Contract analysis

ARTICLE 1: DEFINITIONS As used in this Stipulation, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below: 1.1 "Action" shall mean the matter captioned Meridian Infrastructure Partners LLC v. Northgate Fiber Americas Inc., Index No. 654321/2024, pending in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, Commercial Division, Part 49, before the Honorable Eleanor M. Ricci, J.S.C., including all claim

ARTICLE 2: DESIGNATION OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIALS 2.1 Manner of Designation — Documents. A Producing Party may designate a document or ESI as "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" by stamping or labeling each page (or, in the case of ESI, each file, production unit, or document family) with the appropriate legend. The specific manner of designation shall be as follows: (a) Hard-Copy Documents.

ARTICLE 3: PROTECTIONS FOR "CONFIDENTIAL" INFORMATION 3.1 Permitted Access — Confidential Information. discovery Material designated as Confidential may be disclosed to, accessed by, or used by only the following Qualified Persons: (a) Outside Counsel of the Receiving Party and their partners, associates, of counsel attorneys, paralegals, legal assistants, and support staff assigned to or working on the Action, as id

ARTICLE 4: PROTECTIONS FOR "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" INFORMATION 4.1 Permitted Access — AEO Information. discovery Material designated as Highly Confidential — Attorneys' Eyes Only may be disclosed to, accessed by, or used by only the following Qualified Persons: (a) Outside Counsel of the Receiving Party and their partners, associates, of counsel attorneys, paralegals, legal assistants, and suppor

ARTICLE 5: CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 5.1 Informal Resolution (Meet and Confer). A Receiving Party that believes discovery Material has been improperly designated as Confidential or AEO — whether because the material does not qualify for any confidentiality protection, or because the material has been designated at a higher level than is warranted — shall first notify the Producing Party in writing (by

ARTICLE 6: USE OF CONFIDENTIAL AND AEO MATERIALS AT DEPOSITIONS, HEARINGS, AND TRIAL 6.1 Depositions. (a) Use of Confidential Information at Depositions. If discovery Material designated as Confidential is used during the examination of a witness at a deposition, only Qualified Persons as defined in Section 3.1 of this Stipulation may be present in the deposition room during such examination. Non-qualified persons, i

ARTICLE 7: FILING UNDER SEAL 7.1 Procedure. Any party seeking to file discovery Material designated as Confidential or AEO with the Court shall comply with the New York County Commercial Division Rules and the Court's individual practices for Part 49 (Hon. Eleanor M. Ricci, J.S.C.) regarding sealed filings. The filing party shall submit a proposed sealing order to the Court, identifying the specific material to be se

ARTICLE 8: NON-PARTY DISCOVERY MATERIALS 8.1 Non-Party Production. discovery Material produced by non-parties in connection with this Action shall be subject to the terms and protections of this Stipulation under the following circumstances: (a) The non-party designates such material as Confidential or AEO at the time of production, using the designation procedures set forth in Section 2.1 of this Stipulation or such

ARTICLE 9: EXPERT ACCESS TO DISCOVERY MATERIALS 9.1 Expert Qualification. Before any Expert is given access to discovery Material designated as Confidential or AEO, the Expert must execute the Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A. Each party shall provide written notice (by letter or email) to the opposing party at least five (5) business days before disclosing Confidentia

ARTICLE 10: ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 10.1 Form of Acknowledgment. Every Qualified Person (other than Outside Counsel, Coverage Counsel, court personnel, court reporters, videographers, and E-discovery Vendor personnel, who are bound by this Stipulation by virtue of their roles as described herein) who is to receive access to Confidential or AEO discovery Material must execute the Acknowledgment and Ag

ARTICLE 11: INADVERTENT PRODUCTION / CLAWBACK 11.1 Inadvertent Production of Privileged Material. The inadvertent production of any document, ESI, or other information that is subject to the attorney-client privilege, the work product protection, or any other applicable privilege, immunity, or protection from disclosure shall not constitute a waiver of such privilege, immunity, or protection, regardless of the circum

ARTICLE 12: MODIFICATION OF DESIGNATIONS BY AGREEMENT 12.1 Upgrading. A Producing Party may upgrade the confidentiality designation of previously produced discovery Material at any time by providing written notice (by letter or email) to all parties, identifying the specific material to be upgraded and the new confidentiality designation. Upon receipt of such notice, the Receiving Party shall promptly treat the mater

ARTICLE 13: RETURN OR DESTRUCTION OF MATERIALS AT CONCLUSION OF THE ACTION 13.1 Obligation to Return or Destroy. Within sixty (60) days of the final resolution of this Action — defined as the entry of a final judgment or order disposing of all claims and counterclaims, including the exhaustion of all appellate rights and the expiration of all applicable appeal periods — each Receiving Party shall, at the election of

ARTICLE 14: MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 14.1 No Waiver of Objections. Nothing in this Stipulation shall be construed as a waiver of any party's right to object to the production of any discovery Material on grounds of relevance, privilege, burden, proportionality, or any other applicable ground under the CPLR or other applicable law. The execution of this Stipulation shall not be deemed an admission by any party that an