Protective Order (D.E. 176) — OTO Analytics v. Benworth

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico · No. 3:23-cv-01034-GMM · Doc. 176 · 2024-10-07 · Docket on CourtListener

Summary

A protective order entered October 7, 2024 as Document 176 in OTO Analytics, LLC v. Benworth Capital Partners PR, LLC, et al., Civil No. 23-01034 (GMM), consolidated with a Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco action, Civil No. 24-01313 (GMM), in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Entered on the joint motion at Docket No. 172 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) and Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d), it governs disclosure of covered materials in the action. It defines two designation tiers, CONFIDENTIAL and HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL, and lists who may receive material in each. It sets procedures for making and challenging designations, including written notice and a meet-and-confer requirement. It requires return or destruction of protected material within sixty (60) days of final disposition and attaches an Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound as Exhibit A.

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO 
 
 
OTO ANALYTICS, LLC 
Plaintiff, 
 
v. 
 
BENWORTH CAPITAL PARTNERS PR, 
LLC; BENWORTH CAPITAL PARTNERS, 
LLC; BERNARDO NAVARRO and CLAUDIA 
NAVARRO, 
Defendants. 
 
 
Civil No. 23-01034 (GMM) 
cons. 
Civil No. 24-01313 (GMM) 
 
FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN 
FRANCISCO, 
Plaintiff-Intervenor, 
 
v. 
 
OTO ANALYTICS, LLC, BENWORTH 
CAPITAL PARTNERS PR, 
LLC; BENWORTH CAPITAL PARTNERS, 
LLC; BERNARDO NAVARRO and CLAUDIA 
NAVARRO, 
Defendants in Intervention. 
 
 
 
FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN 
FRANCISCO, 
Consolidated Plaintiff, 
 
v. 
 
BENWORTH CAPITAL PARTNERS PR, 
LLC; BENWORTH CAPITAL PARTNERS, 
LLC; BERNARDO NAVARRO and CLAUDIA 
NAVARRO, 
Consolidated Defendants. 
 
 
 
