Sprinturf, Inc. v. Southwest Recreational Industries, Inc.

216 F.R.D. 320, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4707, 2003 WL 21468534
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMarch 10, 2003
DocketNo. 2:01-CV-07158-LP
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 216 F.R.D. 320 (Sprinturf, Inc. v. Southwest Recreational Industries, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sprinturf, Inc. v. Southwest Recreational Industries, Inc., 216 F.R.D. 320, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4707, 2003 WL 21468534 (E.D. Pa. 2003).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM/ORDER

POLLAK, District Judge.

Presently before the court are three separate, unopposed motions by defendants Southwest Recreational Industries (“Southwest”) and Villanova University (“Villanova”) for protective orders pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). Defendants have also submitted with Plaintiffs Sprinturf, Inc. and Hank Julicher (“Julicher”) a document titled “Stipulated Protective Order” (“SPO”) for court approval. For the following reasons, the SPO will be denied, the first motion for a protective order will be granted, and the second and third motions will be denied.

I. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c)

The court may order, upon the demonstration of good cause, that “a trade secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information not be disclosed or be disclosed only in a designated way.” Fed. Rul. Civ. Pro. 26(c)(7). Protective orders of confidentiality cannot be granted arbitrarily. Pansy v. Borough of Stroudsburg, 23 F.3d 772, 785-86 (3d Cir.1994). Rather than “routinely signing] orders which contain confidentiality clauses without considering the propriety of such orders, or the countervailing public interests which are sacrificed by the orders,” courts must carefully scrutinize requests for confidentiality orders. Id. at 785-86. Even unopposed motions must be scrutinized. Software Consulting Partners, Inc. v. Medline Indus., Inc., 1999 WL 252476, at *1,1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5908, at *2 (E.D. Pa. April 26, 1999) (denying unopposed motion for protective order).

In order to receive the benefit of a protection order, the party seeking the order must show that the information sought is a trade secret or other confidential information protected by Rule 26(c)(7), and that good cause exists to prevent the disclosure of this information. Miles v. Boeing Co., 154 F.R.D. 112, 114 (E.D.Pa.1994). Good cause is established by showing that disclosure will inflict a clearly defined and serious injury on the moving party. Publicker Indus., Inc. v. Cohen, 733 F.2d 1059, 1071 (3d Cir.1984). Broad allegations of harm, “unsubstantiated by specific examples or articulated reasoning,” do not meet the requisite level of specificity to show “good cause.” Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., 785 F.2d 1108, 1121 (3d Cir.1986).

In determining whether “good cause” exists, the court “must balance the requesting party’s need for information against the injury that might result if uncontrolled disclosure is compelled.” Pansy, 23 F.3d at 787. The Third Circuit has identified a number of factors that may be considered when conducting this balancing test:

(1) whether disclosure will violate any privacy interests;
[323]*323(2) whether the information is being sought for a legitimate purpose or for an improper purpose;
(3) whether disclosure of the information will cause a party embarrassment;
(4) whether confidentiality is being sought over information important to public health and safety;
(5) whether the sharing of information among litigants will promote fairness and efficiency;
(6) whether a party benefiting from the order of confidentiality is a public entity or official; and
(7) whether the case involves issues important to the public.

Glenmede Trust Co. v. Thompson, 56 F.3d 476, 483 (3d Cir.1995). Once again, the “burden of justifying the confidentiality of each and every document sought to be covered by a protective order remains on the party seeking the order.” Pansy, 23 F.3d at 786-87.

II. Stipulated Order

Protective orders stipulated between the parties are not guaranteed judicial approval. See, e.g., Horgan v. Independence Blue Cross, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1145, at *7 (E.D.Pa. Feb. 3, 2000) (denying judicial approval for stipulated protective order). Stipulated protective orders must still meet the requirements of Rule 26(c), which requires demonstrating the existence of confidential information and good cause as to why such information should not be disclosed.

Under the SPO proposed by the parties in the case at bar, “either party, or any third person subject to subpoena in this action ... may designate [discovery materials] as ‘confidential’ or ‘confidential — attorneys only.’ ” Stipulated Protective Order at f 1. Any party may object in writing to the designation of any material, and, if the dispute cannot be resolved, the “objecting party may invoke this Protective Order by objecting in writing to the party who has designated the document or information as Confidential Information.” Id. at H11. The designating party is then required to move the court for an “order preserving the designated status of such information within fourteen days of receipt of the written objection, or else waive the confidential status of this document permanently.” Id. at 1111. The protective order also articulates who may be shown information designated “confidential,” what limitations exist on disclosure of this information, and the appropriate standard of care that must be used to ensure the confidential nature of the material. Id. at HH 6, 13.

This court will not approve the SPO for several reasons. First, the SPO fails to require the demonstration of good cause prior to a designation of “confidential.” See Syncor Int. Corp. v. Chetan, 2000 WL 133754, at *2, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1020, at *5 (E.D.Pa. Feb. 3, 2000) (no judicial approval for joint protective order failing to consider good cause standard). Second, the order itself does not require parties to show with any specificity what documents will fall within the purview of the order or what precise and well-defined harm will accompany the disclosure of such documents. Id. at *2, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1020, at *5 (no judicial approval for joint protective order failing to state with specificity that disclosure will cause defined injury). Third, due to the sheer breadth of this order, its effectuation could well “result in the expenditure of significantly scarce judicial time and resources by entangling the court in a contempt hearing and other proceedings regarding tangential disputes of the parties, and between parties and third parties.” Behrendt v. Unum Life Insur. Co. of America, 2000 WL 1286382, at *1, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13247, at *1 (E.D.Pa. Sept. 5,2000).

Although the court declines to sign the proposed SPO, the parties may still “stipulate among themselves to whatever confidentiality they reasonably, lawfully, and ethically conclude is appropriate.” Horgan, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1145, at *6.

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216 F.R.D. 320, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4707, 2003 WL 21468534, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sprinturf-inc-v-southwest-recreational-industries-inc-paed-2003.