IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

Civil Action No. 11-cv-2660-MSK-MEH 

______________________________________________________________________

Athena Nick,

Plaintiff,

v.

INTECON, LLC, 

Defendant. 

PROTECTIVE ORDER

Upon a showing of good cause in support of the entry of a protective order to

protect the discovery and dissemination of confidential information or information which

will improperly annoy, embarrass, or oppress any party, witness, or person providing

discovery in this case, IT IS ORDERED:

1. This Protective Order shall apply to all documents, materials, and

information, including without limitation, documents produced, answers to

interrogatories, responses to requests for admission, deposition testimony, and other

information disclosed pursuant to the disclosure or discovery duties created by the

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

2. As used in this Protective Order, “document” is defined as provided in

Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(a). A draft or non-identical copy is a separate document within the

meaning of this term.

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3. Information designated “CONFIDENTIAL” shall be information that is

confidential and implicates common law and statutory privacy interests of any of the

parties to this action. CONFIDENTIAL information shall not be disclosed or used for

any purpose except the preparation and trial of this case.

4. CONFIDENTIAL documents, materials, and/or information (collectively 

“CONFIDENTIAL information”) shall not, without the consent of the party producing it or

further Order of the Court, be disclosed except that such information may be disclosed

to: 

(a) attorneys actively working on or supervising the work on this case; 

(b) persons regularly employed or associated with the attorneys actively working

on the case whose assistance is required by said attorneys in the preparation for trial,

at trial, or at other proceedings in this case; 

(c) the parties, including designated representatives, insurers and agency

counsel for the entity defendants; 

(d) expert witnesses and consultants retained in connection with this proceeding,

to the extent such disclosure is necessary for preparation, trial or other proceedings in

this case; 

(e) the Court and its employees (“Court Personnel”); 

(f) stenographic reporters who are engaged in proceedings necessarily incident

to the conduct of this action; 

(g) deponents, witnesses, or potential witnesses; and 

(h) other persons by written agreement of the parties.

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 5. Prior to disclosing any CONFIDENTIAL information to any person listed

above (other than counsel, persons employed by counsel, Court Personnel and

stenographic reporters), counsel shall provide such person with a copy of this Protective

Order and obtain from such person a written acknowledgment stating that he or she has

read this Protective Order and agrees to be bound by its provisions. All such

acknowledgments shall be retained by counsel and shall be subject to in camera review

by the Court if good cause for review is demonstrated by opposing counsel.

 6. Documents are designated as CONFIDENTIAL by placing or affixing on

them (in a manner that will not interfere with their legibility) the following or other

appropriate notice: “CONFIDENTIAL.” To the extent that a party obtains records

pursuant to a subpoena or records release, any party may inform the requesting party

that it is seeking confidential treatment of the responsive documents and such

documents will be treated as if marked “CONFIDENTIAL.” 

7. Whenever a deposition involves the disclosure of CONFIDENTIAL

information, the deposition or portions thereof shall be designated as CONFIDENTIAL

and shall be subject to the provisions of this Protective Order. Such designation shall

be made on the record during the deposition whenever possible, but a party may

designate portions of depositions as CONFIDENTIAL after transcription, provided

written notice of the designation is promptly given to all counsel of record within thirty

(30) days after notice by the court reporter of the completion of the transcript.

8. A party may object to the designation of particular CONFIDENTIAL

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

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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 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.

9. At the conclusion of this case, including all appeals, unless other

arrangements are agreed upon, each document and all copies thereof which have been

designated as CONFIDENTIAL shall be returned to the party that designated it

CONFIDENTIAL, or the parties may elect to destroy CONFIDENTIAL documents. 

Where the parties agree to destroy CONFIDENTIAL documents, the destroying party

shall provide all parties with an affidavit confirming the destruction.

10. This Protective Order may be modified by the Court at any time for good

cause shown following notice to all parties and an opportunity for them to be heard.

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DATED this 13th day of February, 2012, in Denver, Colorado.

BY THE COURT:

 

 

Michael E. Hegarty 

United States Magistrate Judge

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