Sarinea Meserkhani et al v. Allstate Indemnity Company et al

Filing 21

PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge John E. McDermott re Stipulation for Protective Order 20 . (san)

Case :13
’
13cv-07870DSF M Document 20 Filed 08/13/14 r)ge 1 of 9 Page ID #:503

1

2
3
4

5
6
7

SHEPPARD, MULLIN, RICHTER & HAMPTON
A Limited Liability Partnership
Including Professional Corporations
PETER H. KLEE, Cal. Bar No. 111707
JOSEPH E. FOSS, Cal. Par No. 198294
501 West Broadway, 19 Floor
San Diego, California 92101-3598
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 619.234.3815
Email:
sheppardmullin.com
PKleeVsheppardmullin.com

LLP

Attorneys for Defendant
ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY

8
9

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

10

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

11
12
13

SAR1NEA MESERKHANI,
SEROJ MESERKHANI,
SYLVIA MESERKHANT,

14
15
16

Plaintiffs,

Case No 2:13-cv-07870 DSF (JEM)
STIPULATION AND
CONFIDENTIALITY
AGREEMENT

V.

17

ALLSTATE INSURANCE
COMPANY, an Illinois corporation;
and DOES 1 through 25,

18

Defendants.

19

Courtroom 840
The Hon. Dale S. Fischer
Courtroom C, 8th Floor
The Hon. John E. McDermott,
Magistrate Judge

20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Case No. 2:13-cv-07870 DSF
SMRH:427865325.2

Case :13-cv-07870-DSI- )EM Document 20 Filed 08/13/14

1

e 2 of 9 Page ID #:504

WHEREAS, defendant Allstate Indemnity Company ("Allstate") has in its

2 possession DOCUMENTS, which it contends contain confidential and/or
3

proprietary information, which DOCUMENTS have been requested in discovery in

4

this lawsuit; and

5
6
7

WHEREAS, the parties to this lawsuit desire to avoid controversy regarding
the potential disclosure of the DOCUMENTS;
IT IS HEREBY AGREED by the parties to this action, through their counsel,

8

that any DOCUMENTS produced by Allstate that are marked "CONFIDENTIAL"

9

will be subject to the terms and conditions outlined in this Confidentiality

10
11

Agreement.
1.

Unless agreed to in writing by Allstate’s counsel or otherwise ordered

12

by the court, the DOCUMENTS and all information derived therefrom, shall be

13

used only in connection with, in preparation for and/or during the trial of this action

14

Sarinea Meserkhani, Seroj Meserkhani, and Sylvia Meserkhani v. Allstate Insurance

15

Company, et al., United States District Court, Central District of California, Case

16

No. 2:13-cv-07870 DSF (JEM), and shall not be used for any other purpose

17 whatsoever.
18

2.

The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket

19

protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it

20

affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or

21 items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles.
22 The parties further acknowledge that this Stipulated Protective Order does not
23 entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule

79-5.1 sets

24 forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied
25
26

when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
3.

By producing the DOCUMENTS, Allstate does not waive any

27 objection to their admissibility, relevance, or any other ground of objection, all of
28
-2SMRH:427865325.2

Case No. 2:13-cv-07870 DSF

Case

1
2

k

’
3 -cv-07870-DSF

1M

Document 20 Filed 08/13/14

e 3 of 9 Page ID #:505

which grounds are specifically reserved.
4.

3

The DOCUMENTS shall be treated as follows:
a.

The DOCUMENTS and any copies, summaries, extracts, notes

or memoranda relating thereto may be disclosed by counsel of record for Plaintiffs
5
6

Sarinea Meserkhani, Seroj Meserkhani, and Sylvia Meserkhani only to the

I following:

7

(1)

8

(2) Counsel of record for Plaintiffs, and all attorneys,

9
10

Plaintiffs;

paralegals, stenographic and clerical employees of such counsel who work under the
direct supervision of such counsel;

11

(3) Consultants and experts employed by counsel of record for

12

the purpose of assisting in the preparation for and/or trial of this action but only to

13

the extent such persons need such confidential information for that preparation;

14

(4) The court, court personnel, and deposition officers;

15

(5)

16

(6) Any other person under such terms as may be agreed by

17

The jury selected for trial in this matter (if any); and

the parties in writing or as the court may hereafter order.

18

b.

