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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20150611Clearwater Protective Agreement.pdfklla - E -l r -05/,+Vu'o 7 r-CI I PROTECTIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN AVISTA CORPORATION AND CLEARWATER PAPER CORPORATION This Protective Agreement is entered into this fr"f June 2015 by Avista Corporation (Avista) and the Clearwater Paper Corporation ("Clearwater"), Recitals: l. WHEREAS, Avista desires to make available to the Clearwater certain information, and Clearwater desires to examine certain information, respecting Avista's Application to Approve a Change in Electric and Natural Gas Rates and Prices (Case Nos. AVU- E- l 5-05/AVU-G- l 5-0 l ). 2. WHEREAS, Avista and Clearwater anticipate that Avista may provide, or make available for review, certain information considered by Avista to be of a trade secret, privileged or confidential nature (as defined in ldaho Code $ 9-340 et seq. and $ 48-801 et seq.). 4. WHEREAS, Avista and Clearwater agree that entering into a Protective Agreement will expedite the production of documents; will afford the necessary protection to Avista's and Clearwater's employees and/or representatives in this proceeding who might review the infbrmation and subsequently be requested to reveal its contents by setting forth clear cut parameters for use of Confidential Infbrmation, and will protect Confidential Information which might be provided hereafter, IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED AS FOLLOWS: l. (a) Confidential Information. All documents, data, information, studies and other materials furnished that are claimed to be of trade secret, proprietary or confidential nature (herein referred to as "Confidential lnformation") shall be so marked by Avista by stamping the same with a designation indicating its trade secret, proprietary or confidential nature and printed on "yellow" paper. Any claim of confidentiality must be accompanied by an attorney's certificate that the material is protected by law tiom public disclosure and cite the specific legal authority to support the claim. IDAPA 31.01.01.067 and 31.01.01.233. Access to and review of Confidential Information shall be strictly controlled by the telrns of this Agreement. PROTECTIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN AVISTA CORPORATION AND CLEARWATER PAPER CORPORATION (b) Use of Confidential Information All persons who may be entitled to review, or who are afforded access to any Confidential Information by reason of this Agreement shall neither use nor disclose the Confidential Information for purposes of business or competition, or any purpose other than the purpose of preparation for and conduct of Case Nos. AVU-E-15-05/AVU-G-15-01 and then solely as contemplated herein, and shall keep the Confidential Information secure as trade secret, confidential or proprietary information and in accordance with the purposes and intent of this Agreement. (c) Persons Entitled to Review. Access to Confidential Information shall be limited to counsel of the undersigned parties, employees, experts, agents or representatives of the undersigned parties who have executed an Exhibit "A" to this Agreement. Such information will be clearly marked and protected from unauthorized public disclosure. (d) Nondisclosure Asreement. Confidential Information shall not be disclosed to any person who has not signed a nondisclosure agreement on this form, which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein. The nondisclosure agreement or Exhibit o'A" shall require the person to whom disclosure is to be made to read a copy of this Protective Agreement and to certify in writing that he or she has reviewed the same and has consented to be bound by its terms, The Agreement shall contain the signatory's full name, permanent address, and employer. Such agreement shall be delivered to counsel for Avista and acknowledged and approved by Avista before disclosure is made. 2. (a) Corries. No copies or transcriptions of the Confidential Information shall be made by Clearwater and/or Avista except as necessary to make the information available to individuals who have executed an Exhibit "A" to this Protective Agreement. (b) Return of Confidential Information, Upon request of Avista, all original documents and copies of the Confidential Information shall be: (l) returned to Avista, or (2) shredded by the holder of such documents. Unless otherwise ordered, Confidential Information, including transcripts or depositions containing information to which a claim of confidentiality is made, shall remain PROTECTIVE AGREEM ENT BETWEEN AVISTA CORPORATION AND CLEARWATER PAPER CORPORATION under seal, shall continue to be subject to the protective requirements of this Agreement, and shall likewise, be returned to counsel fbr Avista within thirty (30) days after final settlement or conclusion of the proceedings before the Commission which Confidential Information is relevant including administrative or judicial review thereof. After return of documents pursuant to this Paragraph, and upon request, a written receipt verifying retum shall be provided by counsel. (c) Return of Notes. Any notes maintained by a recipient of Confidential Information, which embody or reflect any of the Confidential Information provided under this Agreement shall, upon request of Avista, be either returned to Avista or, at the option of the recipient, destroyed. 