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CAUSE NO. DC-20-17150
ROYAL LAND ACQUISITION, LP, IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF
§§§§§§§§§§§§§§
PlaintijY,
v.
BURK REALTY INVESTMENTS, LLC;
ROYAL PRESTON PARTNERS, LLC; DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS
PETER FONBERG, AS TRUSTEE 0F
THE JEANNETTE SCHWARTZ TRUST;
And FONBERG REAL ESTATE
INVESTMENTS, LTD.,
Defendants. 95th JUDICIAL DISTRICT
AGREED PROTECTIVE ORDER
This matter came before the Court on the Joint Motion for Entry of Agreed Protective
Order of Plaintiff Royal Land Acquisition, LP (“Plaintiff”) and Defendants Burk Realty
Investments, LLC, Royal Preston Partners, LLC, Peter Fonberg, as Trustee of the Jeannette
Schwartz Trust, and Fonberg Real Estate Investment, Ltd. (“Defendants”) (collectively, the
“Parties” and each, individually, a “Party”).
WHEREAS, Plaintiff instituted the above-captioned lawsuit (the “Lawsuit”) against
Defendants; and
WHEREAS, certain documents the Parties will or may produce in connection with the
Lawsuit contain or may contain material of a confidential and/or proprietary nature, including trade
secrets or other confidential research, development, security, sensitive personal, financial, or
commercial information; and
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WHEREAS, the Parties believe that no less restrictive means than restricting the use and
disclosure of these confidential documents will adequately and effectively protect the specific
interests asserted.
NOW, THEREFORE, the Parties and their attorneys agree, and the Court ORDERS, as
follows:
l. This Agreed Protective Order (the “Order”) shall govern the production of
documents and other information or material in this case produced by any Party (as such term is
used in Paragraph 7.0., below) during the course of discovery or pre-trial procedures in the Lawsuit
to the extent that the producing Party invokes the provisions of this Order as to such documents or
other information or material by taking the action specified below. Documents produced in this
action by non-parties (“Producing Non-Party”) pursuant to a subpoena or other request may also
be subject to the provisions of this Order if a Party or the Producing Non-Party takes the action
specified herein to designate produced documents as “Confidential.”
2. Documents or information may be designated as “Confidential” for purposes of this
Order by a Party or a Producing Non-Party if the designating party in good faith reasonably
believes that the documents or information contain trade secrets or other confidential research,
development, security information, or sensitive personal, financial, or commercial information.
3. Any document or thing produced by any Party or Producing Non-Party or any
testimony taken in this action may be designated by a Party as “Confidential.” Only a Party or
Producing Non-Party to this action may so designate discovery or pre-trial information exchanged
by marking “Confidential” on documents produced pursuant to discovery or exhibit exchange or
on those specific portions of interrogatory answers deemed confidential, or by stating on the record
that portions of live testimony offered at a hearing or trial are to be treated as confidential.
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4. With respect to deposition testimony, a Party may designate specific portions of a
witness’s deposition testimony as “Confidential” by either identifying on the record those portions
of the testimony which are to be treated as confidential or, in writing, identifying confidential
portions of the witness’s testimony within thirty (30) days after a transcript of the deposition has
been prepared and received by the Parties from the court reporter. This Order does not prohibit a
Party from using excerpts from a deposition transcript in accordance with the Texas Rules of Civil
Procedure. Excepting such use, the transcript shall be maintained as confidential pursuant to the
terms of this Order during the thirty (30) days following receipt of any deposition transcript.
5. Documents consisting of multiple pages may be marked as “Confidential” under
this Order as follows:
a. Counsel shall make reasonable efforts to prevent documents and
information that are not of the type specified in paragraph 2, above, fiom
being marked “Confidential.”
b. Documents and information that are of the type specified in paragraph 2,
above, may be designated confidential by marking each page of the
document as “Confidential.”
6. Nothing in this Order is intended to nullify or terminate any confidentiality
provisions that might apply to a document under the terms of any other order or agreement
concerning confidentiality entered by any Court in any other case. Moreover, nothing in this Order
shall prevent any Party or Producing Non-Party from seeking permission to designate any
document, discovery response, deposition testimony, exhibit, thing, or other material as
“Attorneys’ Eyes Only” or from seeking other protection designed to protect the confidential
material of the Party or Producing Non-Party.
