CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVERKEEPER INC v. ASPIRE AT OLD GUARD LLC et al

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
COLUMBUS DIVISION
CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVERKEEPER, INC.,
Plaintiff,
v.
ASPIRE AT OLD GUARD, LLC; SCORUSA, LLC;
and STEVEN W. CORBETT,
Defendants.
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Civil Action File No.
4:26-cv-00855-CDL
PROTECTIVE ORDER REGARDING
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
WHEREAS, Defendants have been requested to produce documents with
financial information that is confidential;
WHEREAS, the parties, by and through counsel, have stipulated and agreed
that the following stipulation and protective order regarding confidential
information (the “Stipulation and Order”) shall govern the handling of documents,
depositions, deposition exhibits, and any other information produced, given, or
exchanged by and among the parties to the above-captioned actions (the
“Litigation”) in connection with discovery in the Litigation (such information or
material hereinafter referred to as “Discovery Material”).
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WHEREAS, any person or entity who produces any Discovery Material, and
any person or entity who generated or has rights in any Discovery Material, shall
be referred to herein as a “Producing Party.”
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure, that:
1. Any Producing Party may designate any Discovery Material as
“Confidential” under the terms of this Stipulation and Order if such party in good
faith believes that such Discovery Material contains non-public, confidential,
proprietary, or commercially sensitive information that requires the protections
provided in this Stipulation and Order (“Confidential Discovery Material”). For
purposes of this Stipulation and Order, information considered to be Confidential
Discovery Material includes all non-public materials containing information
related to: trade secrets; proprietary business information including but not limited
to studies or analyses by internal or outside experts; financial data (e.g., cost,
pricing, profit, loss and direct and indirect rate data); tax data; financial or business
plans or projections; financial results or data; or other commercially or personally
sensitive or proprietary information.
2. Any Producing Party may also apply to the Court for an order to
supplement the foregoing categories of Confidential Discovery Material or to
designate particular documents not within the foregoing categories as Confidential
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Discovery Material. The designation by any Producing Party of any Discovery
Material as “Confidential” shall constitute a representation that such Discovery
Material has been reviewed by an attorney for the designating party and that there
is a valid basis for such designation.
3. Discovery Material, or information derived therefrom, shall be used
solely for the purposes of the Litigation and shall not be used for any other
purpose, including, without limitation, any business, proprietary, or commercial
purpose.
4. The designation of Discovery Material as “Confidential” for purposes
of this Stipulation and Order shall be made in the following manner by any
Producing Party:
a. in the case of documents, by counsel for the Producing Party
providing notice in writing that the documents or electronic materials being
produced are being designated as “Confidential” or by affixing the legend
“Confidential” to each page containing any Confidential Discovery Material,
except that in the case of multi-page documents bound together by staple or other
permanent binding, the word “Confidential” need only be stamped on the first page
of the document in order for the entire document to be treated as Confidential
Discovery Material
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b. in the case of exhibits, briefs, memoranda, or other materials
(apart from depositions or other pretrial testimony): by affixing the legend
“Confidential” to each page containing any Confidential Discovery Material,
except that in the case of multi-page documents bound together by staple or other
permanent binding, the word “Confidential” need only be stamped on the first page
of the document in order for the entire document to be treated as Confidential
Discovery Material; and
c. in the case of depositions or other pretrial testimony: (i) by a
statement on the record, by counsel for the Producing Party, at the time of or
immediately following such disclosure; or (ii) by written notice, sent by such
counsel to all parties within thirty (30) business days after receiving a copy of the
transcript thereof; and in both of the foregoing instances, by directing the court
reporter that the appropriate confidential legend be affixed to the first page and all
portions of the original and all copies of the transcript containing any Confidential
Discovery Material. All depositions shall be treated in their entirety as
Confidential for a period of thirty (30) business days after receipt of the transcript.
The parties may modify this procedure for any particular deposition, through
agreement on the record at such deposition, without further order of the Court.