Any person identified in (3) above, to whom disclosure of the

19

DOCUMENTS is made, shall be ’advised of this Confidentiality Agreement and,

20

before disclosure is made, shall sign a document (a copy of which is attached hereto

21

as Exhibit A) manifesting that he or she agrees to abide by the terms of the

22

Confidentiality Agreement and to be subject to the jurisdiction of this court for

23

purposes of enforcement of this Confidentiality Agreement. If the DOCUMENTS

24

are provided to consultants and/or experts hired by Plaintiffs, such consultants

25

and/or experts shall sign a copy of Exhibit A, and Plaintiffs shall provide it to

26

Allstate at the time experts are designated in this case. Plaintiffs’ counsel shall keep

27

a list with the name of each consultant and/or expert hired by Plaintiffs who has

28
-3SMRH:427865325.2

Case No. 2:13-cv-07870DSF

Case

I

ii

1

:13’ -cv-07870-DSP

M Document 20 Filed 08/13/14

e 4 of 9 Page ID #:506

signed a copy of the Confidentiality Agreement. If the DOCUMENTS are

2 presented to any person who is not a consultant and/or expert, counsel for Allstate
3

shall be provided immediately with a copy of Exhibit A, bearing the signature of

4

any such person before the DOCUMENTS are disclosed to such person.

5

5.

Any party wishing to attach a DOCUMENT as an exhibit to any

6

deposition in this action shall inform the court reporter or transcriber who reports or

7

transcribes testimony about this Confidentiality Agreement before the beginning of

8

the deposition. Portions of deposition transcripts marked "CONFIDENTIAL" shall

9

be treated as if they were the DOCUMENTS.

10

6.

In the event that the DOCUMENTS or portions of transcripts

11

designated as confidential are deposited with the Court or used in connection with

12

any filing or proceeding in this action, the parties shall request and take the

13

necessary measures to support a request that the DOCUMENTS be filed under seal.

14

7.

This Confidentiality Agreement, its terms, the designation of a

15

transcript as CONFIDENTIAL, or the fact that material is confidential shall not be

16

admissible during trial and shall not be communicated to the jury.

17
18

8.

settlement or otherwise, including all appeals:

19
20

Upon final determination of this action, whether by judgment,
a.

Plaintiffs’ counsel and any other person who has received

material designated as confidential shall assemble and return to Allstate’s counsel

21 all material so produced, along with all copies, extracts, summaries and
22 compilations thereof (except material constituting the work product of any counsel,
23 which shall be kept confidential or destroyed). Allstate shall select and arrange with
24 a messenger service to pick up and return the DOCUMENTS to Allstate’s counsel.
25

Alternatively, Plaintiffs’ counsel may destroy the DOCUMENTS and, upon a

26 request by Allstate’s counsel, provide a declaration to Allstate’s counsel that he has
27 done so;
28
In
SMR}I:427865325.2

Case No. 2:13-cv-07870 DSF

Case 13-cv-07870-DSF )M Document 20 Filed 08/13/14

b.

1

e 5 of 9 Page ID #:507

Plaintiffs’ counsel will continue to protect the confidentiality of

2

information contained in work product DOCUMENTS retained under (a) above and,

3

if applicable, will provide a declaration confirming that such DOCUMENTS have

4

I been destroyed; and

5
6

c.

The clerk of the court shall be requested to return to the

disclosing parties all confidential DOCUMENTS, which have been filed with the

7 I Court.
8
9

9.

Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of confidentiality

at any time. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s confidentiality

10

designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial unfairness, unnecessary

11

economic burdens, or a significant disruption or delay of the litigation, a Party does

12

not waive its right to challenge a confidentiality designation by electing not to

13

mount a challenge promptly after the original designation is disclosed.

14

a.

The challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process

15

by providing written notice of each designation it is challenging and describing the

16

basis for each challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to whether a challenge has been

17

made, the written notice must recite that the challenge to confidentiality is being

18

made in accordance with this specific paragraph of the Protective Order. The parties

19

shall attempt to resolve each challenge in good faith and must begin the process by

20

conferring directly (in voice to voice dialogue; other forms of communication are

21

not sufficient) within 14 days of the date of service of notice. In conferring, the

22

challenging Party must explain the basis for its belief that the confidentiality

23

designation was not proper and must give the designating party an opportunity to

24

review the designated material, to reconsider the circumstances, and, if no change in

25

designation is offered, to explain the basis for the chosen designation. A

26

challenging party may proceed to the next stage of the challenge process only if it

27

has engaged in this meet and confer process first or establishes that the designating

28

-5SMRH:427865325.2

Case No. 2:13-cv-07870 DSF

Case :13-cv-07870-DS

1

M Document 20 Filed 08/13/14

)ge 6 of 9 Page ID #:508

party is unwilling to participate in the meet and confer process in a timely manner.

