendants; (b) Plaintiff’s and 

Defendants’ attorneys; (c) experts or consultants retained by Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s 

attorneys, Defendants, and Defendants’ attorneys in preparation for and/or trial of this 

action. Before any Confidential Information is disclosed to an expert or consultant, the 

expert or consultant must first be provided with a copy of this Order and sign a statement 

in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A agreeing to the bound by the terms of this Order. 

9. In the event any Party intends to file Confidential Information with the 

Court, it shall file the Confidential Information under seal pursuant to the requirements of 

Court for filing documents under seal. 

10. This Order shall govern pretrial proceedings only, and nothing set forth 

herein prohibits the use at trial of any Confidential Information or affects the admissibility 

of any evidence. The procedures to govern the use and disclosure of Confidential 

Information and the redaction of any “Confidential” or “Confidential Information” 

designation may be the subject of further agreement of the Parties or order of the Court. 

11. Nothing herein shall be construed as limiting a Party’s use of its own 

Confidential Information and such use shall not constitute a waiver of the terms of this 

Order or the status of such information as Confidential Information. Any of the Parties 

Case 1:11-cv-02097-REB-KMT Document 34 Filed 12/13/11 USDC Colorado Page 4 of 8
5 

can remove their designation of Confidential Information from any information it has 

previously so designated. 

12. The Parties cannot use or disclose any Confidential Information in any 

pretrial court proceeding that is open to persons not authorized to have access to such 

Confidential Information under the terms of this Order. This provision does not limit the 

right of any of the Parties to submit any Confidential Information to the Court under seal 

as described above. 

13. Within sixty (60) days after the final resolution of the Litigation, including 

any appellate proceeding, the Parties agree to return to opposing counsel the original 

and any copies of any Confidential Information Produced. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated this 13th day of December, 2011. 

 BY THE COURT: 

___________________________ 

 United States Magistrate Judge 

 /s/ M. Gabriel McFarland 

M. GABRIEL MCFARLAND

EVANS & MCFARLAND, LLC 

910 13TH ST., SUITE 200 

GOLDEN, COLORADO 80401 

Case 1:11-cv-02097-REB-KMT Document 34 Filed 12/13/11 USDC Colorado Page 5 of 8
6 

TEL 303.279.8300 

FAX 303 277 1620 

PRO SE PLAINTIFF

 _/s Rana Nader____________________

Rana Nader, Esq. 

JONES DAY 

3161 Michelson Drive, Suite 800 

Irvine, California 92612 

Direct Tel: (949) 553-7561 

Facsimile: (949) 553-7539 

rnader@jonesday.com 

AND 

ROBYN BERGER AVERBACH 

CAMPBELL, LATIOLAIS & RUEBEL, P.C. 

825 Logan Street 

Denver, CO 80203-3114 

303-861-7760 

303-861-7767 (Fax) 

rba@clr-law.com 

COUNSEL FOR EXPERIAN

 /s/ Paul W. Sheldon 

Paul W. Sheldon 

Strasburger & Price, LLP 

2801 Network Boulevard, Suite 600 

Frisco, TX 75034 

469.287.3955 

Fax 469.227.6574 

 Paul.Sheldon@strasburger.com 

COUNSEL FOR TRANS UNION 

Case 1:11-cv-02097-REB-KMT Document 34 Filed 12/13/11 USDC Colorado Page 6 of 8
7 

 

 EXHIBIT A 

The undersigned has read and understand the terms of the Protective Order 

effective in this case, McFarland v. Trans Union et al. Civil Action No. 1:11-cv-02097-

REB-KMT which is currently pending in the United States District Court for the District of 

Colorado. The undersigned agrees (i) to abide by the terms of the 

Protective/Confidentiality Order; (ii) not to use or divulge, under penalty of law, any 

documents, materials or other information covered by the Protective/Confidentiality 

Order, including Confidential Information, except as permitted by the terms of the Agreed 

Protective/Confidentiality Order; and (iii) to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States 

District Court for the District of Colorado for resolution of any issues arising under the 

Protective/Confidentiality Order. 

Dated: _______________________ Signed:_________________________ 

 Printed: _________________________ 

Case 1:11-cv-02097-REB-KMT Document 34 Filed 12/13/11 USDC Colorado Page 7 of 8
8 

IRI-30088v2 

Case 1:11-cv-02097-REB-KMT Document 34 Filed 12/13/11 USDC Colorado Page 8 of 8