7. After conferring with the other Party in an attempt to resolve any dispute regarding
any confidentiality designation, any Party may challenge a designation of documents or
information as “Confidential” by moving for an order determining whether such designation was
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properly claimed pursuant to the standards set forth above and applicable law. The “Confidential”
designation will remain in effect until the Court orders otherwise. The burden of establishing that
the document should be treated as confidential rests upon the Party designating the same as
“Confidential.”
8. A Party shall not be obligated to challenge the propriety of a designation of certain
material as “Confidential” at the time made, and a failure to do so shall not preclude a subsequent
challenge.
9. These procedures are intended solely to facilitate the proceedings in this Lawsuit.
The failure to object to the designation of information as “Confidential” shall not be an admission
or an agreement that the information so designated constitutes or contains confidential or secret
information.
10. Confidential material produced and designated as such in this Lawsuit shall be used
by that Party solely in connection with, and only as necessary for, the Lawsuit and any related
appellate proceedings, and shall not be used for any other purpose, including, without limitation,
any other litigation or business purpose including any other court or administrative proceeding
whether in a state or federal forum, and the appeal of any such judicial or administrative
proceeding. Confidential material and information derived from Confidential material shall not
be disclosed by the Party receiving production of the same except to the following persons:
a. Counsel of record, including attorneys in the same firm, counsel associated
with counsel of record for this cause, and counsel for any Party to this
action;
b. Paralegal, stenographic, clerical, and secretarial personnel regularly
employed by, or contracted with, counsel referenced in subparagraph (a);
c. A Party, as currently named, or any officer, director, employee, agent,
counsel employees, contractors, or in-house legal personnel of a Party or
any parent, subsidiary, or other affiliate of a Party as necessary for the
Party’s participation in the Lawsuit;
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d. A Party’s auditors and regulators, as may incidentally occur as part of an
auditing or regulatory function;
e. The jury and court personnel, including stenographic reporters engaged in
the proceedings, as are necessarily incident to preparation for trial and trial
of this action; and
f. Any outside expert or prospective expert retained or anticipated to be
retained in connection with this action by any Party, and any Witness,
consultant, or prospective Witness associated with discovery, preparation
for trial and/or the trial of this action, provided that prior to disclosure of
any confidential information or material, counsel of record for the Party
making such disclosure shall provide a copy of this order to the person(s) to
Whom such disclosure is made and obtain a signed and dated written
acknowledgment stating as follows: “I, [name], have read the attached
Agreed Protective Order and I understand that l am bound by the terms
contained therein. l further submit myself to the jurisdiction of, and venue
in, the 95th Judicial District Court of Dallas County, Texas, for the purpose
of resolving any challenge to my obedience to the terms of this Agreed
Protective Order.”
11. No person having access to any Confidential material by reason of the production
of the same in this Lawsuit shall disclose in any manner its contents to any person other than those
described in the preceding paragraph. No such disclosure shall be made for any purpose other than
those specified in this Order.
12. In the course of producing documents or information in this case, the Parties
recognize that documents may be inadvertently or unintentionally produced, which contains or
concerns confidential or arguably confidential matters. The giving or public filing of any such
documents or testimony shall not constitute a general or subject matter waiver of this Order, nor
shall any such inadvertent disclosure preclude a Party or a Producing Non-Party from thereafter
designating such information or document as “Confidential” for purposes of this Order as set forth
herein above.
13. If confidential information is to be filed with the Court, it shall be the responsibility
of the filing Party to ensure that all such confidential information and all documents containing
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such confidential information are filed under seal in a sealed envelope labeled “Confidential
pursuant to terms of Agreed Protective Order,” or via an equivalent procedure as directed by the
Clerk or Court. This Paragraph 13 shall not affect the ability of the Court to consider confidential
information filed under seal in ruling upon any appropriate request for relief that relies in Whole
or in part on properly-filed confidential information.
14. In the event a Party wishes to use any confidential information in any affidavits,
briefs, memoranda of law, or other papers filed in Court in this action, such affidavits, briefs,
memoranda of law, or other papers so filed shall be designated as “CONFIDENTIAL
INFORMATION — SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” and shall be treated by the Court in
accordance with the provisions of this Order.