5. Discovery Material designated “Confidential” may be disclosed,
summarized, described, characterized, or otherwise communicated or made
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available in whole or in part only to the following persons, subject to the
limitations and requirements of paragraph 6:
a. counsel for parties that have appeared in the Litigation, and
employees of such counsel necessary to assist in the conduct of the Litigation for
use in accordance with this Stipulation and Order;
b. experts or consultants and their employees and clerical
assistants, retained by any party for the purpose of testifying or rendering
assistance or providing opinions in the Litigation;
c. witnesses or deponents and their counsel, during the course of
or, to the extent necessary, in preparation for depositions or testimony in the
Litigation;
d. the parties;
e. any director, officer, or employee of a party or its parent,
subsidiary, or related company who is requested by that party or its attorneys to
work on the Litigation, and any professional employee of any person providing
professional advice to any of the parties;
f. the Court and its employees and staff and supporting personnel,
including, but not limited to, law clerks, jurors, and alternative jurors, pursuant to
paragraph 7 of this Stipulation and Order;
g. court reporters employed in connection with this Litigation;
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h. any other person only upon order of the Court or upon written
stipulation of the Producing Party.
6. Confidential Discovery Material may be provided to persons listed in
paragraph 5 above only as necessary for this litigation, and only after the person to
whom disclosure is made has been informed of this Stipulation and Order and
signs a commitment, in the form attached as Exhibit A hereto, agreeing in writing
to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Stipulation and Order, consenting
to the jurisdiction of the Court for purposes of the enforcement of this Stipulation
and Order, and agreeing not to disclose or use any Confidential Discovery Material
for purposes other than those permitted hereunder. Such commitments shall be
retained in the files of the counsel disclosing the Confidential Discovery Material.
7. All filings shall be a matter of public record and shall be sealed from
public disclosure only in limited circumstances by order of the Court. The
designation of material as Confidential Discovery Material under this Stipulation
and Order does not, by itself, entitle any party to have that material filed under
seal. If a party plans to use Confidential Discovery Material in conjunction with a
motion, hearing, or trial, the following process applies:
a. The party planning to use Confidential Discovery Material shall
notify the party who designated it, in writing and identifying the specific material,
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at least fourteen (14) days before the motion, opposition, hearing, or pretrial
conference.
b. Within seven (7) days after receiving the notice, the designating
party shall either consent to public disclosure of the material or file a motion to
seal demonstrating a compelling reason why the material should be filed under
seal. A designating party that plans to make a filing relying on its own Confidential
Discovery Material that it wishes to file under seal shall file its motion to seal at
least seven (7) days before that filing.
c. Any response to a motion to seal shall be filed within seven (7)
days after the motion to seal is filed.
d. Any motion to seal must be filed on the public docket. Briefs in
support of or in opposition to the motion to seal, along with exhibits thereto, may
be filed with restricted access so that they are accessible only by the Court and the
opposing party, and the parties must contemporaneously file redacted versions of
the briefs on the public docket.
e. Until the Court has ruled on the motion to seal, a party filing a
document that includes the Confidential Discovery Material at issue shall file the
document with restricted access so that it is accessible only by the Court and the
opposing party and shall simultaneously file on the public docket a copy that
redacts the Confidential Discovery Material. The restricted access version shall
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highlight in yellow the portions that are redacted from the publicly filed version. If
the motion to seal is denied, the Court will direct the Clerk to un-restrict the
restricted filing.
8. This Stipulation and Order has no effect upon, and shall not apply to,
the Producing Parties’ use of their own Confidential Discovery Material, except as
provided in paragraph 7(b).
9. Failure to designate any information as Confidential Discovery
Material pursuant to this Stipulation and Order shall not constitute a waiver of any
otherwise valid claim for protection, so long as such claim is asserted before the
start of trial in this action. At such time, arrangements shall be made for the return
to the Producing Party of all copies of documents inadvertently not designated as
Confidential and the substitution, where appropriate, of properly labeled copies.
Disclosure of Confidential Discovery Material prior to later designation as
provided in this paragraph 9 shall not be a violation of this Order.
10. Any party who wishes to challenge the propriety of the designation of
Discovery Material as “Confidential” may do so by providing written notice to the
Producing Party. The notice shall (a) attach a copy of each “Confidential”
document subject to challenge, or shall identify such document by production
number or other appropriate designation, and state that the challenging party
objects to the designation of such document as “Confidential” and (b) set forth the
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reason for such objection. The objecting party and the Producing Party shall
attempt in good faith to resolve any challenge on an informal basis. If an
agreement cannot be reached, the objecting party may seek a decision from this
Court with respect to the propriety of the designation. The Confidential Discovery
Material will continue to be protected by the terms of this Stipulation and Order
until the Court orders otherwise.
