Ellen M. et al v. Horizon BlueCross BlueShield of New Jersey et al

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
ELLEN M. and G.M.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
HORIZON BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD
OF NEW JERSEY; SANOFI US and
SANOFI-AVENTIS U.S. LLC GROUP
HEALTH & WELFARE PLAN,
Defendants.
Civil Action No. 4:25-cv-11501-MRG
AGREED PROTECTIVE ORDER
For good cause shown under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c), the Court Defendants Horizon Blue
Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (“Horizon”), Sanofi US (“Sanofi”), and the Sanofi-Aventis U.S.
LLC Group Health & Welfare Plan (the “Plan”) (collectively “Defendants”) and Plaintiffs Ellen
M. and G.M. (“Plaintiffs”) (together with Defendants, the “Parties”) Joint Motion for Entry of an
Agreed Protective Order and enters the following Protective Order:
WHEREAS, Defendants and Plaintiffs Ellen M. and G.M. (“Plaintiffs,” and together with
Defendants, the “Parties” and each individually, a “Party”) request that this Court issue this
Stipulated Confidentiality Agreement and Protective Order (hereafter, “Order”) pursuant to
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) to facilitate the voluntary exchange of documents and protect
the confidentiality of nonpublic and competitively sensitive business or private health or personal
information that they may need to disclose in connection with discovery in this action;
WHEREAS, the Parties, through counsel, agree to the following terms; and
WHEREAS, this Court finds that good cause exists for issuance of this Order;
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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Parties, their respective officers, agents, servants,
employees, and attorneys, any other person in active concert or participation with any of the
foregoing, and all other persons with actual notice of this Order will adhere to the following terms:
Scope of Protection
1. 	This Order shall govern all information adduced in this action, including but not
limited to discovery requests, any documents or materials produced in response to discovery
requests, deposition and trial testimony (whether based upon oral examination or written
questions), and any other information that a producing party may designate in connection with this
action (collectively referred to as “Discovery Material”).
2. 	This Order shall apply to the Parties, their representatives, agents, experts, and
consultants, as well as all non-parties from whom discovery may be sought.
4. 	In the event that a Party seeks discovery from a non-party to this action, the Parties
and/or the non-party may invoke the terms of this Order with respect to any Discovery Material to
be provided by the non-party.
3. 	This Order authorizes the disclosure of information protected by the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), as amended by the Health
Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH Act”), including all
applicable regulations and guidance issued by the Secretary of the United States Department of
Health and Human Services (collectively “HIPAA Rules”), including specifically 42 C.F.R. Part
2 and 45 C.F.R. §§ 164.512(e)(1)(ii)(B), 164.512(e)(1)(v), as well as all state laws and regulations
regarding the privacy and security of personal information (collectively with the HIPAA Rules,
“Privacy and Security Rules”). This Order constitutes a Qualified Protective Order, as that term is
defined in the Privacy and Security Rules.
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Confidentiality
4. 	Confidential 	Information. 	“Confidential 	Information” 	means 	information 	in
written, oral, electronic, graphic, pictorial, audiovisual, or other form, whether it be a document,
information contained in a document, information revealed during a deposition, information
revealed in a request and/ or response to an interrogatory or request for admission, or any other
form of evidence or discovery contemplated under Part 5 of the Federal Rules which (1) is
designated as “Confidential” by the producing party, and (2) which, in the good faith belief of the
producing party contains (i) private health or personal information protected from disclosure under
HIPAA and/or any other state or federal legislation, (ii) financial or tax information, (iii)
confidential or proprietary research, development, design, construction, commercial, or business
information that would not normally be revealed to the public, and/or (iv) trade secrets. 	In
designating information as Confidential Information, the producing party shall make such a
designation only as to the material or portion of the Discovery Material that the producing party,
in good faith, believes contains Confidential Information. 	All Discovery Material that is
designated “Confidential” shall be used for purposes of this action and for no other purposes,
except as set forth within this Order.
5. 	Material That Is Not Confidential. 	Discovery Material will not be deemed
“Confidential,” and producing party shall use reasonable efforts to ensure that Discovery Material
is not designated as such, if the content or substance thereof is at the time of production or
disclosure, or subsequently becomes, through no wrongful act or failure to act on the part of the
receiving party, generally available to the relevant public through publication or otherwise.
