Ohio Admin. Code 4906-2-21 - Motions for protective orders
(A)
Upon motion of
any party or person from whom discovery is sought, the board or the
administrative law judge may issue any order which is necessary to protect a
party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or
expense. Such a protective order may provide that:
(1)
Discovery not be
had.
(2)
Discovery may be had only on specified terms and
conditions.
(3)
Discovery may be had only by a method of discovery
other than that selected by the party seeking discovery.
(4)
Certain matters
not be inquired into.
(5)
The scope of discovery be limited to certain
matters.
(6)
Discovery be conducted with no one present except
persons designated by the board or the administrative law
judge.
(7)
A trade secret or other confidential research,
development, commercial, or other information not be disclosed or be disclosed
only in a designated way.
(8)
Information acquired through discovery be used only
for purposes of the pending proceeding, or that such information be disclosed
only to designated persons or classes of persons.
(B)
No motion for a
protective order shall be filed under this rule until the person or party
seeking the order has exhausted all other reasonable means of resolving any
differences with the party seeking discovery. A motion for a protective order
shall be accompanied by:
(1)
A memorandum in support, setting forth the specific
basis of the motion and citations to any authorities relied
upon.
(2)
Copies of any specific discovery request which are the
subject of the request for a protective order.
(3)
An affidavit of
counsel, or of the person seeking a protective order if such person is not
represented by counsel, setting forth the efforts which have been made to
resolve any differences with the party seeking discovery.
(C)
If a
request for a protective order is denied in whole or in part, the board or the
administrative law judge may require that the party or person seeking the order
provide or permit discovery on such terms and conditions as are
just.
(D)
Upon motion of any party or person filing a document
with the board's docketing division relative to a case before the board, the
board or the administrative law judge assigned to the case may issue any order
which is necessary to protect the confidentiality of information contained in
the document, to the extent that state or federal law prohibits release of the
information, including where it is determined that both of the following
criteria are met: The information is deemed by the board or administrative law
judge assigned to the case to constitute a trade secret under Ohio law, and
where non-disclosure of the information is not inconsistent with the purpose of
Title 49 of the Revised Code. Any order issued under this paragraph shall
minimize the amount of information protected from public disclosure. The
following requirements apply to a motion filed under this paragraph.
(1)
All documents
submitted pursuant to this rule should be filed with only such information
redacted as is essential to prevent disclosure of the allegedly confidential
information. Such redacted documents should be filed with the otherwise
required number of copies for inclusion in the public case
file.
(2)
Three unredacted copies of the allegedly confidential
information shall be filed under seal, along with a motion for protection of
the information, with the chief of the docketing division, or the chief's
designee. Each page of the allegedly confidential material filed under seal
must be marked as "confidential," "proprietary", or "trade
secret".
(3)
The motion for protection of allegedly confidential
information shall be accompanied by a memorandum in support setting forth the
specific basis of the motion, including a detailed discussion of the need for
protection from disclosure, and citations of any authorities relied upon. The
motion and memorandum in support shall be made part of the public record of the
proceeding.
(E)
Pending a ruling on a motion filed in accordance with
this rule, the information filed under seal will not be included in the public
record of the proceeding or disclosed to the public until otherwise ordered or
released pursuant to this rule. The board and its employees will undertake
reasonable efforts to maintain the confidentiality of the information pending a
ruling on the motion. A document or portion of a document filed with the
docketing division that is marked "confidential", "proprietary", "trade
secret", or with any other such marking, will not be afforded confidential
treatment and protected from disclosure unless it is filed in accordance with
this rule.
(F)
Unless otherwise ordered, any order prohibiting public
disclosure pursuant to this rule shall automatically expire twenty-four months
after the date of its issuance, and such information may then be included in
the public record of the proceeding. Exceptions may be made for motions seeking
to protect critical energy infrastructure information. A party wishing to
extend a protective order beyond twenty-four months shall file an appropriate
motion at least forty-five days in advance of the expiration date of the
existing order. The motion shall include a detailed discussion of the need for
continued protection from disclosure.
(G)
Nothing
precludes the board from reexamining the need for protection issue de novo
during the twenty-four month period if there is an application for rehearing on
confidentiality or a public records request for the redacted information.
Replaces: part of 4906-7-07
Notes
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: 4906.03
Rule Amplifies: 4903.06, 4903.082, 4906.03, 4906.12
Prior Effective Dates: 12/27/1976, 07/07/1980, 06/10/1989, 08/28/1998, 12/15/2003, 01/25/2009, 12/11/2015
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: 4906.03
Rule Amplifies: 4903.06, 4903.082, 4906.03, 4906.12
Prior Effective Dates: 12/27/76, 7/7/80, 6/10/89, 8/28/98, 12/15/03, 1/25/09
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