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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF_______ COUNTY, ALABAMA **Plaintiffs,**vs. *CIVIL ACTION NO.:*_________________________ *CV-________ __________________________; *et al., **Defendants.* PROTECTIVE ORDER The parties in the above-styled action, by and through their undersigned counsel, hereby agree and stipulate to the following provisions and the Court does hereby enter this Order regarding discovery in this action, a matter that the parties acknowledge may involve substantial amounts of personal, confidential, technical, business, proprietary and financial information:1.Non-disclosure of Designated Confidential Documents. Except with the prior written consent of the party or other person originally designating a document as a confidential document, or as hereinafter provided under this order, no designated confidential document may be disclosed to any person other than the parties and any attorney, including in-house counsel, employed or retained by the receiving party and assisting in connection with this action; a member of the paralegal, legal translating, legal secretarial or legal clerical staff employed or retained by the attorneys of record for the receiving party and assisting in connection with this action; and experts employed or retained by the attorneys of record for the receiving party and assisting in connection with this action. -2- [A Adesignated confidential document@ is a document which has been designated by the producing party as confidential on a confidentiality log or which bears the legend (or which shall otherwise have had the legend recorded upon it in a way that brings its attention to a reasonable examiner) ACONFIDENTIAL@ to signify that it contains information believed to be subject to protection under Ala. R. Civ. P. 26(c)(7). For purposes of this order, the term Adocument@ means all written, recorded or graphic material, whether produced or created by a party or another person, whether produced pursuant to Rule 34, subpoena, by agreement, or otherwise. Should it be necessary to attach any Adesignated confidential documents@ to any Interrogatory answers, responses to request for admission, deposition transcripts and exhibits, pleadings, motions, affidavits, and briefs, such papers shall be filed with the clerk of the court under seal, to be made available only to the Court, Court personnel, and persons otherwise bound by this Order unless otherwise ordered by the Court.2. Confidential Information in Depositions. (a) Before disclosing a designated confidential document to any person aside from those persons identified in paragraph 1, the party wishing to make such disclosure shall give at least ten days= advance notice in writing to the counsel who designated such information as confidential, stating the names and addresses of the person(s) to whom the disclosure will be made, identifying with particularity the documents to be disclosed, and stating the purposes of such disclosure. If, within the ten day period, a motion is filed objecting to the proposed disclosure, disclosure is not permissible until the court has denied such motion.(b) A deponent may during the deposition be shown, and examined about, designated confidential documents if the deponent already knows the confidential information contained therein or if the provisions of paragraph 2(a) are complied with. Deponents shall not retain or copy portions or the transcript of their depositions that contain confidential information not provided by them or the entities they represent unless they sign and file with the Court a form (i) reciting that the signatory has read and understand this Order; and (ii) reciting that the signatory understands that unauthorized disclosures of the designated confidential documents constitute -3- contempt of Court; and (iii) reciting that the signatory consents to the exercise of personal jurisdiction by this Court. A deponent who is not a party or a representative of a party shall be furnished a copy of this order before being examined about, or asked to produce, potentially confidential documents.(c) Parties (and deponents) may, within 15 days after receiving a deposition, designate pages of the transcript (and exhibits thereto) as confidential. Confidential information within the deposition transcript may be designated by underlining the portions of the pages that are confidential and marking such pages with the following legend: AConfidential@. Until expiration of the 15 day period, the entire deposition will be treated as subject to protection against disclosure under this order. If no party or deponent timely designates confidential information in a deposition, then none of the transcript or its exhibits will be treated as confidential; if a timely designation is made, the confidential portions and exhibits shall be filed under seal separate from the portions and exhibits not so marked.3. Confidential Information at Trial. Subject to the Alabama Rules of Evidence and Alabama law regarding the admissibility of evidence, designated confidential documents and other confidential information may be offered into evidence at trial or any court hearing, provided that the proponent of the evidence gives reasonable notice to counsel for the party that designated the information as confidential. Reasonable notice as to the pre-trial exchange of trial exhibits shall be as per order of the Court as to such. However, this is not intended to preclude subsequent use of said designated confidential documents during the course of trial where the circumstances may warrant it, such as for use in impeachment of a witness, where reasonable notice is provided prior to the use of said document(s). Any party may move the court for an order that the evidence be received in camera or under other conditions to prevent unnecessary -4- disclosure. The court will then determine whether the proffered evidence should continue to be treated as confidential information and, if so, what protection, if any, may be afforded to such information at the trial.4. Subpoena by Other Courts or Agencies. If another court or an administrative agency subpoenas or orders production of designated confidential documents which a party has obtained under the terms of this Order, such party shall promptly notify the party or other person who designated the document as confidential of the pendency of such subpoena or Order.5. Filing. Designated confidential documents need not be filed with the Clerk except when required in connection with motions under Ala. R. Civ. P. 12 or 56 or other matters pending before the court. If filed, they shall be filed under seal and shall remain sealed while in the office of the Clerk so long as they retain their status as designated confidential documents.6.Use. Persons obtaining access to designated confidential documents under this Order shall use the information only for preparation and trial of this litigation (including appeals and retrials), and shall not use such information for any other purposes, including business, governmental, commercial, or administrative or judicial proceedings.7.Non-Termination. The provisions of this Order shall not terminate at the conclusion of this action. Within 120 days after final conclusion of all aspects of this litigation, designated confidential documents and all copies of same (other than exhibits of record) shall be destroyed. All counsel of record shall make certification of compliance herewith and shall -5- deliver the same to counsel for the party who produced the documents not more than 150 days after final termination of this litigation.8. Modification Permitted. Nothing in this Order shall prevent any party or other person from seeking modification of this Order or from objecting to discovery that it believes to be otherwise improper.9. Responsibility of Attorneys. The attorneys of record are responsible for employing reasonable measures to control, consistent with Order, duplication of, access to, and distribution of copies of designated confidential documents. Parties shall not duplicate any designated confidential document except working copies and for filing in court under seal.Dated:________________________________________________________JUDGEAlabama Circuit Judge, Mobile Countycc: Other counsel