Bell v. Starks

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
LARRY BELL #880812,
Plaintiff,
v
CMO SHANA STARKS,
Defendant.
NO. 4:23-cv-10074
HON. F. KAY BEHM
MAG. DAVID R. GRAND
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
This 	matter 	having 	come 	before 	the 	Court 	on 	the 	parties’
stipulation, the Court being fully apprised in the premises,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED as follows:
1. 	Scope. 	All materials produced or adduced in this Court of
this action, including during discovery, including but not limited to
responses to requests for discovery, deposition testimony, exhibits, and
information or materials derived therefrom (collectively, “documents”),
shall be subject to this order concerning Confidential Information or
Attorney Eyes Only Information as defined below. This order is subject
to the Local Rules of this Court and the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure.
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2. 	Confidential Documents. When used in this order,
“Confidential Documents” mean documents of a type contemplated by
Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c) that a party, in good faith, regards as confidential,
proprietary, trade secret(s), or other sensitive business or personal
information, including medical records.
3. 	All confidential documents, as that term is defined by
Paragraph 2, shall be used solely for the prosecution and/or defense of
this action, including any appeal(s) resulting from this action.
4. 	The parties and counsel for the parties shall not disclose or
permit the disclosure of any confidential information to any person
currently or formerly under the jurisdiction of the MDOC except as
detailed in Paragraphs 4a and 4h below, copies of the records shall not
be provided to or discussed with them without MDOCs’ permission
granted pursuant to this order. Except as provided in Paragraphs 5
and 11, no document designated as confidential, and no information
contained in a confidential document, may be disclosed to any person
other than:
a. 	The parties, except that Plaintiff, Larry Bell, may
review but is not permitted to possess, retain, copy, or
reproduce confidential information;
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b. 	Counsel for the parties;
c. 	Secretaries, paralegal, assistants, and other employees
of such counsel who are actively engaged in assisting
counsel in the preparation of this action;
d. 	The Court and its personnel;
e. 	Persons noticed for deposition, or persons who may be
designated as witnesses, including outside consultants
and experts retained for the purpose of assisting in the
preparation of this action (whether or not said outside
consultant or expert is retained to testify in this
action), subject to the provisions of Paragraph 13;
f. 	Any facilitator/mediator who the parties have agreed to
use in this case or ordered by the Court; or
g. 	Court reporters used in this case.
h. 	Prisoner Witnesses and Prisoner Witnesses at
Deposition. Witnesses in this action to whom
disclosure is reasonably necessary. Witnesses shall not
possess or retain a copy of documents containing
Confidential Information, except witnesses may review
a copy of all exhibits marked at their depositions in
connection with review of the transcripts. Pages of
transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to
depositions that are designated as Confidential
Information pursuant to the process set out in this
order must be separately bound by the court reporter
and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted
under this order. Witnesses may review copies of
exhibits, including grievances and attachments if
redacted for names and personally identifying
information of victims. No copies shall be retained. The
redaction shall be approved by both parties prior to the
witnesses’ review.
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5. 	Except for the parties, counsel for the parties in this action,
and their employees, secretaries, and paralegals, and the Court and its
employees covered by the provisions of Paragraph 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d,
disclosure to other persons shall be made only upon the condition that
the party disclosing the confidential document or information shall
inform the person that he or she: (a) shall not use, directly or
indirectly, any information from any confidential documents for
purposes other than the prosecution or defense of this action; (b) shall
not copy or duplicate, in any form, any confidential documents or
information from any confidential documents; or (c) disclose such
information to any person who is not permitted to receive such
documents and information under the terms of this Protective Order.
6. 	Confidential or Attorney Eyes Only Information
Subpoenaed or Ordered to be Produced in Other
Litigation.
If a receiving party is served with a subpoena or an order issued in
other litigation that would compel disclosure of any material or
document designated in this action as Confidential or Attorney Eyes
Only Information, the receiving party must so notify the MDOC, in
writing, immediately and in no event more than three business days
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after receiving the subpoena or order. Such notification must include a
copy of the subpoena or court order. The receiving party also must
immediately inform in writing the party who caused the subpoena or
order to issue in the other litigation that some or all the material
covered by the subpoena or order is the subject of this order. In
addition, the receiving party must deliver a copy of this order promptly
to the party in the other action that caused the subpoena to issue. The
receiving party shall not produce the Confidential or Attorney Eyes
Only Information without order from this Court or from another court
of competent jurisdiction.
7. 	Attorney Eyes Only Information. When used in this
order, “Attorney Eyes Only Information” means documents, other
material, or information designated as “ATTORNEY EYES ONLY –
SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” by the producing party or non-
party that falls within the following categories: (a) documents, other
material, or information whose disclosure presents a danger to the
security interests of the Michigan Department of Corrections; (b)
information that endangers public safety; or (c) information that
reveals personal identifying information of an employee or former
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employee of the Michigan Department of Corrections (other than their
name).
