Sims v. Southwest Electronics, Inc. et al

Page 1 of 8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NORTH DAKOTA
WESTERN DIVISION
Ryan Sims,
Plaintiff,
v.
Southwest 	Electronics, 	Inc., 	Southwest
Electronics Energy Corporation, and John
Does 1-25,
Defendants.
CASE NO.: 1:23-CV-00034
Stipulated Protective Order
IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the Parties to the above-captioned
matter, by and through their respective counsel of record, that in order to facilitate the
exchange 	of 	information 	and 	documents 	which 	may 	be 	subject 	to 	confidentiality
limitations on disclosure due to federal laws, state laws, and privacy rights, the Parties
stipulate that the following documents are subject to this Protective Order if produced by
Defendant 	Southwest 	Electronics 	or 	Defendant 	Southwest 	Electronics 	Energy
Corporation:
¶ 1 	Documents Subject to Protective Order.
a. 	SW000069-70
b. 	SW000071-185
c. 	SW000186-187
d. 	SW000188-256
e. 	SW000257-262
f. 	SWO000263-331
Case 1:23-cv-00034-DMT-CRH Document 19 Filed 10/03/23 Page 1 of 8

Page 2 of 8
g. 	SW000332-341
h. 	SW000342
i. 	SW000343-406
j. 	SW000407-410
k. 	SW000411-414
l. 	SW000415-420
m. SW000421-428
n. 	SW000429-430
o. 	SW000431-446
p. 	SW000447-448
q. 	SW000449-450
r. 	SW000451-454
s. 	SW000455-463
t. 	SW000464-466
u. 	SW000467-471
v. 	SW000472-480
w. SW000481-535
x. 	SW000536-548
y. 	SW000549-550
z. 	SW000551-570
aa. SW000571-575
bb. SW000576
cc. SW000577-592
Case 1:23-cv-00034-DMT-CRH Document 19 Filed 10/03/23 Page 2 of 8

Page 3 of 8
a. 	the parties to this civil action, including a corporate party's owners, directors,
officers, and employees,
b. 	attorneys for the parties to this civil action, including all attorneys, secretaries,
paralegals, and staff of the attorneys' offices,
c. 	court reporters in this Proceeding (whether at depositions, hearings, or any
other proceeding),
d. 	experts or consultants retained by a party to this civil action or the attorneys
representing a party to this civil action,
e. 	any deposition or non-trial hearing witness after first being advised that such
documents are being disclosed pursuant to, and are subject to, the terms of
this Protective Order and that they may not be disclosed other than pursuant
to its terms,
dd. SW000593-594
ee. SW000595-654
¶ 2 Treatment of Confidential Documents During Litigation. All documents subject to
this Protective Order shall be revealed only as provided herein. By entering this Protective
Order, the Court does not intend to create any presumption with regard to the actual
confidentiality of any material or to alter the normal burden of proof necessary for
obtaining a protective order from the Court.
¶ 3 Distribution of Confidential Documents. Documents subject to this Protective
Order may be disclosed to:
Case 1:23-cv-00034-DMT-CRH Document 19 Filed 10/03/23 Page 3 of 8

Page 4 of 8
f. 	mock jury participants, after first being advised that such documents are being
disclosed pursuant to, and are subject to, the terms of this Protective Order and
that they may not be disclosed other than pursuant to its terms,
g. 	authors and original recipients of the document,
h. 	insurers, reinsurers, auditors, accountants, etc. to whom the parties or their
attorneys have a statutory or contractual obligation to transmit information or
reports concerning this civil action, and
i. 	any other person that the designating Party agrees to in writing.
Any party providing documents that are subject to this Protective Order to a non-party
identified in this paragraph shall first obtain a written agreement from the non-party that
the non-party will abide by all terms of this Protective Order.
¶ 4 	Submission of Confidential Documents to the Court. If any party files documents
that are subject to this Protective Order with the Court, that party shall file such documents
in a sealed envelope with the following language on the envelope:
"The documents contained herein are confidential and have been filed under
seal by the Court pursuant to a Protective Order."
Alternatively, a party may electronically file the documents with the Court under seal with
the following language in each document: "Confidential." Documents filed under seal
shall not be made available to third parties or the public except by further order of this
Court.
¶ 5 	Inadvertent Production Information Without “Confidential” Designation. 	If any
Parties 	or 	non-Parties 	to 	this 	lawsuit 	inadvertently 	produce 	or 	disclose 	protected
information without a “Confidential” designation, the production or disclosure shall be
without prejudice to any claim that such item is “Confidential” and such Party shall not be
Case 1:23-cv-00034-DMT-CRH Document 19 Filed 10/03/23 Page 4 of 8

