# Meyers v. Cincinnati Board Of Education > District Court, S.D. Ohio · January 31, 2020 URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10374711 ## Case - **Court:** District Court, S.D. Ohio - **Decided:** January 31, 2020 - **Opinion:** 100trialcourt - **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library ## Citator (automated) - No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases. - Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10374711 ## Opinion text UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO WESTERN DIVISION Karen Meyers as Administratrix of the : Case No. 1:17-cv-521 Estate of Gabriel Taye, et al, : : Judge: Timothy S. Black Plaintiffs, : v. : : Cincinnati Board of Education et al., : : Defendants. : STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER FOR THE PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Undersigned counsel, on behalf of their respective parties, move the Court to enter into the following protective order (“Order”). The Court recognizes that discovery activity in this case will require the disclosure of autopsy records, medical and mental health records, student records, and other sensitive personal information of parties and non-parties, including minors and students. Under Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and federal law protecting such information, good cause exists to protect this information from public disclosure. In the absence of a suitable protective order safeguarding the confidentiality of such information, the parties would be hampered in their ability to obtain and produce such information. Accordingly, the parties stipulate and the Court ORDERS that the parties shall be bound by the following restrictions of this Order: INFORMATION SUBJECT TO THIS ORDER 1. This Order shall govern all documents (including all “documents” as defined in Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(a)) and other products of discovery obtained by the parties from one another, and from non-parties, all information copied or derived therefrom, as well as all copies, excerpts, summaries or compilations thereof, including documents produced pursuant to requests authorized by the requests for admission, affidavits, declarations, expert reports, and other such material and information as may be produced during the course of this litigation. 2a. Any party or non-party that produces information as to which it then has a reasonable good faith basis in law and fact to believe is autopsy records, medical records, mental health records, student records, or other sensitive personal information of parties and non-parties, including minors and students, at the time of production, shall designate such information “CONFIDENTIAL.” Information designated “CONFIDENTIAL” is “Confidential Information” and shall thereafter be subject to the provisions of this Order. 2b. Information that is properly in the public domain at the time of disclosure, independently developed by the receiving party, or that is in the possession of or becomes available to the receiving party other than through discovery in this action is not Confidential Information subject to this Protective Order. 3. Confidential Information shall be so designated by stamping “CONFIDENTIAL” on each page. If the Confidential Information cannot be so labeled, it must be designated “CONFIDENTIAL” in some other conspicuous manner (e.g., by placing a “CONFIDENTIAL” label on the outside of any electronic device containing Confidential information). 4. Parties may designate as confidential any deposition testimony regarding documents identified as Confidential Information when referenced in any deposition by making such designation on the record at the time of the deposition. If no Confidential Information designation is made during a deposition, the contents shall be treated as confidential under this Order until 15 days after receipt of the deposition transcript. Within that time period, any party wishing to designate all or any portion of the deposition transcript as confidential shall make the appropriate designation in writing and shall then serve that designation by electronic or U.S. mail upon counsel deposition or within 5 business days of the deposition, the contents of the deposition in its entirety shall be treated as confidential up to and until a copy of the transcript is ordered. 5. In the event of an inadvertent disclosure of Confidential Information without proper designation, the disclosing party shall inform the other party of the error. Inadvertent failure to designate any information pursuant to this Order shall not constitute a waiver of an otherwise valid claim for protection, so long as such claim is asserted within 30 days after the discovery of the inadvertent disclosure. Following discovery of the inadvertent disclosure, the disclosing party shall provide within 3 business days a properly designated set of such Confidential Information to the other party, whom shall destroy copies of the improperly designated documents and certify such destruction to the disclosing party. Nothing in this Protective Order is intended to, or shall be deemed to, alter the operation of Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 or Fed. R. Evid. 502 regarding inadvertent disclosure of information subject to a valid privilege or protection in this litigation. 6. Confidential Information protected by this Order may be disclosed only to the following: a. Counsel of record; b. Members of the legal, paralegal, secretarial, and clerical staff of such counsel; c. The Court and its personnel; d. Expert consultants or witnesses retained by any party; e. Parties, i. For the Cincinnati Board of Education, this only includes the Board members, the Superintendent, and legal counsel; and ii. For Defendant Margaret McLaughlin, this only includes Margaret McLaughlin, the Cincinnati Health Commissioner, the Chair of the Board of Health and legal counsel; deposition; g. Court reporters and videographers and their personnel engaged in proceedings incident to preparation for trial or engaged in trial; h. Defendants’ insurers, claim adjusters, and personnel; i. Professional vendors and their employees, including copy services, e- discovery services, trial graphics services, and translation services, engaged by counsel. 