PROTECTIVE ORDER 
Upon consideration of the Joint Motion for Entry of 
Protective Order, (Docket No. 172), and pursuant to Federal Rule 
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of Civil Procedure 26(c) and Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d), the 
Court enters the following Protective Order that will govern the 
disclosure of all covered materials in this action. 
1. Definitions. As used in this Order: 
1.1 
Action: the lawsuit captioned Oto Analytics, LLC v. Benworth 
Capital Partners, et al., Civil case No. 23-01034 (D.P.R.) 
as consolidated with the lawsuit captioned Federal Reserve 
Bank of San Francisco v. Benworth Capital Partners, LLC, et 
al., Civil case No. 24-01313 (D.P.R.), with the lead case 
being Civil case No. 23-01034. 
1.2 
Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 
designation of information or items as “CONFIDENTIAL” or 
“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” under this Order. 
1.3 
“CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: all documents and 
testimony, and all information contained therein, and other 
information designated as Confidential, if such documents, 
testimony, or information constitutes, reflects, discloses, 
or 
contains 
confidential 
research, 
development, 
or 
commercial 
information, 
proprietary 
material 
or 
information, protected personal information, a trade 
secret, or other information required by law or agreement 
to be kept confidential. 
1.4 
Counsel (without qualifier): Counsel who represent Parties 
(including, but not limited to, in-house counsel who are 
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employees of a Party and Outside Counsel of Record), and 
the partners, counsel, associates, paralegals, secretaries, 
clerical, regular and temporary employees, and service 
vendors of such counsel (including outside copying and 
litigation support services) but only to the extent such 
Counsel are assisting with the Action. 
1.5 
Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates 
information or items produced in disclosures or in responses 
to discovery or subpoenas as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 
CONFIDENTIAL.” 
1.6 
Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, 
regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, 
stored, or maintained (including, among other things, 
testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are 
produced or generated in disclosures or in responses to 
discovery in this Action by a Party or Non-Party. 
1.7 
“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: all documents 
and testimony, and all information contained therein, and 
other information designated as Highly Confidential that a 
Party or Non-Party reasonably believes to be economically 
or competitively sensitive, if such documents, testimony, 
or information contain, without limitation, strategic 
planning information; negotiation strategies; proprietary 
software or systems; proprietary edits or customizations to 
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software; pricing information; extremely sensitive, highly 
confidential, non-public information, consisting either of 
trade secrets or proprietary or other highly confidential 
business, financial, regulatory, or strategic information, 
the disclosure of which to parties other than those 
permitted to receive Highly Confidential information 
pursuant to this Order is reasonably likely to cause injury 
to the Producing Party. 
1.8 
Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, 
association, or other legal entity not named as a Party.  
1.9 
Notifying Party: any Receiving Party seeking to use 
Protected Material in a Related Action.  
1.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees 
of a Party but are retained to represent or advise a Party 
and have entered an appearance before the Court on behalf 
of that Party or are affiliated with a law firm that has 
entered an appearance before the Court on behalf of that 
Party in this Action.  
1.11 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces 
Disclosure or Discovery Material in this Action.  
1.12 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide 
litigation 
support 
services 
(e.g., 
photocopying, 
videotaping, 
translating, 
preparing 
exhibits 
or 
demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data 
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in 
any 
form 
or 
medium) 
and 
their 
employees 
and 
subcontractors.  
1.13 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material 
that 
is 
designated 
as 
“CONFIDENTIAL” 
or 
“HIGHLY 
CONFIDENTIAL.”  
1.14 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or 
Discovery Material from a Producing Party. 
1.15 Related Action: any litigation, arbitration, or other legal 
action brought by a Party (1) against another Party (or any 
related or affiliated persons or entities thereof) in any 
forum involving substantially similar claims, or (2) in 
furtherance of the relief sought in this Action. 
2. Scope 
The protections conferred by this Order cover Protected 
Material. The protections conferred by this Order do not cover 
the following information: (1) any information that is in the 
public domain at the time of disclosure to a Receiving Party or 
becomes part of the public domain after its disclosure to a 
Receiving Party as a result of publication not involving a 
violation of this Order; and (2) any information known to the 
Receiving Party before the disclosure that is not otherwise 
protected or that was obtained by the Receiving Party after the 
disclosure from a source who obtained the information lawfully 
and under no obligation of confidentiality to the Designating 
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Party. 
3. Duration 
After final disposition of this Action, the confidentiality 
obligations imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until 
each Party has returned or destroyed all Protected Material in 
accordance with Section 13 of this Order, unless a Designating 
Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise 
directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of 
(1) execution of a final settlement among the Parties covering 
all claims and defenses in this Action; and (2) a final judgment 
of the Court, including, if applicable, the conclusion of any 
appeals therefrom. 
4. Designating Protected Material 
4.1 
Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for 
Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates 
information or items for protection under this Order must 
make good faith efforts to limit any such designation to 
specific material that qualifies under the appropriate 
standards. If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention 
that information, documents, or items that it designated 
for protection do not qualify for protection, then such 
Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties 
that it is withdrawing the designation. 
4.2 
Manner and Timing of Designations. Any Party may designate 
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as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” any Disclosure 
or Discovery Material, 
including without limitation 
Disclosure 
or 
Discovery 
Material 
produced 
by 
the 
Designating Party, another Party, or a Non-Party. Except 
as otherwise provided in this Order, or as otherwise 
stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material 
that qualifies for protection under this Order must be 
clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 
produced.  
Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 
a. for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or 
electronic documents, but excluding transcripts of 
depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), 
that the Producing Party affix the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” 
or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains 
Protected Material. For Protected Material that is 
produced in native electronic format, the designated 
legend must be included in the file name and on any 
slipsheets when produced.  
b. for 
testimony 
given 
in 
deposition 
or 
in 
other 
proceedings, that the Designating Party (1) identify on 
the record, before the close of the deposition, hearing, 
or other proceeding, all protected testimony; or (2) 
identify all protected testimony within sixty (60) days 
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of receiving a transcript of such testimony.  
c. for information produced in some form other than 
documentary and for any other tangible items, that the 
Producing Party affix the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or 
“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” in a prominent place on the 
exterior of the container or containers in which the 
information or item is produced. If only a portion or 
portions of the information or item warrant protection, 
the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall 
identify the protected portion(s). 
4.3 
Inadvertent Failures to Designate. Inadvertent failure to 
designate qualified information, documents, or items does 
not waive the Designating Party’s right to secure 
protection under this Order for such material and may be 
corrected promptly upon discovery of such failure. Upon 
correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make 
reasonable efforts to ensure that the material is treated 
in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 
5. Challenging Confidentiality Designations 
5.1 
Timing of Challenges. Any Party may challenge a designation 
of confidentiality at any time.  
5.2 
Procedure for Challenges. A Challenging Party may challenge 
a designation of confidentiality by providing written 
notice to the Designating Party and all other Parties 
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identifying each designation it is challenging and 
describing the basis for each challenge. To avoid ambiguity 
as to whether a challenge has been made, the written notice 
must recite that the challenge to confidentiality is being 
made in accordance with Section 5 of the Order.  
5.3 
Meet-and-Confer 
Requirement. 
Before 
seeking 
Court 
intervention to resolve a dispute over a designation of 
confidentiality, the Challenging Party and the relevant 
Designating Party shall first meet and confer in a good 
faith attempt to resolve the dispute.  
5.4 
Court Intervention. If the Challenging Party and the 
relevant Designating Party cannot resolve a challenge 
through the meet-and-confer process in Section 5.3, or the 
Designating Party is unwilling to participate in the meet-
and-confer process in good faith and in a timely manner, 
the Challenging Party may seek Court intervention to 
resolve the dispute. 
6. Access to and Use of Protected Material 
6.1 
Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Disclosure or 
Discovery Material that is disclosed or produced by another 
Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action (1) 
for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle the 
claims asserted in this Action; or (2) in a Related Action 
in accordance with the procedure set forth in Section 8. 
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Such Disclosure or Discovery Material may be disclosed only 
in accordance with this Order. Protected Material must be 
stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location 
and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited 
to the persons authorized under this Order. 
6.2 
Disclosure of Protected Material. Unless otherwise ordered 
by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating 
Party, a Receiving Party may disclose Protected Material 
only to: 
a. the Receiving Party’s Counsel, as well as to employees 
of such Counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to 
disclose the information for prosecuting, defending, or 
attempting to settle the claims asserted in this Action 
(or a Related Action in accordance with the procedure 
set forth in Section 8), unless such Protected Material 
is designated as “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL,” in which case a 
Receiving Party may disclose such Protected Material to 
only Outside Counsel of Record (or counsel of record in 
a Related Action in accordance with the procedure set 
forth in Section 8), as well as to employees of such 
Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to 
disclose the information for prosecuting, defending, or 
attempting to settle the claims asserted in this Action 
(or a Related Action in accordance with the procedure 
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set forth in Section 8); 
b. provided that the individuals herein listed are aware of 
this Order, the officers, directors, owners, and 
employees of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is 
reasonably necessary for purposes of prosecuting, 
defending, or attempting to settle the claims asserted 
in this Action (or a Related Action in accordance with 
the procedure set forth in Section 8), unless such 
Protected 
Material 
is 
designated 
as 
“HIGHLY 
CONFIDENTIAL,” in which case a Receiving Party shall not 
disclose 
such 
Protected 
Material 
to 
any 
person 
identified in this subsection b; 
c. the Court and its personnel in this Action (or a Related 
Action in accordance with the procedure set forth in 
Section 8), provided that the Protected Materials are 
filed or disclosed under seal in any public filing in 
the first instance and with protection from the viewing 
public; 
d. provided that they shall agree not to disclose Protected 
Material to those individuals listed in Section 6.2(b) 
of 
this 
Order 
and 
that 
