Waterkeeper Alliance, Inc. v. Alan & Kristin Hudson Farm

278 F.R.D. 136, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130511, 2011 WL 5505393
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedNovember 10, 2011
DocketCivil No. WMN-10-0487
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 278 F.R.D. 136 (Waterkeeper Alliance, Inc. v. Alan & Kristin Hudson Farm) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Waterkeeper Alliance, Inc. v. Alan & Kristin Hudson Farm, 278 F.R.D. 136, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130511, 2011 WL 5505393 (D. Md. 2011).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

PAUL W. GRIMM, United States Magistrate Judge.

This Memorandum and Order addresses Plaintiff Waterkeeper Alliance, Inc.’s Letter Motion Challenging Defendant Alan & Kristin Hudson Farm’s CBI Designations, ECF No. 83; Defendant Hudson Farm’s Response, ECF No. 92; and Plaintiffs Reply, ECF No. 95.1 It also addresses Plaintiffs Letter Motion Challenging Defendant Per-due Farms Inc.’s CBI Designations, ECF No. 85; Defendant Perdue Farms Inc.’s Response, ECF No. 94; Plaintiffs Reply, ECF No. 96; Defendant Perdue Farms Inc.’s Sur-reply, ECF No. 97; and Plaintiffs Response, ECF No. 98. I find that a hearing is unnecessary in this case. See Loe. R. 105.6. For the reasons stated herein, those confidential business information (“CBI”) designations that are the subject of Plaintiffs present motions, on which the parties have not otherwise reached agreement, and which either party intends to use, in good faith, as evidence in filing or responding to [138]*138motions for summary judgment under Fed. R.Civ.P. 56 or as exhibits during hearings or trial are REMOVED. Accordingly, when attached as exhibits to motions for or oppositions to summary judgment or used as exhibits in a hearing or at trial, the challenged documents, now de-designated, need not be filed under seal. Similarly, the motions themselves, containing reference to the de-designated documents, need not be filed under seal. This Memorandum and Order disposes of ECF Nos. 83, 85, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97 and 98.

1. BACKGROUND

The present dispute in this Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., case originates from Plaintiffs challenges to various confidentiality designations made by each Defendant during discovery pursuant to the Stipulated Protective Order agreed to by the parties, ECF No. 41, and approved by Judge Nickerson, ECF No. 42. The Order provides guidance with regards to the procedures for designating documents as CBI and for challenging CBI designations made by the opposing party. Under the Order, “confidential business information” is defined as “nonpublic information ... or tangible things whose disclosure the producing party reasonably believes may harm the competitiveness of its business,” and may include trade secrets, as defined under the Economic Espionage Act of 1996, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1831-1839. Stipulated Protective Order § 2.3. The designation of material as CBI must be done with “care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards.” Id. § 5.1. The Order strictly prohibits “[m]ass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations.” Id.

With regards to challenging CBI designations, the Protective Order establishes three guidelines. First, “[ujnless a prompt challenge ... is necessary to avoid foreseeable substantial unfairness, unnecessary economic burdens, or a later significant disruption or delay of the litigation,” a failure to challenge another party’s CBI designations promptly does not constitute a waiver of the right to do so.2 Id. § 6.1. Second, should a party wish to challenge a CBI designation, it “must do so in good faith and must begin the process by conferring directly with [opposing] counsel.” Id. § 6.2. Court intervention is permissible only where the Order’s meet and confer procedures have been followed. Id. Third, after attempting to resolve the dispute by meeting and conferring, a party “may file and serve a motion that identifies the challenged material and sets forth in detail the basis for the challenge.” Id. § 6.3. The burden of establishing the need for the confidentiality designation rests on the designating party. See id.

In its motion to remove Defendant Hudson Farm’s CBI designations, Plaintiff, having unsuccessfully attempted to resolve the present dispute by meeting and conferring with Defense Counsel, argues that some of Hudson Farms’ CBI designations are inappropriate because the documents are publicly available either through “a Public Information Act (‘PIA’) request to the Maryland Department of the Environment (‘MDE’),” or because federal and Maryland state law require the MDE to make certain materials related to the National Pollutant Discharge Eliminate System (“NPDES”) permitting process “available for public inspection and comment.” See Pl.’s Mot. to Remove Def. Hudson Farm’s CBI Designations (“Pl.’s Mot. to Remove HF Design.”) 1-2 (citing 33 U.S.C. § 1342©; Md.Code Ann., Envir. § 9-324). [139]*139Moreover, Plaintiff insists, Hudson Farms has failed to establish with specificity that disclosure of the documents will result in identifiable harm to the competitiveness its business. See id. at 4-6.

Defendant Hudson Farms agrees to remove the CBI designations for all documents that Plaintiff was able to obtain through a PIA request to the MDE. Def. HF’s Resp. 1. Hudson Farms argues that the remaining documents are properly designated CBI in light of provisions in Maryland statutory and regulatory law that require the Maryland Department of Agriculture (“MDA”) to maintain certain documents “ ‘in a manner that protects the identity of the individual for whom the [document] was prepared.’” Id. at 2 (quoting Md.Code Ann., Agric. § 8-801.1(b)(2)) (citing COMAR § 15.20.07.06.-A(3); Md. Farm Bur. v. Md. Dep’t of Agric., No. C08-134331 (Cir.Ct. Anne Arundel Cnty., Feb. 10, 2009)). In its reply, Plaintiff argues that Hudson Farm’s legal authority is inapplicable, as the cited statute “is specific to the Maryland Department of Agriculture,” and Plaintiffs argument relates to the availability of documents from the Maryland Department of the Environment. PL’s Reply to HF 1-2. Moreover, Plaintiff maintains, Hudson Farms “continues to evade its burden to establish that release of the documents ... may harm the competitiveness of its business.” Id. at 2.

In its motion to remove Perdue’s CBI designations, Plaintiff contends that, despite efforts to resolve the dispute by meeting and conferring, Perdue has failed to establish that the designated documents satisfy the definition of CBI announced in the parties’ Stipulated Protective Order, as many of the documents are publicly available. See PL’s Mot. to Remove Def. Perdue’s CBI Designations (“PL’s Mot. to Remove Perdue Design.”) 1-3. Additionally, Plaintiff argues that Perdue has failed to demonstrate with specificity its reasonable belief that disclosure would harm the competitiveness of Per-due’s business. See id. at 7-11.

In its Response, Perdue agrees, after redacting certain information, to remove the CBI designations from four groups of disputed documents. Def. Perdue’s Resp. 1. As to all other documents, Perdue states that it “produced documents in reliance on the terms of the stipulated protective order and is entitled, therefore, to the protections afforded by that order.” Id. at 2.

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278 F.R.D. 136, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130511, 2011 WL 5505393, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/waterkeeper-alliance-inc-v-alan-kristin-hudson-farm-mdd-2011.