3. Non-waiver of Obiection to Admissibilitv. The fumishing of any document, information, data, study or other materials pursuant to this Protective Agreement shall in no way limit or waive the right of the providing party to object to its relevance or admissibility in any proceedings before this Commission. 4. Challenee to Confidentialitv. (a) Initial Challenee. This Protective Agreement establishes a procedure for the expeditious handling of information Avista claims is confidential. In any proceeding before the Commission, Clearwater may challenge the characterization of any information, document, data, or study claimed by Avista to be a trade secret, proprietary or confidential information. [f seeking to challenge the confidentiality of any information Clearwater shall frrst contact counsel for Avista and attempt to resolve any difference by stipulation. Resolution may include removing the confidential classifications, creating a non-confidential summary, reformatting the information, etc. (b) Subseouent Challenee. In the event that the parties cannot agree as to the character of the information challenged, Clearwater may challenge the confidentiality of the information by petitioning in any proceeding in which the information is relevant the Commission to rule upon the disputed information. The Petition shall be served upon the Commission and all parties to the proceeding who have signed on Exhibit "A" as provided in this Protective Agreement. The Petition shall designate with specificity the document or material challenged and state the grounds upon which the subject material are deemed to be non-confidential by Clearwater. PROTECTIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN AVISTA CORPORATION AND CLEARWATER PAPER CORPORATION (c) Challenee Hearine. Clearwater shall request that the Commission conduct an in camera proceeding where only those persons duly authorized to have access to such challenged materials under this Protective Agreement shall be present. This hearing shall be cornmenced no earlier than five (5) business days after serving the Petition on Avista and the Commission. The record of the in camera hearing shall be marked "CONFIDENTIAL -- Subject to Protective Agreement." To the extent necessary, the transcript ofsuch hearing shall be separately bound, segregated, sealed, and withheld from public inspection by any person not bound by the terms of this Agreement. (d) Determination. The parties will ask the Commission to issue an Order determining whether any challenged information or material is not properly deemed to be exempt fiom public disclosure pursuant to the Idaho Public Records Act. (ldaho Code $ 9-335 et seq.) If information is found to bb not exempt from disclosure, Clearwater shall not disclose such challenged material or use it in the public record or otherwise outside the proceedings for at least five (5) business days unless Avista consents to such conduct. This procedure enables the providing party to seek a stay or other relief from the Commission's Order removing the restrictions of this Agreement from material claimed to be confidential. Such relief may be sought from the Commission or a court of competent j urisdiction. 5. (a) Receint Into Evidence. Provision is hereby made for receipt into evidence in this proceeding of materials claimed to be confidential in the following manner: (l) If Clearwater intends to use Contidential lnformation or to make substantive reference to Confidential Information supplied to it under this Agreement, it shall give reasonable prior notice of such intention to Avista and shall provide copies of the used Confidential Information or substantive reference to Confidential Information only to the providing party, and such other parties, if any, who have executed an Exhibit "A" to this Protective Agreement. (2) One (l) copy of the used Confidential Information or substantive reference to Confidential Information or substantive reference to Confidential Infbrmation described in Paragraph 5(a)(l) shall be placed in the sealed record. PROTECTIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN AVISTA CORPORATION AND CLEARWATER PAPER CORPORATION (3) Only one (l) copy of the documents designated to be placed in a sealed record shall be made, which copy shall be supplied by the providing party. (4) The copy of the documents to be placed in the sealed record shall be tendered by counsel for Avista to the Commission, and shall be maintained in accordance with the terms of this Protective Agreement. (b) Seal. While in the custody of the Commission, materials containing Confidential Information shall be marked "CONFIDENTIAL SUBJECT TO ATTORNEY'S CERTIFICATE OF CONFIDENTIALITY" and shall not be examined by any person except under the conditions set forth in this Agreement, if applicable. (c) /z Carzera Hearins and Transcrints. Any