they 
shall 
sign 
the 
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), 
court reporters retained by a Party or the Parties in 
connection with this Action (or a Related Action in 
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accordance with the procedure set forth in Section 8), 
as well as their staff; 
e. provided that they shall agree not to disclose Protected 
Material to those individuals listed in Section 6.2(b) 
of 
this 
Order 
and 
that 
they 
shall 
sign 
the 
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), 
Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably 
necessary for purposes of prosecuting, defending, or 
attempting to settle the claims asserted in this Action 
(or a Related Action in accordance with the procedure 
set forth in Section 8);  
f. provided that they shall agree not to disclose Protected 
Material to those individuals listed in Section 6.2(b) 
of 
this 
Order 
and 
that 
they 
shall 
sign 
the 
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), 
expert witnesses or consultants (and their respective 
staff members to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary 
to perform the expert’s or consultant’s engagement) and 
have been retained by any Party or any Party’s Counsel 
to furnish technical or expert services in connection 
with this Action (or any Related Actions in accordance 
with the procedure set forth in Section 8), or to give 
testimony in this Action (or any Related Actions in 
accordance with the procedure set forth in Section 8);  
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g. provided that they shall agree not to disclose Protected 
Material to those individuals listed in Section 6.2(b) 
of 
this 
Order 
and 
that 
they 
shall 
sign 
the 
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), 
during their depositions, witnesses in this Action (or 
a Related Action in accordance with the procedure set 
forth in Section 8) to whom disclosure is reasonably 
necessary, unless otherwise agreed by the Designating 
Party or ordered by the Court; and 
h. the author or recipient of a document containing the 
information or a custodian or other person who otherwise 
possessed or knew the information. 
7. Protected Material Subpoenaed, Ordered Produced in Other 
Litigation or Requested to Access by Third Party 
7.1 
Subpoenas or Orders to Produce.  If a Receiving Party is 
served with a discovery request, subpoena, or order issued 
in other litigation, or receives some other form of legal 
process or request from any court, governmental body or 
agency, legislative body, self-regulatory organization, 
other person or entity purporting to have authority to 
require the production thereof, to the extent permitted by 
law and applicable rules, the Receiving Party must: 
a. notify the Designating Party in writing (by electronic 
mail, if possible) as soon as reasonably practicable 
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and, in any event, no later than five (5) business days 
after receipt, unless production is required earlier 
than ten (10) business after receipt, in which case the 
notice must be made in time for the Designating Party to 
take steps as set forth below. Such notification shall 
include a copy of the request, subpoena, order, or other 
process, and identify the Protected Material sought by 
the request, subpoena, court order, or other form of 
process;  
b. promptly notify in writing the entity or individual that 
caused the request, subpoena, order, or other form of 
process to issue that some or all of the material covered 
by the request, subpoena, order, or other form of process 
is subject to this Order. Such notification shall 
include a copy of this Order;  
c. to the extent consistent with the rules and requirements 
of any relevant governmental agency or contrary to an 
order of a court of a competent jurisdiction or other 
supervisory 
authority, 
not 
produce 
the 
requested 
Protected Material unless and until a court of competent 
jurisdiction so directs, except if the Designating Party 
(1) consents, or (2) fails to file a motion to quash or 
fails to notify the Receiving Party of its intention to 
contest the production of the Protected Material prior 
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to the date designated for production of the Protected 
Material, in which event the Receiving Party may produce 
the Protected Material on the production date, but no 
earlier. In connection with any production of Protected 
Material subject to this Order, the Receiving Party 
shall request confidential treatment for the Protected 
Material; and  
d. provide 
the 
Designating 
Party with a reasonable 
opportunity to object or otherwise limit or protect from 
disclosure its Protected Material. The purpose of 
imposing these duties is, to the extent consistent with 
the rules and requirements of any relevant governmental 
agency, or otherwise permitted by law, to alert the 
interested parties to the existence of this Order and to 
afford the Designating Party an opportunity to try to 
protect its confidentiality interest in the matter or 
proceeding in connection with which the request, 
subpoena, order, or other form of process is issued. The 
Designating Party shall bear the burdens and the 
expenses of seeking protection in that matter or 
proceeding of its Protected Material. Nothing in these 
provisions 
should 
be 
construed 
as 
authorizing, 
requiring, or encouraging a Receiving Party to disobey, 
or to risk contempt of, a lawful directive from another 
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court or a governmental agency.  
In the event that Protected Material is produced to 
a Non-Party in response to a request, subpoena, order, 
or some other form of process, such Discovery Material 
shall continue to be treated in this Action in accordance 
with any designation as Protected Material.  
7.2 
Requests from Non-Parties.  If Receiving Party seeks leave 
to provide a Non-Party to the litigation (including the 
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis or the Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System) with access to 
certain Protected Materials, the Receiving Party must: 
a. notify the Designating Party in writing before allowing 
access to Protected Material to any Non-Party. Such 
notice may be provided by email and must identify the 
Protected Material with reasonable specificity (e.g., 
Bates number, transcript page, etc.). The written notice 
must recite that it is being made in accordance with 
this Section 7.2 of the Order;  
b. allow the Designating Party to object to allowing access 
to Protected Material to a Non-Party by providing a 
written objection to the Receiving Party and all other 
Parties within five (5) business days of receiving 
notice pursuant to Section 7.2 of this Order (which 
deadline may be extended by written agreement of the 