6. 	Attorney’s Eyes-Only Information. 	“Attorney’s Eyes Only Information” refers to
any Discovery Material that may be designated as “Confidential” as that term is defined in
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Paragraph 4 and is of the most sensitive nature and believed to be unknown to the public and the
opposing party and which, if disclosed, would adversely affect the producing party’s legitimate
business interests and/or provide a competitor with significant technical or unfair business
advantages. 	The designation of Discovery Material as “Attorney’s Eyes Only” shall be the rare
exception and not the rule.
7. 	Process of Designation. 	All Confidential Information or Attorney’s Eyes-Only
Information must be designated in the following manner, as applicable:
a. 	Documents. 	Documents designated as “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only”
shall be so identified by the producing party marking each page of the document as
“Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only,” or by issuing some other conspicuous
notice identifying the material as “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” (such
as by letter setting forth the bates numbers or ranges or otherwise describing with
particularity the documents to be treated as “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes
Only”). If a receiving party wishes to designate documents produced by another
party as “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only,” the receiving party shall have a
reasonable opportunity to request that the party who has control of the documents
at issue make such designation.
b. 	Designation of Other Discovery Material. 	Discovery Material designated as
“Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” that is not in documentary or other
tangible form, or that cannot conveniently be labeled, shall be designated by the
producing party in a writing provided to the receiving party at the time of
production.
c. 	Testimony or Deposition. 	Testimony or information disclosed at a deposition may
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be designated as “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” by indicating on the
record 	at 	the 	deposition 	the 	specific 	testimony 	which 	shall 	be 	designated
“Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only.” 	Alternatively, deposition testimony
may be designated as “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” by so advising the
other parties in writing of the portions of the transcript that shall be treated as
“Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” within 15 days after the deposition
transcript is prepared. 	Until the end of this 15-day period (or until an earlier
designation is made by counsel) the entire deposition shall be treated as if
designated “Confidential.”
8. 	Inadvertent Production Without Designation. 	If a party, through inadvertence,
produces any Discovery Material that the party believes should be designated “Confidential” or
“Attorney’s Eyes Only” without labeling or marking or otherwise designating it as such in
accordance with the provisions of this Order (“Misdesignated Material”), such production shall
not be deemed a waiver of the producing party’s later claim that such Misdesignated Material
should be designated “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only.” 	The producing party may give
written notice to the receiving party that the Misdesignated Material is designated “Confidential”
or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” and should be treated as such in accordance with the provisions of this
Order. The receiving party must treat the Misdesignated Material as “Confidential” or “Attorney’s
Eyes Only” from the date such notice is received, unless the receiving party can demonstrate that
the Misdesignated Material does not qualify as “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” under
paragraphs 4 and 6 of this Order. Prior to the receipt of such notice, disclosure of Misdesignated
Material to persons not authorized to receive Confidential Information or Attorney’s Eyes-Only
Information, shall not be deemed a violation of this Order, nor shall it cause such information,
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otherwise “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” under this Order, to no longer qualify for such
designation. Upon the producing party’s identification of Misdesignated Material to the receiving
party, arrangements will be made for the destruction of the Misdesignated Material or for the return
to the producing party of all copies of the Misdesignated Material and for the substitution, where
appropriate, of properly designated copies of Discovery Material. 	Upon receipt of replacement
copies of the Misdesignated Material with the proper designation, the receiving party shall take all
reasonable steps to return or destroy all previously produced copies of the Misdesignated Material.
If requested by the producing party, a receiving party shall verify in writing that it has taken all
reasonable steps to return or destroy Misdesignated Material.
9. 	Unauthorized Disclosure of Confidential Information or Attorney’s Eyes-Only
Information. 	In the event of a disclosure by a receiving party of Confidential Information and/or
Attorney’s Eyes Only Information to persons or entities not authorized by this Order to receive
such information, the receiving party making the unauthorized disclosure shall, upon learning of
the disclosure: (i) immediately notify the person or entity to whom the disclosure was made that
the disclosure contains Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only Information subject
to this Order; (ii) immediately make reasonable efforts to recover the disclosed Confidential
Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only Information as well as preclude further dissemination or
use by the person or entity to whom the disclosure was made; and (iii) immediately notify the
producing party of the identity of the person or entity to whom the disclosure was made, the
circumstances surrounding the disclosure, and the steps taken to recover the disclosed Confidential
Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes Only Information and ensure against further dissemination or
use thereof. 	Disclosure of Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes-Only Information
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other than in accordance with the terms of this Order may subject the disclosing person to such
sanctions and remedies as the Court may deem appropriate.