Confidential Information that must be orally disclosed at a hearing in the proceedings shall be offered at an in camera hearing, attended only by persons authorized to have access to the information under this Protective Agreement. Similarly, any transcription of any examination or other reference to Confidential Information (or that portion of the record containing Confidential Information) shall be marked and treated as provided herein for Confidential Information. See IDAPA 3 1.01.01.287. (d) Access to Record. Access to sealed testimony, records, and inforrnation shall be limited to the Commission and persons who have signed an Exhibit "A" as provided in this Protective Agreement, unless such information is released trom the restrictions of this Agreement either through agreement of the parties or after notice to the parlies and hearing, pursuant to the order of the Commission and/or the final order of a court having finaljurisdiction. (e) Appeal. Should an appeal from the proceeding be taken, sealed portions of the record may be forwarded to any court of competent jurisdiction for purposes of an appeal, but under seal as designated herein for the information and use of the court. If a portion of the record is forwarded to a court under seal for the purposes of an appeal, the providing party shall be notified which portion ofthe sealed record has been designated by the appealing party as necessary to the record on appeal. PROTECTIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN AVISTA CORPORATION AND CLEARWATER PAPER CORPORATION 6. Destruction. Unless otherwise ordered, Confidential Information provided pursuant to a discovery request and this Agreement, including transcripts of any discovery depositions to which a claim of confidentiality is made, shall remain under seal, shall continue to be subject to the protective requirements of this Agreement, and shall be destroyed within thirty (30) days after final settlement or conclusion of this matter, including administrative or judicial review thereof. 7. Use in Pleadines. Where references to Confidential Information in the sealed record or with the custodian is required in pleadings, brief's, arguments, or motions (except as provided in Paragraph 5), it shall be by citation to title or exhibit number or some other description that will not disclose the substantive Confidential Information contained therein. Any use of or substantive references to Confidential Information shall be placed in a separate section of the pleading or brief and submitted to the Commission pursuant to Paragraph 5. This sealed section shall be serviced only on counsel of record who have signed the non-disclosure agreements set forth in Exhibit "A" attached to this Protective Agreement, and may, in turn, be disclosed by them only to individuals who likewise signed Exhibit "A". 8. Summarv of Record. If deemed necessary by the Commission, Avista shall prepare a written summary of the Confidential Information referred to in Orders to be issued to the public and the parties. 9. This Protective Agreement shall become effective on the date hereof. PROTECTIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN AVISTA CORPORATION AND CLEARWATER PAPER CORPORATION DATED this 29th day of May 2015. AVISTA CORPORATION x Avista Corporation P.O. Box 3727 l4l I E. Mission Ave. Spokane, WA99220-3727 Vice President and Chief Counsel for Regulatory and Govemment Affairs - Avista Corporation CLEARWATER PAPER CORPORATION By Peter J. Richardson Richardson & O'Leary PLLC 515 N. 27th Street Boise, ID 83702 Representing Clearwater Paper Corporation PROTECTIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN AVISTA CORPORATION AND CLEARWATER PAPER CORPORATION EXHIBIT A I have reviewed the foregoing Protective Agreement dated June , 201 5 in Case No. AVU-E-15-05 and AVU-G-15-01, and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of such Agreement, Name Employer or Firm Business Address Party Date PROTECTIVE AGREEM ENT BETWEEN AVISTA CORPORATION AND CLEARWATER PAPER CORPORATION EXHIBIT A I have reviewed the foregoing Protoctive Agreement dated June , 2015 in Case No. AVU-E-15-05 and AVU-G-15-01, and agree to bc bound by the terms and conditions of such Agreement. Gr* $*uru* 4,"ru. -=n" "*p.)"r "rrI", E-s 2oZ Business Address PROTECTIVS AGREEM ENT BETWEEN AVISTA CORPORATION AND CLEA RWATER PAPER CORPORATION I have reviewed the Case No. AVU-E-15-05 and Agreement. EXHIBIT A foregoing Protective Agreement dated June AVU-G-15-01, and agree to be bound by the terms and , 2015 in conditions of such Cte^peo Party J^, Date PROTECTIVE AGREEM ENT BETWEEN AV]STA CORPOMTION AND CLEARWATER PAPER CORPORATION Tolro4tn /rh^y, ?Lur-' Employer or Firm S t s Y, fl -#&r Kni-,D {3-t,)z Business Address t,%t{ I have reviewed the Case No. AVU-E-15-05 and Agreement. EXHIBIT A foregoing Protective Agreement AVU-G-15-01, and agree to be bound dated June I , 2ol5 in by the terms and conditions of such [)or,- 1\: C-,.n*is Name N \ NA m. Co r-ns 4tq N. A]-h^ g. B,>r,ro- ru\ 83zoz Business Address Uo r l;a"ots Date Employer or Firm PROTECTIVE ACREEM ENT BETWEEN AVISTA CORPORATION AND CLEARWATER PAPER CORPORATION