15. At the conclusion of trial and of any appeals or upon other termination of this
Lawsuit, all Confidential material received under the provisions of this Order (including, without
limitation, Confidential material in the possession of any outside expert) shall be destroyed or
returned to the person producing same within ninety (90) days of a written request for return or
destruction of any Party or Producing Non-Party; provided, however, that this provision shall not
apply to transcripts of depositions, pleadings, or exhibits to pleadings actually filed of record, or
trial testimony, or other sworn statements of witnesses. The provisions of this Order, insofar as
they restrict the communication and use of Confidential material or information derived from
Confidential material, shall continue to be binding upon all persons, including but not limited to
outside experts, who are subject to the terms of this order until the further order of this Court.
16. In the event that any person or Party violates or threatens to Violate any term of this
Order, the person or Party aggrieved by such violation or threatened violation may seek injunctive
relief or such other similar relief as the Court may determine to be appropriate.
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17. The Parties (with the consent of a Producing Non-Party if applicable) may by
written agreement waive or modify any term or provision of this Order. Nothing in this Order
shall be construed as a waiver of any right to object to the furnishing of information in response to
discovery on any basis, except that, after the entry of this Order, a Party may not refuse to furnish
information in response to discovery solely on the basis that the information is confidential.
18. This Order is binding upon the Parties to this action and Producing Non-Parties,
their officers, agents, contractors, employees, and attorneys, and upon those persons, including
without limitation, outside experts in active concert or participation with them, and others
identified in Paragraph 10 (including subparts) who receive actual notice of this Order by personal
service or otherwise, who avail themselves of the benefits of this Order, and/or who execute the
acknowledgement contemplated in Paragraph 10. The Court retains jurisdiction over all such
persons for the purpose of enforcing this Order.
19. It is specifically acknowledged and agreed that the production of any documents
pursuant to the terms of this Order shall not act as a waiver of any privilege applicable to such
document, including but not limited to, the attorney-client privilege, work product doctrine,
proprietary information privilege, joint defense or common interest privilege, and/or any
protection or limitation under a confidentiality agreement or protective order. Furthermore, the
production of privileged or work-product protected documents, ESI, or other information in this
case, whether inadvertent or otherwise, is not a waiver of the privilege or protection from discovery
in this case or in any other federal or state proceeding. This provision shall not serve to limit a
party’s right to conduct a review of documents, ESI or information (including metadata) for
relevance, responsiveness, and/or segregation of privileged and/or protected information before
production. This provision shall supplant the requirements contained in Texas Rule of Evidence
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511(b)(2) and, pursuant to Texas Rule of Evidence 511(b)(3) and/or (4), shall provide the
maximum protection allowed by law.
20. The Parties acknowledge that a Party or Producing Non-Party may have acquired,
before this Lawsuit commenced, and may maintain in the ordinary course of business, copies of
documents which have also been produced and designated as “Confidential” for purposes of this
Lawsuit (e.g., bank statements maintained by a bank Party). Nothing herein shall be construed to
limit a Party’s use of such documents in the ordinary course of the Party’s business, a
“Confidential” designation made for purposes of this litigation notwithstanding.
27th
IT IS SO ORDERED this July
day of , 2022.
7mm
JUDGE PRESIDING
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APPROVED AS TO FORM AND AGREED TO BY:
/s/ Richard M. Abernathy /s/ Eric W. Pinker
Richard M. Abernathy Eric W. Pinker
State Bar No. 00809500 State Bar No. 16016550
rabemathy@abernathy-law.com epinker@1ynnllp.com
ABERNATHY, ROEDER, BOYD & LYNN PINKER HURST &
HULLETT, P.C. SCHWEGMANN, LLP
1700 Redbud B1Vd., Suite 300 2100 Ross Avenue, Suite 2700
McKinney, Texas 75069 Dallas, Texas 75201
Telephone: (214) 544-4000 (2 14) 98 1 -3800 Telephone
Facsimile: (214) 544-4040 (214) 98 1 -3 839 Facsimile
/s/ Andrew P. Speicher ATTORNEY FOR DEFENDAN TS
Andrew P. Speicher BURK REALTY INVESTMENTS,
State Bar No. 24027878 LLC; ROYAL PRESTON PARTNERS,
drew.speicher@figdav.com LLC; PETER FONBERG, AS
FIGARI + DAVENPORT, LLP TRUSTEE OF THE JEANNETTE
901 Main Street, Suite 3400 SCHWARTZ TRUST; AND
Dallas, TX 75202 FONBERG REAL ESTATE
Tel: 214.939.2000 INVESTMENTS, LTD.
Fax: 214.939.2090
ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF
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