10. 	Permitted Disclosure of Confidential Information. 	Counsel and others shall not
disclose or permit the disclosure of Confidential Information under this Order to any other person
or entity, except in the following circumstances:
a. 	Disclosure may be made to employees of counsel who have direct functional
responsibility for assisting in the preparation and trial of this action or any related
appeal, including paralegal, secretarial, and clerical employees. Any employee to
whom disclosure is made shall be advised of, and shall become subject to, the terms
of this Order;
b. 	Disclosure may be made to consultants or experts employed by counsel to assist in
the preparation and trial of this action or any related appeal, but any such
consultants or experts to whom Confidential Information is disclosed must agree in
writing to be bound by the terms of this Order;
c. 	Disclosure may be made to employees of the parties to the extent required for
assisting in the preparation and trial of this action or any related appeal;
d. 	Disclosure may be made to the Court and court personnel (including the court
having jurisdiction over any appeal) and jurors in connection with this action,
provided that, if the disclosure is made as part of a court filing, the Confidential
Information shall be filed under seal or appropriately redacted;
e. 	Disclosure may be made to court reporters used in connection with this action, as
necessary for bona fide purposes related to this action;
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f. 	Disclosure may be made to any person who wrote, possessed, viewed or received a
copy of information designated “Confidential” before it was furnished in this
action;
g. 	Disclosure may be made to any mediators and employees of such mediators who
are actively engaged in assisting the mediators in connection with this action;
h. 	Disclosure may be made to employees of copying, microfilming, document
imaging, facsimile, and other services engaged to reproduce Discovery Material in
connection with this action; and
i. 	Disclosure may be made to trial or hearing witnesses or deponents in the course of
this action as necessary for bona fide purposes related to the witness’s or deponent’s
testimony, and after the person to whom such disclosure is made has been informed
of the Order and has agreed in writing to be bound by it.
11. 	Permitted Disclosure of Attorney’s Eyes-Only Information. 	Counsel and others
shall not disclose or permit the disclosure of Attorney’s Eyes Only Information under this Order
to any other person or entity, except in the following circumstances:
a. 	Disclosure may be made to the Court and court personnel (including the court
having jurisdiction over any appeal) in connection with this action, provided that,
if the disclosure is made as part of a court filing, the Attorneys Eyes Only
Information shall be filed under seal or appropriately redacted;
b. 	Disclosure may be made to court reporters used in connection with this action, as
necessary for bona fide purposes related to this action;
c. 	Disclosure may be made to any person who (1) prepared, possessed, or received the
Attorney’s Eyes Only Information or a copy thereof before it was furnished in this
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action; or (2) was present or participated in a meeting or discussion of the
Attorney’s Eyes Only Information before it was furnished in this action;
d. 	Disclosure may be made to any mediators and employees of such mediators who
are actively engaged in assisting the mediators in connection with this action; and
e. 	Disclosure may be made to employees of copying, microfilming, document
imaging, facsimile, and other services engaged to reproduce Discovery Material in
connection with this action.
12. 	Any person having access to Discovery Material designated “Confidential” or
“Attorney’s Eyes Only” under this Order, including consultants and experts, shall not make copies,
extracts, summaries, or descriptions of such Discovery Material or any portion thereof, except as
necessary for the preparation and trial of this action.
13. 	Challenges to Designations. 	The parties shall have the right to dispute the
“Confidential” or “Attorneys’ Eyes Only” designation claimed by any other party or non-party in
accordance with this Order. 	If a receiving party believes that any documents or materials have
been inappropriately designated by a producing party, the receiving party shall confer in good faith
with counsel for the producing party. 	As part of that conferral, the producing party must assess
whether redaction is a viable alternative to complete nondisclosure. 	If the parties are unable to
resolve the matter informally, either party may file the appropriate motion seeking relief from the
Court. Regardless of which party files the motion, the party seeking to prevent the disclosure bears
the 	burden 	of 	establishing 	good 	cause 	for 	non-disclosure. 	Information 	claimed 	to 	be
“Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” that is subject to a dispute as to proper designation shall,
until further order of the Court, be treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order pursuant
to its designation as “Confidential” and/or “Attorney’s Eyes Only.” 	In this circumstance, a
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producing party’s designation of the Discovery Material shall be controlling unless otherwise
determined by the Court. 	In the event a motion to challenge a producing party’s designation of
Discovery 	Material 	as 	“Confidential” 	or 	“Attorney’s 	Eyes 	Only” 	is 	pursued, 	it 	and 	the
accompanying materials shall be filed under seal, and the confidentiality of such information shall
remain protected until the Court shall order otherwise. 	The parties shall attempt to resolve any
such challenge by agreement prior to filing such a motion. A party is not obligated to challenge
the propriety of any “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eye’s Only” designation at the time of
production or, in the case of Misdesignated Material, at the time of designation, and failure to do
so shall not preclude a subsequent challenge thereto or constitute an admission that such
designation was proper.
