Rule 9018-1 Lodged Exhibits; Documents under Seal; Confidentiality

  1. Lodged Exhibits.  All models, diagrams, documents or other exhibits lodged with the Clerk that are admitted into evidence at trial shall be retained by the Clerk (unless required to be forwarded to an appellate court for purposes of an appeal) until expiration of the time for appeal without any appeal having been taken, entry of a stipulation waiving or abandoning the right to appeal, final disposition of any appeal or order of the Court, whichever occurs first.
     
  2. Documents under Seal.  Any party who seeks to file documents under seal must file a motion to that effect. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, only a copy, and not an original, shall be submitted to the Court.  The documents proposed to be filed under seal must be clearly identified as "FILED COPY" and placed in a prominently marked envelope with a cover sheet attached containing the caption, related docket number of the motion to file under seal, title of the document to be filed under seal and the legend "DOCUMENTS TO BE KEPT UNDER SEAL" in bold print.  This envelope must be delivered directly to the respective Judge's chambers with the Agenda to the hearing on the applicable motion to file under seal.  The Court shall keep the documents segregated and under seal until the motion is decided.  If the Court grants the motion to file under seal, the Clerk shall electronically docket the cover sheet and shall keep the documents segregated and under seal until the case or adversary proceeding is closed at which time the sealed documents shall be destroyed, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.  If the Court denies the motion to file under seal, the Clerk shall return the segregated, proposed sealed documents to counsel for the moving party without any disclosure to third parties and such documents shall not become part of the record in the case unless they are otherwise separately filed of record in accordance with the applicable rules.
     
  3. Order Authorizing Future Filing of Documents under Seal.  If an order has been signed granting the filing of future documents under seal, the related docket number of the applicable order must also be included on the cover sheet.  Any document filed under seal under a previously entered order of the Court shall be delivered to the Clerk's Office.  The Clerk shall electronically docket the cover sheet and shall keep the documents segregated and under seal until the case or adversary proceeding is closed at which time the sealed documents shall be destroyed, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.  
     
  4. Confidentiality.  If any information or documents are designated confidential by the producing party at the time of production and the parties have not stipulated to a confidentiality agreement, until such an agreement has been agreed to by the parties or ordered by the Court, disclosure shall be limited to members and employees of the law firm representing the receiving party and such other persons as to which the parties agree.  Such persons are under an obligation to keep such information and documents confidential and to use them only for purposes of the contested matter or the proceeding with respect to which they have been produced.  Additionally, parties may stipulate to the application of this rule in connection with informal discovery conducted outside a contested matter or adversary proceeding (e.g., a statutory committee's investigation of the validity, perfection or amount of a secured creditor's prepetition lien), in which case the documents and information produced shall be used only for the purpose defined by the parties' stipulation.
     
  5. Use of Sealed Documents.  If a party intends to use a document which has been previously placed under seal at a hearing or in connection with briefing, a copy of the sealed document (in an envelope and prominently marked "CHAMBERS COPY") shall be provided to the Court in the binder delivered to Chambers.  After the hearing is concluded or the motion is decided, the Court will, at its discretion, destroy or return the Chambers copy of the sealed document to sender.