7. Prior to receiving any Confidential Information, any person described in Paragraph 6(d)- (i) shall be furnished with a copy of this Order and execute the Agreement attached as Exhibit A. The signed Agreement shall be maintained by counsel until the conclusion of this action. 8. While protected by this Order, any Confidential Information shall be held in confidence by each person to whom it is disclosed. 9. Any document subject to this Order that is used at trial, in discovery, in a deposition, expert report, pleading, or in any other way so as to make it a potentially public record, shall be submitted “under seal” with prior permission of the Court, upon motion and for good cause shown. This Order does not authorize filing protected Confidential Information under seal. No document may be filed with the Court under seal without prior permission as to each such filing, upon motion and for good cause shown, including the legal basis for filing under seal. See Procter & Gamble Co. v. Bankers Trust Co., 78 F.3d 219 (6th Cir. 1996). 10. Within 30 days following a final determination of this litigation, every person or party to whom Confidential Information has been furnished or produced shall destroy all copies to the extent permitted by law, and provide the producing party with counsel’s certification of that destruction. This paragraph includes deposition exhibits, but not attorney notes. This paragraph does not require any party to return or destroy any information which was filed with the Court. information and facilitating the exchange of documents and information between the parties to this proceeding and may be amended as needed by the mutual consent and agreement of counsel, subject to the ultimate approval of the Court, as provided below. 12.After the termination of this proceeding, this Order shall continue to be binding upon the parties, and upon all persons to whom Confidential Information has been disclosed or communicated, and the Court shall retain jurisdiction for enforcement of its provisions. 13.Notwithstanding the above statements, this Order does not govern the procedures for the use of the documents or information to which this Order applies at any trial of this matter. Rather, in the event of a trial of this matter, the parties will work to enter into a written agreement as to the use of the documents or information to which this Order applies at any such trial, subject to the instructions of the Court. This Order is subject to modification by the Court. IT IS SO ORDERED. __1_/_31_/_2_0_2_0_____ __s_/_T_i_m_o_t_h_y_ S_. _B_l_a_ck___________________ Date Timothy S. Black United States District Judge /s/ Jennifer L. Branch /s/ Aaron M. Herzig Jennifer L. Branch (0038893) Aaron M. Herzig (0079371) Trial Attorney for Plaintiff Estate of Gabriel Philip D. Williamson (0097174) Taye and Cornelia Reynolds Taft Stettinius & Hollister Alphonse A. Gerhardstein (0032053) 425 Walnut Street, Suite 180 Attorneys for Plaintiff Estate of Gabriel Taye Cincinnati, OH 45202 and Cornelia Reynolds Phone: (513) 381-2838 Gerhardstein & Branch Co. LPA Fax: (513) 381-0205 441 Vine Street, Suite 3400 aherzig@taftlaw.com Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 pwilliamson@taftlaw.com Tel: (513) 621-9100 Fax: (513) 345-5543 Daniel J. Hoying (0079689) jbranch@gbfirm.com Cincinnati Public Schools agerhardstein@gbfirm.com 2651 Burnet Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45219 /s/ Carla L. Leader Phone: (513) 363-0114 Carla L. Leader (0081597) Fax: (513) 363-0115 Attorney for Plaintiff Estate of Gabriel Taye hoyingd@cpsboe.k12.oh.us and Cornelia Reynolds The Law Office of Carla Loon Leader, LLC R. Gary Winters (0018680) 420 W. Loveland Avenue, Suite 109 Ian R. Smith (0068195) Loveland, OH 45140 McCaslin Imbus & McCaslin Telephone: (513) 909-4332 632 Vine Street, Suite 900 Fax: (513) 206-9994 Cincinnati, OH 45202 carla@carlaleader.com Phone: (513) 421-4646 Fax: (513) 421-7929 /s/ Michele L. Young rgwinters@mimlaw.com Michele L. Young (0062011) irsmith@mimlaw.com Gregory S. Young (0033617) Christine M. Hammond (0093647) Attorneys for Cincinnati Board of Education, Attorneys for Plaintiff Estate of Gabriel Taye Mary Ronan, Ruthenia Jackson, and Jeffrey and Benyam Taye McKenzie, Defendants Gregory S. Young Co., LPA 600 Vine Street, Suite 402 /s/Emily Smart Woerner Cincinnati, OH 45202 Peter J. Stackpole (0072103) Telephone: (513) 721-1077 Emily Smart Woerner (0089349) Fax: (513) 721-1919 City of Cincinnati City Solicitor myoung@younginjurylaw.com 801 Plum Street, Room 214 chammond@younginjurylaw.com Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Phone: (513) 352-3350 Fax: (513) 352-1515 peter.stackpole@cincinnati-oh.gov emily.woerner@cincinnati-oh.gov Attorneys for Defendant Margaret McLaughlin John B. Welch , Esq. Dayton, Ohio 45429-3493 Phone: (937) 296-1600 Fax: (937) 296-1644 jwelch@arnoldlaw.net Attorney for Defendant Margaret McLaughlin SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO WESTERN DIVISION Karen Meyers as Administratrix of the : Case No. 1:17-cv-521 Estate of Gabriel Taye, et al, : : Judge: Timothy S. Black Plaintiffs, : v. : : Cincinnati Board of Education et al., : ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND : AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND Defendants. : The undersigned acknowledges that he/she has read the Protective Order dated _____________ in the above-captioned action and attached hereto, understands the terms, and agrees to be bound by its terms. The undersigned submits to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in matters relating to the Protective Order and understands that the terms of the Protective Order obligate him/her to use documents designated CONFIDENTIAL in accordance with the Order solely for the purposes of the above-captioned action, and not to disclose such documents or information derived directly therefrom to any other person, firm, or concern. The undersigned acknowledges that violation of the Protective Order may result in penalties for contempt of court. Name: Job Title: Employer: Business Address: ________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Date: Signature --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10374711. Public record. Not legal advice.