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Designating and Notifying Parties). Written objections 
must identify the Protected Material to which the 
Designating Party is objecting and describe the basis 
for each objection. To avoid ambiguity as to whether an 
objection has been made, the written objection must 
recite that it is being made in accordance with this 
Section 7.2 of the Order. If the Designating Party does 
not provide a written objection within five (5) business 
days of receiving notice (or such later time as may have 
been agreed pursuant hereto), its objection shall be 
deemed waived;  
c. meet-and-Confer with Designating Party in good faith, 
before seeking Court intervention, before allowing 
access to Protected Material to a Non-Party. The Parties 
must meet and confer within five (5) business days of 
receiving written objections (which deadline may be 
extended by written agreement of the Designating and 
Notifying Parties). If the Designating Party does not 
meet and confer within five (5) business days of 
providing objections (or such later time as may have 
been agreed pursuant hereto), its objections shall be 
deemed waived; and  
d. if the Receiving Party and the relevant Designating 
Party cannot resolve objections through the meet-and-
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confer process in Section 7.2.a., the Receiving Party 
may seek intervention from this Court to resolve the 
dispute. 
8. Use of Protected Material in Related Actions 
8.1 
Notice. A Notifying Party must notify the Designating Party 
in writing before using Protected Material in a Related 
Action. Such notice may be provided by email and must 
identify 
the 
Protected 
Material 
with 
reasonable 
specificity (e.g., Bates number, transcript page, etc.). 
The written notice must recite that it is being made in 
accordance with this Section 8 of the Order.  
8.2 
Procedure for Objections. The Designating Party may object 
to the use of such Protected Material in a Related Action 
by providing a written objection to the Notifying Party 
and all other Parties within five (5) business days of 
receiving notice pursuant to Section 8.1 of this Order 
(which deadline may be extended by written agreement of 
the Designating and Notifying Parties). Written objections 
must identify the Protected Material to which the 
Designating Party is objecting and describe the basis for 
each objection. To avoid ambiguity as to whether an 
objection has been made, the written objection must recite 
that it is being made in accordance with this Section 8 of 
the Order. If the Designating Party does not provide a 
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written objection within five (5) business days of 
receiving notice (or such later time as may have been 
agreed pursuant hereto), its objection shall be deemed 
waived.  
8.3 
Meet-and-Confer 
Requirement. 
Before 
seeking 
Court 
intervention to resolve a dispute over using Protected 
Material in a Related Action, the Notifying Party and the 
relevant Designating Party shall first meet and confer in 
a good faith attempt to resolve the dispute. The Parties 
must meet and confer within five (5) business days of 
receiving written objections (which deadline may be 
extended by written agreement of the Designating and 
Notifying Parties). If the Designating Party does not meet 
and confer within five (5) business days of providing 
objections (or such later time as may have been agreed 
pursuant hereto), its objections shall be deemed waived. 
8.4 
Court Intervention. If the Notifying Party and the relevant 
Designating Party cannot resolve objections through the 
meet-and-confer process in Section 8.3, the Notifying Party 
may seek intervention from the Court presiding over the 
Action to resolve the dispute. 
9. A Non-Party’s Protected Material Sought to be Produced in this 
Litigation 
9.1 
The terms of this Order are applicable to information 
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produced by a Non-Party in this Action and designated as 
“CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information 
produced by Non-Parties in connection with this Action is 
protected by the remedies and relief provided by this 
Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as 
prohibiting 
a 
Non-Party 
from 
seeking 
additional 
protections. 
10. 
Unauthorized Disclosure of Protected Material 
10.1 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or 
otherwise, it has disclosed Protected Material to any 
person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 
Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (1) notify in 
writing 
the 
Designating 
Party 
of 
the 
unauthorized 
disclosures, (2) use reasonable efforts to retrieve all 
unauthorized copies of the Protected Material as soon as 
practicable, (3) inform the person or persons to whom 
unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this 
Order, and (4) request such person or persons to execute 
the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is 
attached hereto as Exhibit A.  
11. 
Clawback of Privileged or Otherwise Protected Material 
11.1 If a Producing Party claims that it has inadvertently 
produced Discovery Material that is subject to a claim of 
privilege or protection, including without limitation 
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attorney-client privilege and work-product protection, 
pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 502(d), such disclosure shall 
not constitute or be deemed a waiver or forfeiture of any 
claim of any claim of privilege or protection with respect 
to such Discovery Material or its subject matter in this 
Action or in any other proceeding. 
11.2 In order to claw back Discovery Material that is subject 
to a claim of privilege or other protection that was 
produced inadvertently, the Producing Party must provide 
notice in writing to the Receiving Party specifying the 
production number of the Discovery Material it wishes to 
claw back. Upon notice that a Producing Party wishes to 
claw back Discovery Material that is subject to a claim of 
privilege or other protection, the Receiving Party shall 
(1) promptly undertake commercially reasonable efforts to 
return to the Producing Party such Discovery Material and 
destroy all summaries or copies of such Discovery Material, 
(2) provide notice in writing that the Receiving Party has 
undertaken reasonable efforts to return and destroy such 
Discovery Material, and (3) not use such Discovery Material 
for any purpose until further order of the Court. In all 
events, such return, destruction, and certification must 
occur within ten (10) business days of receipt of the 
request. Within ten (10) business days of the notification 
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Civil No. 23 – 01034 (GMM) 
Page -22-  
 
