motion for protective order
motion for protective order. A party’s request that the court protect it from potentially abusive action by the other party, usu. relating to discovery, as when one party seeks discovery of the other party’s trade secrets. • A court will sometimes craft a protective order to protect one party’s trade secrets by ordering that any secret information exchanged in discovery be used only for purposes of the pending suit and not be publicized. — Also termed motion for a protective order. [Cases: Federal Civil Procedure 1271; Pretrial Procedure 41. C.J.S. Discovery §§ 12, 47.]
