Peterson et al v. Scout Energy Management, LLC et al

1
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NORTH DAKOTA
WESTERN DIVISION
Civil No. 1:25-CV-00264
Daryl and Christine Peterson,
Plaintiffs,
v.
Scout Energy Management LLC, and
Scout Energy Group III, LP,
Defendants.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
STIPULATION FOR
PROTECTIVE ORDER
*** 	*** 	***
In order to protect confidential information disclosed during this litigation and to ensure
that protection is afforded only to information entitled to protection, the Parties to the above-
entitled action hereby enter into this Stipulation for Protective Order pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P.
26.
A. 	Scope of the Protective Order
1. 	The Parties agree this stipulation shall be submitted to the Court to obtain a
Protective Order. The Protective Order shall govern the protection and exchange of confidential
documents, materials, and information disclosed, produced, given, or exchanged by and among
the Parties and any non-parties in this case, including without limitation: documents and records
produced, Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 disclosures by any Party, answers to interrogatories, responses to
requests for admission, information obtained from inspection of premises or things, deposition
testimony, information produced in any other form in response to discovery, and information
disclosed pursuant to a subpoena or as part of any motions, briefs, or other filings. The terms
“documents”, “information”, and “materials” used in this Protective Order refer to all such
methods for the exchange of information described in this paragraph.
Case 1:25-cv-00264-DLH-CRH Document 27 Filed 05/19/26 Page 1 of 10

2
2. 	This Protective Order applies to all Parties (and their attorneys, agents, and
representatives) to this litigation and to non-parties who provide discovery information pursuant
to subpoenas from the Parties or as part of depositions in the case. It also applies to any individual
who executes the attached Exhibit A.
B. 	Designation and Protection of Confidential Information
3. 	The Parties anticipate that discovery and disclosure will include the exchange of
Confidential Information. In the event a Party or non-party produces Confidential Information, a
Party may designate it in the following manner:
(a) 	By imprinting the word(s) “Confidential” on the first page or cover of any
document produced, accompanied by a reference to the range(s) of Bates-numbered
pages to which that designation refers, or by imprinting the word “Confidential” on
each page of the document produced;
(b) 	By imprinting the word “Confidential” next to or above any response to a discovery
request; and
(c) 	With respect to transcribed testimony, by giving written notice to opposing counsel
designating such portions as “Confidential” no later than twenty-one (21) calendar
days after receipt of the transcribed testimony. During the twenty-one (21) day
period, the Parties shall treat the entire testimony as if it was designated
Confidential Information.
4. 	Any Party may designate as Confidential Information any documents, materials,
and information provided or produced in the case, that the Party believes in good faith contains
the following: Sensitive commercial, proprietary, financial, business information; personally
private information; trade secret(s); and confidential research or development information.
5. 	A non-party that produces documents or appears for a deposition in this litigation,
whether 	formally 	or 	informally, 	may 	designate 	documents, 	materials, 	or 	information 	as
Confidential Information pursuant to the standards described in the proceeding paragraphs.
Further, if a Party determines in good faith that discovery documents, materials, or information
produced by a non-party in the case contain Confidential Information, that Party may so designate.
Case 1:25-cv-00264-DLH-CRH Document 27 Filed 05/19/26 Page 2 of 10

3
6. 	The categorization, designation, and restrictions on the use of information
designated as Confidential Information are made without prejudice to further categorization,
designation, and additional restrictions. In the event discovery proceeds into documents and
information that a Party believes warrant further protections, the Parties will meet and confer to
discuss appropriate additional protections. If they cannot agree on such protections, they may
present the issue to the Court.
7. 	A Producer may make documents or things containing Confidential Information or
available for inspection and not mark them as “Confidential” without forfeiting a claim of
confidentiality, so long as the Producer causes copies of the documents or things to be marked in
such a manner before providing them to the Recipient in hard copy or electronic form.
C. 	Use and Disclosure of Confidential Information
8. 	Information that is designated as Confidential Information shall not be used for any
purpose except for the prosecution or defense of this litigation unless authorized by further order
of the Court. A Party receiving information designated as shall use reasonable efforts to prevent
any inadvertent release of such Confidential Information.
9. 	Except as the Court may otherwise expressly direct and subject to the further
conditions imposed by the Protective Order, information that is designated as Confidential
Information may be disclosed only to:
(a) 	In-house counsel for any Party;
(b) 	Legal counsel of record for the Parties in this action;
(c) 	Paralegals, assistants, clerks, secretaries, and other such personnel working under
the supervision of legal counsel of record for the Parties in this action;
(d) 	Expert witnesses and consultants, and their employees, hired by a Party to assist in
the preparation and/or trial of the lawsuit, who agreed to be bound by the terms of
this Protective Order by executing Exhibit A;
Case 1:25-cv-00264-DLH-CRH Document 27 Filed 05/19/26 Page 3 of 10