that the Receiving Party has undertaken reasonable efforts 
to return or destroy the Discovery Material that is subject 
to a claim of privilege or other protection, the Producing 
Party shall produce a privilege log stating the basis of 
the claim that such Discovery Material is privileged or 
otherwise protected in compliance with the requirements 
set forth in Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5). If the Receiving 
Party seeks to challenge the assertion of privilege or 
other protection over such Discovery Material, it must 
raise any such challenge to the Court within fifteen (15) 
business days of receiving a privilege log, or within such 
additional time as allowed by the Court. 
11.3 If, during a deposition, a Party claims that a document 
being used in the deposition (e.g., marked as an exhibit, 
shown to the witness, or made the subject of examination) 
contains information that is subject to a claim of 
privilege or other protection, the Party may at its sole 
election (1) allow the document to be used during the 
deposition without waiver of its claim of privilege or 
personal protection, or (2) instruct the witness not to 
answer questions concerning the portions of the document 
containing information that is subject to a claim of 
privilege or other protection pending a prompt resolution 
of any disagreement concerning whether the document 
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Civil No. 23 – 01034 (GMM) 
Page -23-  
 
constitutes or contains privileged or otherwise protected 
material. If the Party allows the examination concerning 
the document to proceed on a non-waiver basis, the Parties 
shall return or destroy all copies of the document subject 
to a claim of privilege or other protection pursuant to 
Section 11.1. Immediately following the deposition, the 
Parties will commence the procedures set forth in Section 
11.1 to address the claim of privilege or other protection 
and any related disputes. Until any such disputes are 
resolved, all Parties that have access to the transcript 
of such deposition shall treat the relevant portion(s) of 
the transcript as privileged or otherwise protected. 
12. 
Miscellaneous 
12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges 
the right of any person to seek its modification by the 
Court in the future.  
12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the 
entry of this Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise 
would have to object to disclosing or producing any 
information or item on any ground not addressed in this 
Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on 
any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered 
by this Order. 
 
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Civil No. 23 – 01034 (GMM) 
Page -24-  
 
13. 
Final Disposition 
 
Within sixty (60) days after the final disposition of this 
Action, as defined in Section 3, each Receiving Party must return 
all Protected Material to the Producing Party or provide a 
certification that they have destroyed such material. As used in 
this Section, “all Protected Material” includes without limitation 
all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other 
format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. 
Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the 
Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the 
Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the 
Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that affirms that (1) 
all Protected Material was returned or destroyed, and (2) the 
Receiving 
Party 
has 
not 
retained 
any 
copies, 
abstracts, 
compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or 
capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this 
provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all 
pleadings, motion papers, trial, and hearing transcripts, legal 
memoranda, 
correspondence, 
trial 
exhibits, 
expert 
reports, 
attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, 
even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such 
archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material 
remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 3. 
The Court shall retain jurisdiction to enforce the terms of this 
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Civil No. 23 – 01034 (GMM) 
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Order. 
IT IS SO ORDERED 
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, on October 7, 2024.  
 
 
s/Gina R. Méndez-Miró 
GINA R. MÉNDEZ-MIRÓ 
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 
 
 
 
 
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