Oregonian Exempt From Protective Order

An interesting ruling has come out of Cahill v. Nike, a class action discrimination lawsuit against Nike before the District Court of Oregon. The Oregonian has been deemed exempt from a protective order that prevents parties from publicizing confidential information.

This comes from the Oregonian inadvertently getting unredacted documents they were not entitled to receive. On January 25, the plaintiffs’ counsel notified the Court she inadvertently shared confidential discovery material with an Oregonian reporter, documents that were obtained from Nike. Despite the plaintiffs’ request, the Oregonian refused to return the material. So, the plaintiffs motioned for the Court to order the Oregonian to return the documents. Given the confidential nature of the material and the Ninth Circuit’s stay regarding the redactions, on January 26, 2024, the District Court issued an order requiring the Oregonian to return the inadvertently disclosed confidential material, to not disseminate those materials, and to destroy any copies in its possession by January 31, 2024.

The Oregonian responded by saying it’s not a party to the case, so it’s not bound by the protective order. This week, the Court ultimately agreed. Perhaps an interesting article is imminent based on juicy documents from Nike. We shall see.

Eric Shierman lives in Salem and is the author of We were winning when I was there.