4
(e) 	The Parties, and the officers, directors, and employees of the Parties to the extent
such disclosure is necessary for the prosecution or defense of this litigation;
(f) 	The Court and its personnel;
(g) 	Court reporters and videographers retained in connection with this action;
(h) 	Witnesses in this action to whom disclosure of Confidential Information occurs
during their respective depositions. These witnesses shall be given copies of this
stipulation and the Protective Order and are prohibited from disclosing Confidential
Information except as set out in the Protective Order.
(i) 	A Person who has authored, prepared, or lawfully received the Confidential
Information prior to its designation;
(j) 	Any other Person to whom disclosure is expressly authorized in writing by the Party
or non-party who designated the information; and
(k) 	Such other Persons by further order of the Court.
10. 	However, nothing herein should be interpreted to mean that counsel accepts
liability for, or indemnification on behalf of, the Parties or any third party with regard to that Party
or third party’s disclosure of such Confidential Information in violation of this Protective Order.
D. 	Filing Confidential Information
11. 	Any Party bound by this Protective Order that files a document or item with the
Court containing information designated as Confidential Information is required to request the
Court’s permission to file the document under seal. The Parties shall comply with the Court’s
procedures for filing documents under seal and any determination by the Court regarding whether
any document or item containing information designated as Confidential Information may be filed
under seal.
E. 	Objections to Designations
12. 	A Party may object to the designation of information as Confidential Information
by giving written notice to all Parties (including written notice to any non-party that has made the
designation). The Parties, including any non-parties that produced the information at issue, shall
Case 1:25-cv-00264-DLH-CRH Document 27 Filed 05/19/26 Page 4 of 10

5
in good faith attempt to resolve the objection, without court action, within fourteen business days
from the notice of objection. Thereafter, if the objection is not resolved, the objecting Party may
file with the Court a motion challenging the designation and that Party bears the burden of
persuading the Court the information at issue should not be designated as Confidential
Information. Information designated as Confidential Information which is subject to objection and
challenge shall maintain its designation as Confidential Information until such time as the Court
rules on the objection.
13. 	A Party may elect to rescind or alter the designation of any information as
Confidential Information by providing written notice to all Parties.
F. 	Inadvertent Production
14. 	If Confidential Information is inadvertently produced without designation (e.g.,
“Confidential”), or with an incorrect or improper designation, such information shall be treated
nevertheless as Confidential Information from the time the Producer advises the Recipient(s) in
writing that such information should have been so designated. The Producer that made the
inadvertent disclosure shall also provide all Parties with an appropriately labeled replacement
document providing the designation or proper designation as the case may be. The Recipient(s)
shall either return promptly or destroy the unmarked or incorrectly designated documents, and
provide notice to the Producer of said return or destruction.
15. 	If a Party learns that, either by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
Confidential Information in any circumstance not authorized under the Protective Order, that Party
must immediately: (a) notify in writing counsel for the all Parties of the unauthorized disclosures,
including all pertinent facts; (b) make every reasonable effort to prevent further unauthorized
disclosure, including retrieving all copies of the Confidential Information from the recipient(s)
thereof; (c) inform the Person or Persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of the
Case 1:25-cv-00264-DLH-CRH Document 27 Filed 05/19/26 Page 5 of 10