held to have waived any rights by such inadvertent production. Written notice of such
inadvertent production shall be given to all parties within twenty (20) days of discovery of
the inadvertent production, together with further copies designated as “Confidential” (the
“Inadvertent Production Notice”).
¶ 6 Treatment of Confidential Information Following Litigation. Following the final
disposition of this civil action, any recipient of documents that are subject to this Protective
Order shall destroy all copies of such documents, except attorneys for the parties may
retain a copy as part of their normal file closure and document retention procedures.
¶ 7 Challenging Confidential Designation. If any party believes a document has been
improperly designated or not designated as CONFIDENTIAL, then the parties shall meet
and confer in a good faith attempt to resolve the dispute, only after which time may a
motion be filed seeking the Court's resolution of the dispute.
In the event of a challenge, there is no presumption of confidentiality, and the party
claiming that a document is confidential shall have the burden to make that proof. The
party seeking to have a challenged document protected as confidential shall make the
motion that the document has been challenged, and the hearing shall be held as soon as
is practicable after the motion is filed. The challenged document is to be treated as
confidential and subject to this Protective Order until the Court has ruled that the
document is not subject to this Protective Order.
¶ 8 Scope of Protective Order. Nothing herein shall affect the admissibility of evidence
protected hereunder or abridge the rights of any person to seek judicial review or to
pursue other appropriate judicial action with respect to any ruling made by the Court
concerning the issue of the status of confidential information, or be deemed to limit any
Page 5 of 8
Case 1:23-cv-00034-DMT-CRH Document 19 Filed 10/03/23 Page 5 of 8

Page 6 of 8
party's rights to discovery in connection with this action or to restrict the prosecution,
defense, or settlement of this litigation.
¶ 9 This Protective Order may be modified by the Court for good cause.
¶ 10 This Stipulation and Protective Order may be executed in counterparts.
IT IS SO STIPULATED:
Case 1:23-cv-00034-DMT-CRH Document 19 Filed 10/03/23 Page 6 of 8

Page 7 of 8
DATED: September 29, 2023 	SCHWEIGERT, KLEMIN & MCBRIED
116 North 2nd Street
P.O. Box955
Bismarck, North Dakota 58502-0955
P: (701) 258-8988
F: (701) 258-8486
Attorneys for Plaintiff Ryan Sims
/s/ Cody J. Nichols_________
David D. Schweigert (ND Bar ID# 05123)
dslitteam@bkmpc.com
Cody J. Nichols (ND Bar ID# 09141)
cnichols@bkmpc.com
DATED: September 29, 2023 	MEAGHER & GEER, P.L.L.P
Attorneys for Southwest Electronics, Inc., and
Southwest Electronics Energy Corporation
/s/Chad J. Stepan
Chad J. Stepan (Admitted pro hac vice)
(#0279535)
33 South Sixth Street, Suite 4400
Minneapolis, MN 55402
P: 612-338-0661
F: 612-338-8384
cstepan@meagher.com
Case 1:23-cv-00034-DMT-CRH Document 19 Filed 10/03/23 Page 7 of 8

Page 8 of 8
ORDER
GOOD CAUSE APPEARING, the Court hereby approves this Stipulated
Protective Order with the following modification to paragraph 4:
Filed documents are open to the public unless the Court orders them sealed
pursuant to the Local Rules and district policy. Consequently, documents
may not be filed under seal without prior court authorization.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated this 3rd day of October, 2023. /s/ Clare R. Hochhalter
Clare R. Hochhalter, Magistrate Judge
United States District Court
The Court is not bound by the designations given by the parties to any documents
pursuant to this protective order. Webster Groves Sch. Dist. v. Pulitzer Publ’g Co., 898
F.2d 1371, 1376 (8th Cir. 1990) (recognizing that the decision to file a document under
seal is a matter left to the sound discretion of the trial court); Romero v. Drummond Co.,
480 F.3d 1234, 1245 (11th Cir. 2007)(opining that a qualified right o access attached to
dispostive documents and materials filed in conjunction with dispositive motions). The
Court has in recent history looked unfavorably upon requests to file documents in support
of dispostive motions under seal when other less restrictive alternatives such as redaction
are available. Public access is the norm and the citations to the protective order alone are
insufficient to provide a basis for sealing documents filed in conjunction with dispositive
motions.
Case 1:23-cv-00034-DMT-CRH Document 19 Filed 10/03/23 Page 8 of 8