11. Entering into, agreeing to, and/or producing or receiving Confidential
Discovery Material or otherwise complying with the terms of this Stipulation and
Order shall not:
a. operate as an admission by any party that any particular
Confidential Discovery Material contains or reflects trade secrets or any other type
of confidential information;
b. prejudice in any way the rights of the parties to object to the
production of documents they consider not subject to discovery, or operate as an
admission by any party that the restrictions and procedures set forth herein
constitute adequate protection for any particular information deemed by any party
to be Confidential Discovery Material;
c. prejudice in any way the rights of any party to object to the
authenticity or admissibility into evidence of any document, testimony, or other
evidence subject to this Stipulation and Order;
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d. prejudice in any way the rights of a party to seek a
determination by the Court whether any Confidential Discovery Material should be
subject to the terms of this Stipulation and Order; and
e. prejudice in any way the rights of a party to petition the Court
for a further protective order relating to any purportedly confidential information.
12. If information subject to a claim of attorney-client privilege or
attorney work product is nevertheless inadvertently produced, such production
shall in no way prejudice or otherwise constitute a waiver of, or estoppel as to, any
claim of privilege or work product. If a claim of inadvertent production is made
pursuant to this paragraph with respect to information then in the custody of
another party, such party shall promptly return to the claiming party or person that
material as to which the claim of inadvertent production has been made, and the
receiving party shall not use such information for any purpose, except in good faith
to dispute the claim of privilege or work product. The party returning such
material may then move the Court for an Order compelling production of the
material, but said motion shall not assert as a ground for entering such an Order the
fact or circumstance of the inadvertent production.
13. Nothing in this Stipulation and Order shall preclude any party or
Producing Party from complying with a subpoena, request or regulatory obligation
from a governmental agency requesting production of Confidential Discovery
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Material; provided, however, that counsel for the Producing Party shall be given
notice of such a subpoena, request or regulatory obligation to or from a
governmental agency within seven (7) business days of receipt thereof by the party
receiving the subpoena or request and at least seven (7) business days prior to
production of any Confidential Discovery Material. If the Producing Party files a
motion for protective order in this Court, or in any other court of competent
jurisdiction, then the party that received the subpoena or request will advise the
governmental agency of this agreement and seek an Order of Court permitting the
party to await a court ruling on the motion before producing the subpoenaed or
requested documents or information.
14. It is the present intention of the parties that the provisions of this
Stipulation and Order shall govern discovery in this Litigation. Nonetheless, each
of the parties hereto shall be entitled to seek modification of this Stipulation and
Order, for good cause shown, by attempting to obtain the other parties’ consent to
such modification, and then, absent consent, by application to this Court. This
remedy includes the right to seek a determination that documents or information
are not Confidential.
15. The provisions of this Stipulation and Order shall, absent written
permission of the Producing Party or further order of the Court, continue to be
binding throughout and after the conclusion of this Litigation, including without
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limitation any appeals therefrom. After receiving notice of the entry of an order,
judgment, or decree finally disposing of all litigation in which Confidential
Discovery Material is permitted to be used, including the exhaustion of all
permissible appeals or expiration of time for appeals, the Producing Party may
request in writing that all persons having received Confidential Discovery Material
destroy all such Confidential Discovery Material and certify that fact to counsel for
the Producing Party. However, subject to the terms of this Stipulation and Order,
the parties and their counsel may retain copies of briefs and other papers that
contain or constitute such Confidential Information, including correspondence
among counsel, deposition transcripts, trial exhibits of record, and other attorney’s
work product (excluding copies of any annexed materials that have been
designated as Confidential Information). Any such documents shall continue to be
treated as Confidential Discovery Material, as appropriate, pursuant to the terms of
this Stipulation and Order.
16. In the event that any Confidential Discovery Material is used in any
Court proceeding in the Litigation or any appeal therefrom, subject to the
applicable Court rules, said Confidential Discovery Material shall not lose its
status as Confidential Discovery Material through such use. Nothing in this
Stipulation and Order shall be construed to prevent a Producing Party who has
designated material as Confidential Discovery Material from agreeing to release
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any such material or information from the requirements of this Order. A
Producing Party’s rights pursuant to this Stipulation and Order may only be waived
by a writing clearly evidencing an intent to waive such rights.
17. Nothing herein shall impose any restrictions on the use or disclosure
by a party or witness of material obtained by such party or witness independent of
discovery in this litigation, whether or not such material is also obtained through
discovery in this litigation.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 8th day of October, 2026.
S/Clay D. Land
CLAY D. LAND
United States District Judge
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