Protective Order
- Date
- 2021-12-06
Summary
A protective order entered December 6, 2021 in Navy SEALs 1-26, et al. v. Joseph R. Biden, Jr., et al., Case No. 4:21-cv-01236-O, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, as Document 37. Entered at the defendants' request under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), it sets terms for plaintiffs proceeding under pseudonyms to provide their identities to defense counsel. The order limits who may learn those identities, restricts their use to the litigation, and prohibits retaliatory action against plaintiffs identified through it. It requires redaction or a motion to seal under Northern District of Texas Local Rule 79.3 for filings containing the identities. The four-page order is signed by United States District Judge Reed O'Connor and attaches Appendix A, an acknowledgment and agreement to be bound.
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Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 37 Filed 12/06/21 Page 1 of 4 PageID 1631
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
NAVY SEALS 1-26, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v. Case No. 4:21-cv-01236-O
JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., in his official capacity as
President of the United States, et al.,
Defendants.
PROTECTIVE ORDER
Upon the request of Defendants in the above-captioned matter, and pursuant to Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), the Court hereby enters the following protective order, the
following terms having been agreed to by the parties to provide a mechanism for those plaintiffs
who are currently proceeding in this action through pseudonyms (collectively “the Pseudonym
Plaintiffs”) to provide their identities to Defendants.1
1. Provision of the Pseudonym Plaintiffs’ Identities and Under Seal Filings to
Defendants. Upon entry of this protective order, plaintiffs, through their counsel, will provide
the identities and addresses of the Pseudonym Plaintiffs along with any documents that have
been filed under seal in this matter to undersigned defense counsel of record.
2. Limited Dissemination of the Pseudonym Plaintiffs’ Identities. The following
persons may receive notice of the Pseudonym Plaintiffs’ identities: (a) counsel for defendants,
including supervisory officials at the Department of Justice and agency counsel for defendants;
(b) persons regularly in the employ of counsel for defendants directly assisting such counsel in the
prosecution or defense of this litigation and who have been advised by such counsel of their
1
Entry of this protective order does not deprive Defendants of the opportunity to file an opposition to Plaintiffs’
motion to proceed under pseudonyms.
1
Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 37 Filed 12/06/21 Page 2 of 4 PageID 1632
obligations hereunder; and (c) persons regularly in the employ of defendants who are actually
engaged in the preparation of this litigation for trial or other proceedings herein, provided that
such persons agree to and sign the attached undertaking (Appendix A). Counsel for defendants
shall maintain copies of all signed undertakings.
3. Permissible Uses of the Pseudonym Plaintiffs’ Identities. Any person learning the
Pseudonym Plaintiffs’ identities pursuant to this Protective Order (“Recipient”) shall use that
information only for purposes of this litigation and shall not disclose the Pseudonym Plaintiffs’
identities to anyone except persons identified in Paragraph 2, absent court order.
4. Retaliation Prohibited. Defendants and any others receiving this information
pursuant to Paragraph 2, are hereby prohibited from taking any adverse or retaliatory action
against Plaintiffs as a result of being identified through the provision of information under
Paragraph 1 as participating in this litigation.
5. Scope of the Protective Order. This protective order does not alter the
requirements of Northern District of Texas Local Rule 79.3. If any party wishes to use any
document containing the Pseudonym Plaintiffs’ identities, or other personally identifying
information that would lead to the discovery of the Pseudonym Plaintiffs’ identities, in a court
filing or proceeding in this action, they shall either (i) redact the Pseudonym Plaintiffs’ names
and other personally identifying information and utilize the Plaintiffs’ assigned pseudonym, or
(ii) shall file a motion to seal pursuant to Northern District of Texas Local Rule 79.3.
6. Modifications. Each party reserves the right to seek to modify the terms of this
protective order and Plaintiffs’ pseudonym status at any time. If a party seeks to modify the
protective order, the counsel for the party seeking to modify this protective order shall confer
with counsel for all other parties to this action.
2
Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 37 Filed 12/06/21 Page 3 of 4 PageID 1633
IT SO ORDERED, this 6th day of December, 2021.
_____________________________________
Reed O’Connor
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
3
Case 4:21-cv-01236-O Document 37 Filed 12/06/21 Page 4 of 4 PageID 1634
APPENDIX A
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], declare under penalty of
perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Protective Order that was issued by the
United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas on December 3, 2021 in U.S. Navy
SEALs 1-26, et al. v. Biden, et al., No. 4:21-cv-01236-O. I agree to comply with and to be bound
by all the terms of this Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply
could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I
will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective
Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Texas for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Protective Order, even if
such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action.
Date: _________________________________
City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
Printed name: ______________________________
[printed name]
Signature: __________________________________
[signature]
4
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