CHICAGO MERCANTILE EXCHANGE INC. v. SELIG — Entry #40: ORDER granting 39 Motion for Protective Order

Case 1:26-cv-02157-CKK             Document 40         Filed 09/11/26       Page 1 of 5


                             UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
                             FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

   CHICAGO MERCANTILE EXCHANGE
   INC.,
                                                                      Case No. l :26-cv-02157-CKK
                                 Plaintiff,

                  V.
   MICHAELS . SELIG, in his official capacity as
   Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading
   Commission; COMMODITY FUTURES
   TRADING COMMISSION,

                          Defendants.


     PROTECTIVE ORDER GOVERNING CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS IN THE
                      ADMINISTRATTVE RECORD
        Defendants Michael S. Selig, in his official capacity as Chairman of the Commodity

Futures Trading Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC") are

including certain documents in the administrative record that contain confidential or sensitive

commercial, · financial and/or business information of a CFTC-designated contract market

("DCM") that is not a party to this litigation. To facilitate the production, review and use of these

documents in this case, the parties jointly request that the Court enter an order to protect this

confidential information ("Protective Order").

       Accordingly, It is hereby STIPULATED, AGREED, and ORDERED as follows:

        1.     Defendants shall designate as "Confidential" any portions of the record that contain

confidential or sensitive commercial, financial and/or business information. Specifically,

Defendants will identify any such portions as "Confidential" by highlighting the text.

       2.      This Protective Order shall govern the use of all portions of the administrative

record designated as Confidential by Defendants. All Parties to this Action and their attorneys, as


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well as non-party participants, shall comply with the terms and procedures set forth below with

respect to documents and materials designated as "Confidential" by Defendants. Notwithstanding

anything else contained herein, nothing in this Protective Order shall in any way limit the right of

a producing or supplying party (hereinafter "Producing Party") to make whatever use it deems

appropriate of its own documents.

        3.      Under this Protective Order, Defendants shall have the right to identify and

designate any portions of the administrative record as "Confidential" when Defendants in good

faith believe it contains information that is proprietary, confidential, commercially sensitive

information protected by the Commodity Exchange Act, CFTC regulations, or the Trade Secrets

Act, or contains other confidential research, development, or commercial information as such

terms are used in Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c)(l)(G).

        4.     Absent consent of Defendants or an order from this Court, materials designated

Confidential pursuant to this Protective Order and/or any information derived therefrom shall only

be disclosed to or made available by: ( 1) outside counsel who have appeared on behalf of a party

in this litigation ("counsel of record"), including their partners, counsel, associates, and staff; (2)

any third-party witness retained only for the purposes of this litigation; (3) the Court and its

personnel, (4) any other person or entity authorized by law; and (5) any other person only upon

order of the Court or upon stipulation of the parties.

       5.      Counsel of record are responsible for employing reasonable measures to control

access to and distribution of information designated Confidential and shall keep all documents

designated as Confidential secure within their possession. Each person accessing or receiving

information designated as Confidential shall receive, process, use, store, maintain, disclose,

transmit, backup, handle extracts of, and dispose of such information: (i) only in compliance with


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the terms of this Protective Order; (ii) in a location and manner sufficient to protect such

information from unauthorized access or disclosure; and (iii) in accordance with industry standard

safeguards and applicable Federal information confidentiality and security laws and regulations.

        6.      To the extent that any materials designated as Confidential under this Protective

Order are filed with the Court, they shall only be submitted under seal, with a motion to seal

consistent with this Court's Local Rule 5.1 (h). Plaintiff Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (CME)

will redact any portion of a document that it files on the public docket that quotes from or otherwise

reproduces material designated as Confidential. Defendants must file a response justifying the

redactions within seven (7) business days. If Defendants fail to do so or the Court does not grant

the motion to seal, the information will no longer be designated as Confidential.

        7.      The parties agree to be bound by the terms of this Protective Order pending its entry

by the Court or pending the entry of an alternative thereto which is satisfactory to all parties, and

any violation of its terms shall be subject to the same sanctions and penalties as if this Protective

Order had been entered by the Court.

        8.      Defendants may withdraw the designation of Confidential at any time during the

pendency of this matter.

        9.      If Plaintiff disputes whether any portions of the administrative record are properly

designated as Confidential, the parties agree to attempt to resolve such dispute among themselves.

The parties must confer and make reasonable efforts to resolve their differences. In the event the

parties cannot resolve the dispute, the designation of confidentiality may be challenged upon

motion. The non-party DCM that designated the material as confidential to the CFTC shall have

the opportunity to appear to protect its interests.


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            10.    Within sixty (60) days of the conclusion of this litigation and any appeal thereof,

    all material treated as Confidential under this Protective Order shall be destroyed or returned. Any

   work product that contains Confidential information under this Protective Order shall be destroyed.

   Counsel ofrecord for Plaintiff shall make written confirmations of compliance with this return or

   destruction requirement to counsel for Defendants not more than ninety (90) days after final

   termination of this litigation. The Clerk of the Court may return to counsel for Defendants, or

   destroy, any Confidential sealed material at the end of the litigation, including any appeals.

           11.     After the conclusion of this litigation, the provisions of this Protective Order shall

   continue to be binding and this Court shall retain jurisdiction over all persons who have access to

   documents designated as Confidential produced pursuant to this Protective Order for the purpose

   of enforcement of this Protective Order, including any appropriate sanctions for violations.


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   Case 1:26-cv-02157-CKK           Document 40           Filed 09/11/26        Page 5 of 5


Dated: September 11, 2026                          Respectfully submitted by:


Isl Aitan D. Goe/man                               Isl M Jordan Minot
Aitan D. Goelman (D.C. Bar No. 446636)             M. Jordan Minot (DC Bar No. 1722554)
Ivano M. Ventresca (D.C. Bar No. 1045769)
Brian J. Beaton, Jr. (D.C. Bar No. 90020963)       TYLER S. BADGLEY
                                                   General Counsel
ZUCKERMAN SPAEDER LLP                              M. JORDAN MINOT
2100 L Street NW, Suite 400                        Deputy General Counsel
Washington, DC 20037                               ANDREW J. WEISBERG
Tel: (202) 778-1800                                Senior Assistant General Counsel
Fax: (202) 822-8136                                HENRY J. DICKMAN
[email protected]                             Senior Assistant General Counsel
[email protected]                           CARLIN METZGER
[email protected]                              Senior Assistant General Counsel

Attorneys for Plaintiff Chicago Mercantile         U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Exchange, Inc.                                      1155 21st Street, NW
                                                   Washington, DC 20581
                                                   Tel: (202) 209-1087
                                                   Fax: (202) 418-5567
                                                   [email protected]
                                                   [email protected]
                                                   [email protected]
                                                   [email protected]
                                                   [email protected]

                                                   Attorneys for Defendants Michael S. Selig and
                                                   CFTC.


    SO ORDERED.


                                               COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY
                                               United States District Judge


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