6
terms 	of 	the 	Protective 	Order; 	and 	(d) 	request 	such 	Person 	or 	Persons 	to 	execute 	the
Acknowledgment attached hereto as Exhibit A. Compliance with the foregoing shall not prevent
a Party from seeking further relief from the Court.
16. 	The production of documents, electronically stored information, or information
protected from disclosure under the attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine, or any other
applicable privilege or immunity, whether produced inadvertently or otherwise, is not a waiver of
the privilege or protection from discovery in this case or in any other federal or state proceeding.
This stipulation and the Protective Order shall be interpreted to provide the maximum protection
allowed by the Federal Rules of Evidence regarding privileges. In the event such a disclosure is
discovered, the receiving Party shall, without further reviewing the documents at issue, return all
copies of such documents to the producing Party and shall not use such materials for any purpose.
The return of any document to the inadvertently producing Party shall not preclude the receiving
Party from moving the Court for a ruling that the document or information is not subject to any
privilege or protection.
G. 	Return or Destruction of Confidential Information
17. 	Within ninety days after the final resolution of this action, including the expiration
of any appellate review, all documents designated as Confidential Information shall be returned to
the Party or non-party that produced such documents, or destroyed. All counsel of record shall,
upon request, make certification of compliance with this requirement and shall deliver the same to
counsel for the Party or non-party that produced the documents not more than fourteen business
days after any such request.
18. 	Notwithstanding the foregoing, counsel for each Party may retain an archival copy
of all pleadings, motion papers, briefs, exhibits, transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, and
attorney work product, even if such materials contain information designated as Confidential
Case 1:25-cv-00264-DLH-CRH Document 27 Filed 05/19/26 Page 6 of 10

7
Information. 	Any 	such 	archival 	copies 	that 	contain 	or 	constitute 	information 	designated
Confidential Information remain subject to this stipulation and the Protective Order.
H. 	Survival and Jurisdiction
19. 	The terms of this stipulation and the Protective Order shall survive any settlement,
discontinuance, dismissal, judgment or other disposition of this action. The Parties remain subject
to the Court’s personal jurisdiction in any proceeding regarding an alleged or attempted violation
of, or other enforcement of, the Protective Order.
I. 	Legal Process
20. 	If a Party or non-party bound by the terms of the Protective Order is served with a
subpoena, process, or court order issued in other litigation or similar proceedings, which order,
process, or subpoena compels or requires disclosure of information designated in this case as
Confidential Information, that Party or non-party must:
(a) 	promptly notify the designating Party or non-party regarding the order or subpoena.
Such notification must be in writing and shall include a copy of the subpoena or
court order;
(b) 	promptly notify the litigant that caused the subpoena or order to issue in the other
litigation or proceedings that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena
or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification must be in writing and
must include a copy of this Protective Order; and
21. 	It is the designating Party or non-party’s responsibility to timely assert the
protections of the Protective Order in the other litigation or proceedings and the designating Party
or non-party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection. Nothing in these provisions
should be construed as authorizing a Party or non-party to disobey a court order issued in other
litigation or similar proceedings.
Case 1:25-cv-00264-DLH-CRH Document 27 Filed 05/19/26 Page 7 of 10

8
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated this 19th day of May, 2026.
/s/ Clare R. Hochhalter
Clare R. Hochhalter, Magistrate Judge
United States District Court
Case 1:25-cv-00264-DLH-CRH Document 27 Filed 05/19/26 Page 8 of 10

9
Dated this 18th of May, 2026.
Derrick Braaten
Derrick Braaten (#06394)
Braaten Law Firm
109 North 4 th Street, Suite 100
Bismarck, ND 58501
(701) 221-2911
derrick@braatenlawfirm.com
ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFFS
Dated this 18th of May, 2026.
David R. Phillips
David R. Phillips (#06116)
Bakke Grinolds Wiederholt
300 West Century Avenue
P.O. Box 4247
Bismarck, ND 58502-4247
(701) 751-8188
dphillips@bgwattorneys.com
ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANTS
Case 1:25-cv-00264-DLH-CRH Document 27 Filed 05/19/26 Page 9 of 10

10
EXHIBIT A
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I certify that I have read and I understand the provisions of the Protective Order entered on
the _________ day of _______________ 20___ by the Court in the civil lawsuit entitled Daryl
and Christine Peterson v. Scout Energy Management LLC and Scout Energy Group III, LP, (Civil
No. Civil No. 1:25-CV-00264) venued in the United States District Court for the District of North
Dakota Western Division.
As a condition precedent to my receipt and examination of information designated as
Confidential Information, or of obtaining information derived from such, I agree that the Protective
Order shall be deemed to be directed to and shall include me, and that I shall be bound by, shall
observe, and shall comply with the terms of the Protective Order. I further agree that I shall be
subject to the Court’s personal jurisdiction in any proceeding regarding an alleged or attempted
violation of, or other enforcement of, the Protective Order.
Date:
Signature
Name (Printed)
Relationship to this Litigation
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me
on this ____ day of _____________ 20___
Notary Public
Case 1:25-cv-00264-DLH-CRH Document 27 Filed 05/19/26 Page 10 of 10