Deluca v. LG Chem America, Inc

District Court, E.D. Michigan·Decided May 16, 2022·No. 2:21-cv-11241·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION

DENNIS DELUCA, Case No. 2:21-cv-11241-TGB-KGA

Plaintiff, District Judge Terrence G. Berg v. Magistrate Judge Kimberly G. Altman

LG CHEM CO., LTD, a foreign corporation STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER and LG CHEM AMERICA, INC., a Delaware corporation, jointly and severally,

Defendants.

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

Plaintiff Dennis Deluca and Defendant LG Chem, Ltd. (hereinafter the “Parties”) agree to entry of the following protective order to facilitate discovery that may include production or disclosure of confidential and proprietary business, research, development and/or other commercially or personally sensitive information and that the party producing such materials has a protected proprietary and property interest in those materials. The Court, therefore, orders as follows:

CONFIDENTIAL DISCOVERY MATERIALS

1. Scope and Definitions. The terms of this Order as set forth below shall apply to specific documents produced in discovery, specific responses to discovery requests, pertinent deposition testimony and exhibits, and any other materials which may be subject to discovery (hereinafter collectively “Discovery Material”) that is deemed proprietary, confidential, and/or trade secret. In this Stipulated Protective Order, the words set forth below shall have the following meanings: a. “Confidential Discovery Material” means any document, testimony, or other material that has been designated CONFIDENTIAL according to the procedures outlined in Paragraph 2 below, including any deposition testimony for which the Party’s time to designate has not yet expired as set forth in Paragraph 2.b. below, and where the document, testimony or other material has not lost its Confidential status pursuant to Paragraph 8.c. below. b. “Counsel of Record” means counsel of record for the Parties, their respective law firms, and affiliated attorneys, paralegals, clerical, secretarial and other support staff

employed by such counsel. c. “Document” means any writing, original or duplicate, whether in hard copy or electronically maintained, that has been produced in this case. d. “Litigation” means the above-referenced action, Dennis DeLuca v. LG Chem, Ltd. et al., pending in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Case No. 2:21-cv-11241-TGB-KGA. e. “Party” or “Parties” means Plaintiff Dennis DeLuca (“Plaintiff”) and Defendant LG Chem, Ltd. (“LG Chem”), including all of its officers, directors, owners, members, and employees.

2. Form and Timing for Designation of Discovery Materials as CONFIDENTIAL.

a. Confidential Documents shall be so designated by placing or affixing the word “CONFIDENTIAL” on the document in a manner which will not interfere with the legibility of the document and which will permit complete removal of the CONFIDENTIAL designation. The need to review and designate discovery materials as CONFIDENTIAL shall not delay, modify, or abridge the time limits set forth in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Civil Local Rule 79-5 for the production of such documents in response to properly served requests for discovery. b. Confidential Deposition Testimony. Portions of depositions may be designated as CONFIDENTIAL on the record when the deposition is taken, or by written designation served within thirty (30) days after receipt of the official transcript. Such designation shall be specific as to the portions to be protected. All deposition testimony shall be treated as Confidential by all parties until thirty (30) days after receipt of the official transcript, in order to give each Party the opportunity to serve Confidential designations.

c. No waiver by inadvertent or unintentional disclosure of Confidential Documents without Confidential designation. Inadvertent or unintentional production of documents without prior designation as CONFIDENTIAL shall not be deemed a waiver, in whole or in part, of the right to designate documents as CONFIDENTIAL as otherwise allowed by this Order. In the event that any material that is subject to a CONFIDENTIAL designation is inadvertently produced without such designation, the Party that inadvertently produced the document shall give written notice of such inadvertent production within thirty (30) days of discovery of the inadvertent production, together with a further copy of the subject document designated as CONFIDENTIAL.

3. Discovery Materials Which May be Designated Confidential.

a. Any Party may designate documents, testimony, or other discovery material as CONFIDENTIAL but only after review of the documents or testimony by an attorney who has, in good faith, determined that the documents contain information protected from disclosure by statute, sensitive personal information, trade secrets, or confidential research, development, or commercial information. b. For information produced in some form other than paper or electronic image on which a CONFIDENTIAL stamp can be affixed as set forth in Paragraph 2.a., and for any other tangible items, including, without limitation, compact discs or DVDs, the designating Party must affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information or item is stored the term “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only portions of the information or item warrant protection, the designating Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the portions designated CONFIDENTIAL. c. Information or documents which are available in the public sector may not be designated as CONFIDENTIAL. 4. Protection of Confidential Discovery Material.

a. General Protections. Material designated CONFIDENTIAL under this Order shall not be used by the Parties or Counsel of Record for the parties or any other third persons to whom such Discovery Material may be disclosed pursuant to Paragraph 4.d. below, for any purposes whatsoever other than preparing for and conducting the Litigation in which the documents were disclosed. b. Acknowledgment of Understanding and Agreement to Be Bound. The Parties, by and through their Counsel of Record, shall be required to execute an Acknowledgment of Understanding and Agreement to be Bound in the form set forth as Attachment A before disclosure of Confidential Discovery Material may be made to such Party.

c. Additional Parties Joining Lawsuit. If additional parties join this lawsuit, they must not be given access to any Confidential Discovery Material unless they agree to be bound by this protective order. d. Limited Disclosure of Confidential Discovery Materials for Purposes of the Litigation. The Parties and Counsel of Record for the Parties shall not disclose or permit the disclosure of any Confidential Discovery Material under the terms of this Order to any other person or entity except as set forth herein below, and then only after the person to whom disclosure is to be made has executed an Acknowledgement of Understanding and Agreement to be Bound by the terms of this Order (in the form set forth at Attachment “A” hereto), that he or she has read and understands the terms of this Order and is bound by it. For third parties to whom disclosure may be made under subsections (1)-(6) below, the third party’s Acknowledgment form need not be filed with the Court or shared with other Parties, but shall be maintained by Counsel of Record for the Party making the disclosure for the duration of the Litigation. Subject to these requirements, the following categories of persons shall be allowed to review documents which have been designated CONFIDENTIAL pursuant to this Order:

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Deluca v. LG Chem America, Inc, (E.D. Mich. 2022).

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