Free Order on Motion for Protective Order - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:98-cv-00168-FMA

Document 255

Filed 03/31/2005

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In The United States Court of Federal Claims
No. 98-168C (Filed: March 31, 2005) ___________ NORTH STAR ALASKA HOUSING CORPORATION, Plaintiff, v. THE UNITED STATES, Defendant. __________ ORDER __________ On March 28, 2005, plaintiff filed an unopposed motion for expedited entry of a protective order. That motion is hereby GRANTED. Accordingly, the court hereby ORDERS that disclosure of highly confidential and sensitive proprietary business information about the operation of North Star such as that contained in income statements, tax returns, and cash flow/budget actual statements shall be subject to the following conditions: 1. This Protective Order shall be binding upon the parties' counsel of record, agents, consultants, and representatives, and any other persons authorized to act on the parties' behalf in connection with the above-captioned litigation, and shall remain in force and effect until modified, superseded, or terminated by written agreement of both Plaintiff and Defendant or order of the Court. The income statements, tax returns, and cash flow/budget actual statements produced by North Star may be used by Defendants only for purposes of this litigation, including any appeals, and not for any business, competitive, or commercial purpose or function, including but not limited to, the publication of news articles. The income statements, tax returns, and cash flow/budget actual statements may be disclosed by Defendant only to the following: (a) The Court; and in the case of a hearing or trial, such disclosure shall be subject to such protective order as the Court, upon Plaintiff's motion, may enter; Defendant's counsel of record; Defendant's actors in this case, including witnesses, provided that the

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(b) (c)

Case 1:98-cv-00168-FMA

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(d)

(e) (f)

documents remain in the custody of Defendant's counsel at all times and that the actors are not permitted to take any notes of the information nor retain any copies, excerpts, or summaries thereof; Experts and consultants who are employed, retained, or otherwise consulted by Defendant in connection with the defense of the abovecaptioned litigation; Stenographers for the purposes of taking depositions in connection with the above-captioned litigation; and Any other individual or entity as to whom Plaintiff and Defendant agree in writing.

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Defendant may copy the documents for each individual or entity to whom disclosure is made under paragraph 3(d) and 3(f) above. Defendant's counsel shall take appropriate measures to ensure that each such individual or entity destroys all copies of the documents, including any excerpts, summaries, or notes thereof, or alternatively returns all copies of the documents to Defendant's counsel upon conclusion of his or her involvement in the litigation. Disclosure by Defendant to any individual or entity referenced in paragraphs 3(c), 3(d) or 3(f) above may not be made until such individual or entity has been given a copy of this Protective Order and has acknowledged in writing in the form of the Undertaking attached hereto as Exhibit A that he or she or it has received a copy of this Protective Order, has reviewed it, will comply with its terms in all respects, and subjects himself or herself or itself to the Court's jurisdiction for the purpose of enforcement proceedings if he or she or it violates this Protective Order. Persons to whom disclosure was made prior to execution of this Agreement shall execute the Undertaking as well. Counsel of record for Defendant shall maintain the executed Undertaking forms in a secure file and shall not destroy them except by agreement of Plaintiff or order of the Court. Nothing contained in this Protective Order shall prevent or in any way limit or impair the right of counsel for the United States to disclose to any agency of the United States (including other divisions and branches of the Department of Justice) any document or information regarding any potential violation of law or regulation or, subject to the procedures that maintain the confidentiality of protected information consistent with this Protective Order, prevent or limit in any way the use of such documents and information by an agency in any proceedings regarding any potential violation of law or regulation. The provisions of this Protective Order shall survive the termination of this litigation, and the Court retains jurisdiction to enforce the terms thereof.

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IT IS SO ORDERED. s/ Francis M. Allegra Francis M. Allegra Judge 2

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Exhibit A UNDERTAKING
I hereby certify that I have been provided a copy of and have read the Protective Order issued by the Court in the case of North Star Alaska Housing Corporation v. The United States, No. 98-168C, now pending in the United States Court of Federal Claims. I agree to comply with and to be bound in all respects by the Protective Order's provisions respecting the use of North Star Alaska Housing Corporation's proprietary information, namely income statements, tax returns, and cash flow/budget actual statements, including the requirement that I will destroy all copies of any such documentation or alternatively return any such documentation to Defendant's counsel at the conclusion of my involvement with this litigation. I also agree to subject myself to the jurisdiction of the Court for the purposes of enforcement of the provisions of the agreement.

___________________________________ Name (print or type)

___________________________________ Signature

___________________________________ Date

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