2

b.

If the Parties cannot resolve a challenge without court

3

intervention, the designating party shall file and serve a motion to retain

4

confidentiality under Civil Local Rule 7 (and in compliance with Civil Local Rule

5

79-5, if applicable) within 21 days of the initial notice of challenge or within 14

6

days of the parties agreeing that the meet and confer process will not resolve their

7

dispute, whichever is earlier. Each such motion must be accompanied by a

8

competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the meet and

9

confer requirements imposed in the preceding paragraph. Failure by the designating

10

party to make such a motion including the required declaration within 21 days (or 14

11

days, if applicable) shall automatically waive the confidentiality designation for

12

each challenged designation. In addition, the challenging party may file a motion

13

challenging a confidentiality designation at any time if there is good cause for doing

14

so, including a challenge to the designation of a deposition transcript or any portions

15

thereof. Any motion brought pursuant to this provision must be accompanied by a

16

competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the meet and

17

confer requirements imposed by the preceding paragraph.

18

C.

The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall

19

be on the designating party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper

20

purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other

21

parties) may expose the challenging party to sanctions. Unless the designating party

22

has waived the confidentiality designation by failing to file a motion to retain

23

confidentiality as described above, all parties shall continue to afford the material in

24

question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the producing party’s

25

designation until the court rules on the challenge.

26
27

10. The execution of this Confidentiality Agreement shall not preclude any
party from moving the court for protective orders in the course of this litigation.

28

Irel
SMRH:427865325.2

Case No. 2:13-cv-07870 DSF

Case

1

:13-cv-07870-DSF

IM Document 20 Filed 08/13/14 )ge 7 of 9 Page ID #:509

1

Nor shall it preclude Plaintiffs from moving the court for an order that certain

2

DOCUMENTS be deemed not subject to this Confidentiality.

3

11.

This Confidentiality Agreement is subject to amendment and

4

modification by further written stipulation among counsel of record in this action or

5

by order of the Court.

6
7

12.

The parties to this agreement may exercise any rights they may have, at

law or in equity, to enforce its terms.

8
9

Dated: August 13, 2014

10

SHEPPARD, MUILLIN, RICHTER & HAMPTON

11

By

12
13

LLP

s/ Joseph E. Foss
JOSEPH E. FOSS
Attorneys for Defendant
ALLSTATE INDEMNITY COMPANY

14
15

Dated: August 13, 2014

16

MCKENNON LAW GROUP PC

17

LIZ

18
19
20
21
22
23
24

IT IS SO ORDEREP.
DATED:–
fl

s/ Scott E. Calvert

SCOTT E. CALVERT
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
SAR1NEA MESERKHANT, SEROJ
MESERKHANI, and SYLVIA MESERKHANI

AK\..

STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
All other signatories listed, and on whose behalf the filing is submitted, concur in
the filing’s content and have authorized the filing.

25

26
27
28
-7SMRI-I:427865325.2

Case No. 2:13-cv-07870 DSF

Case

1

:13 -cv-07870-DSF. M Document 20 Filed 08/13/14 .)ge 8 of 9 Page ID #:510
’

EXHIBIT A

1

2

I hereby acknowledge that I have received and read a copy of the

3

Confidentiality Agreement in the action entitled Sarinea Meserkhani, Seroj

4

Meserkhani, and Sylvia Meserkhani v. Allstate Insurance Company, et al., United

5

States District Court, Central District of California, Case No. 2:13-cv-07870 DSP

6

(JEM). I agree to be bound by the provisions of that Confidentiality Agreement

7

with respect to any confidential material disclosed to me, and I specifically agree

8

that I will not communicate, reveal, or use any confidential material except in

9

accordance with the terms of the Confidentiality Agreement. I further agree to

10

return any confidential material provided to me and all copies thereof to the party or

11

counsel who provide such confidential material to me.

12

I hereby submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court, Central

13

District of California for all purposes relating to the enforcement of the provisions

14

of the Confidentiality Agreement.

15
16

I declare under penalty of perjury that the following is true and correct.
Executed this

day of

20

at

17

(City, State)

18
19

Signature

20
21
22

Name (printed)

23
24
25
26
27
28

Case No. 2:13-cv-07870 DSF
SMRI-1:427865325.2