8. 	All Attorney Eyes Only Information, as that term is defined
by Paragraph 7, shall be used solely for the prosecution and/or defense
of this action, including any appeal(s) resulting from this action.
9. 	Except as provided in Paragraphs 10 and 11, no document,
materials, or information designated as Attorney Eyes Only
information may be disclosed to any person other than:
a. 	Counsel for the parties;
b. 	Secretaries, paralegal assistants, and other employees
of such counsel who are actively engaged in assisting
counsel in the preparation of this action;
c. 	The Court and its personnel;
d. 	Any facilitator/mediator who the parties have agreed to
use in this case or ordered by the Court;
e. 	Any outside consultants and experts retained for the
purpose of assisting in the in the preparation of this
action (whether or not said outside consultant or expert
is retained to testify in this action), subject to the
provisions of Paragraphs 12 and 13; or
10. 	Attorney Eyes Only Information may be disclosed to the
following persons with notice to the party producing the Attorney Eyes
Only Information:
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a. 	Persons noticed for deposition, but only during the
deposition, unless they are one of the individuals
enumerated in preceding Section 9;
b. 	A court reporter who is making a record of a deposition
if the information is referenced during the deposition.
11. 	Except for the counsel for the parties in this action, and their
employees, secretaries, and paralegals covered by the provisions of
Paragraph 9a and 9b, or the Court and its personnel covered by the
provisions of Paragraph 9c, disclosure to other persons shall be made
only upon the condition that the party disclosing the Attorney Eyes
Only document or information shall inform the person that he or she:
(a) shall not use, directly or indirectly, any information from any
Attorney Eyes Only documents for purposes other than the prosecution
or defense of this action; (b) shall not copy or duplicate, in any form, any
Attorney Eyes Only documents or information from any Attorney Eyes
Only documents; or (c) disclose such information to any person who is
not permitted to receive such documents and information under the
terms of this Protective Order.
12. 	Persons covered by the provisions of Paragraph 4e,
Paragraph 9e, and Paragraph 10a should immediately turn over any
confidential documents or Attorney Eyes Only Information to the
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producing party once their reason for the disclosure has been satisfied.
If any information or contents of a confidential document or Attorney
Eyes Only Information are disclosed in a deposition or court proceeding,
(1) either party may designate that a portion of the deposition
transcript be designated as Attorney Eyes Only Information, and (2) the
court reporter may retain a copy of the confidential document or
Attorney Eyes Only Information along with any transcript(s) of the
deposition subject to the provisions of Paragraph 11 Nothing in this
paragraph shall prevent counsel for the parties from obtaining a copy of
any transcripts of a sealed deposition.
13. 	Documents produced or information covered by this
Protective Order shall be made available only to persons authorized by
this Protective Order. Nothing in this Order shall prevent a party from
using any Attorneys Eyes Only or Confidential Material in any court
filings, during a hearing, or at trial. If any party proposes to or intends
to use such material, that party shall give reasonable notice, based on
the circumstances, to the designating party of such intended use to
allow the designating party an opportunity to petition the Court to
institute appropriate procedures to maintain the confidentiality of the
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materials to be used as provided in the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure. The party designating the document as Confidential
pursuant to this order may waive the confidentiality designation at any
time by providing written notice to the opposing party, or by express
oral waiver of such designation during a deposition or other proceeding
on the record.
14. 	Challenges to Confidentiality. A party may challenge the
designation of confidentiality or attorneys’ eyes only by motion. The
movant must accompany such a motion with the statement required by
Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(1). The designating party bears the burden of
proving that the information, documents, or other material at issue are
properly designated as confidential. Until the Court rules on the
challenge, all parties shall continue to treat the materials as
confidential under the terms of this Order.
15. 	Nothing in this order shall prevent any party or nonparty
from seeking modification of this Protective Order, or from changing or
from objecting to discovery that it believes to be otherwise improper.
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16. 	Neither party will rely on this stipulation, which is given
solely to forward discovery and potentially avoid unnecessary motion
practice, as a basis to oppose a motion to modify this Protective Order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: December 10, 2025 	s/F. Kay Behm
F. Kay Behm
United States District Judge
The undersigned parties agree and stipulate to entry of the above
Stipulated Protective Order.
Date: December 10, 2025 	/s/Miranda M. Boulahanis (w/consent)
Miranda M. Boulahanis
Attorney for Plaintiff
Date: December 10, 2025 	/s/Michael R. Dean
Michael R. Dean
Attorney for Defendant
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