A sharing order modifies a protective order to allow disclosure of designated material to counsel in similar litigation, typically subject to those counsel agreeing to be bound by the order's terms.
Courts weigh efficiency against the producing party's confidentiality interests.
Alternative Names:
Discovery Sharing Order, Collateral Litigant Order
Why it Matters?
Sharing orders are sought most often in mass tort and product litigation, where the same corporate documents are relevant across many cases and repeated production is wasteful. For defendants they are consequential, since material produced once becomes available to every plaintiff firm in the litigation without the defendant's control over who receives it. Opposing sharing at the protective order stage is more effective than opposing a later motion.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Why do plaintiffs seek sharing orders?
When should a defendant address sharing?