14. 	Limited Use. 	Use of Confidential Information and/or Attorney’s Eyes-Only
Information produced in this action shall be limited to this action.
15. 	Trial Procedures. A determination as to when and what special procedures, if any,
are necessary for handling Discovery Material designated “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes
Only” subject to this Order at trial shall be deferred until a trial date has been set in this case.
Nothing contained in this Order, however, shall preclude either party from attempting to use any
Discovery Material designated “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” as evidence should this
matter proceed to trial, subject to any confidentiality protections that the Court may direct.
Notwithstanding, the exhibits, whether in a hearing or at trial, labeled “Confidential” or
“Attorney’s Eyes Only” shall not be required to be in an envelope unless explicitly agreed by the
parties or ordered by the Court.
16. 	Return of Confidential Information. 	Within 60 days following the conclusion of
this action (including any appeals, if applicable), all copies of Discovery Material designated
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“Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” will be destroyed or returned to the party or non-party
who produced them. 	Counsel for each party shall, if requested by the other party, provide a
certificate or other writing confirming compliance with the foregoing provision. In addition, any
copies of such of Discovery Material designated “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only” that
are offered or admitted into evidence during this action will be maintained under seal in the Court
file or returned to the producing party. 	Counsel for each party shall be entitled to retain all
pleadings, motion papers, discovery responses (other than the other party’s produced documents
designated “Confidential” or “Attorney’s Eyes Only”), deposition transcripts, legal memoranda,
correspondence, and work product.
17. 	No Waiver or Obligation to Object to Production. 	Nothing contained in this Order
shall be construed to require production of Confidential Information or Attorney’s Eyes-Only
Information which is privileged or otherwise protected from discovery or which is not responsive
to a discovery request. In addition, nothing contained in this Order shall be construed as a waiver
by any party of its right to object to the subject matter of any discovery request, nor as a waiver by
any party of its obligation to fulfill its discovery obligations under the Federal Rules. The entry
of this Order shall not be construed as an agreement by any party to produce any documents or to
supply any information and shall not constitute an admission that any such documents that may
exist are relevant or material in any way to the issues raised in the pending action or admissible in
such action, nor as a waiver of any applicable privilege.
Additional Provisions
18. 	This Order shall survive the final conclusion of the action, and this Court retains
jurisdiction of the parties hereto indefinitely as to any dispute between any of them regarding
improper use of Discovery Material pursuant to this Order.
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19. 	This Order is without prejudice to the right of any party, or an interested non-party,
to seek relief from the Court, upon good cause shown, from any of the restrictions provided above
or to impose additional limitations or restrictions on the disclosure of any Discovery Material
produced. 	Any producing party shall have the right to waive all or part of the protections
hereunder.
SO STIPULATED AND AGREED.
Dated: January 20, 2026
HORIZON BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF
NEW JERSEY, SANOFI US, and SANOFI-
AVENTIS U.S. LLC GROUP HEALTH &
WELFARE PLAN
By: 	/s/ Danni L. Shanel
Danni L. Shanel, Esq.
TROUTMAN 	PEPPER 	LOCKE 	LLP
111 Huntington Avenue, 9th Floor
Boston, MA 02199-7613
Telephone: (617) 204-5138
danni.shanel@troutman.com
Attorneys for Defendants Horizon Blue Cross Blue
Shield of New Jersey, Sanofi US, and Sanofi-Aventis
U.S. LLC Group Health & Welfare Plan
ELLEN M. AND G.M.
By: 	/s/ Brian S. King
Brian S. King, admitted pro hac vice
BRIAN S. KING, P.C.
420 East South Temple, Suite 420
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Telephone: (801) 532-1739
Facsimile: (801) 532-1936
brian@briansking.com
Attorney for Plaintiffs
/s/ Margaret R. Guzman
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