Felicisima Basa, et al vs. Greti Croft

Filing 14

CONFIDENTIALITY ORDER by Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian re Stipulation for Protective Order 13 . See order for details. (hr)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA – WESTERN DIVISION
FELICISIMA BASA, an individual, and )
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HOUSING )
RIGHTS CENTER, INC., d/b/a HOUSING )
RIGHTS CENTER, INC., a California
)
nonprofit corporation,
)
)
Plaintiffs,
)
)
vs.
)
)
GRETI CROFT, an individual,
)
)
Defendant.
)

Case No.: 2:15−cv−01707 TJH (JCx)
Assigned to Courtroom: 17
The Hon. Terry J. Hatter, Jr.
CONFIDENTIALITY ORDER

Action Commenced: 03/09/2015
Trial Date: Not Set
Discovery Cut-Off: Not Set
Law & Motion Cut-Off: Not Set

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The parties having entered into a Stipulation for the entry of a

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Confidentiality Order to govern the disclosure, dissemination, and use of

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“Confidential Information” produced by the parties in this action, and the Court

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having reviewed the Stipulation and finding good cause for the entry of such an

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order, HEREBY ORDERS THAT:
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

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1.

Plaintiff Southern California Housing Rights Center (“HRC”)

contends that information regarding the investigative techniques used by the HRC
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staff and information relating to any investigation carried out by the HRC is

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confidential and the public disclosure of such information would jeopardize

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ongoing and future testing of other property owners’ practices in the City and

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County of Los Angeles, and would tax the limited resources of the HRC by

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requiring them to continually find and use new anonymous testers and new

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investigative techniques. Therefore, Plaintiff HRC seeks to designate documents

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related to its testers and investigative techniques as confidential. See Shammouh

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v. Karp, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16334 (E.D. Pa. Nov. 5, 1996) (holding good

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cause exists to treat information regarding the identities of testers and investigative

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techniques as confidential).
2.

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Parties also seek to designate as Confidential Information documents

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pertaining to the ownership or operation of the subject properties, as well as the

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financial and personal information pertaining to tenants, employees, or

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independent contractors associated with the management of the subject properties.
3.

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Any documents or things produced in discovery that contain or reveal

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Confidential Information or that are designated as Confidential Information under

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the terms of the Order, and all copies, recordings, abstracts, excerpts, analyses,

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court filings, or other writings that contain, reflect, reveal, suggest, or otherwise

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disclose such Confidential Information shall be deemed to be Confidential

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Information until and unless the court rules otherwise.
4.

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The provisions of the Order shall not apply to information which can

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be shown by competent evidence to be: (i) in the public domain at the time of

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disclosure or, through no fault of the Receiving Party, in the public domain after

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the time of disclosure; (ii) known to or developed by the Receiving Party prior to

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the time of disclosure; or (iii) obtained from a third party unrelated to the parties or

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action and not within its employ.

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//

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//
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DOCUMENTS
5.

For the purposes of this Confidentiality Order, “Documents” means

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all written, recorded, computerized, electronic, or graphical material or information

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and things, whether produced or created by a Party or another person, and whether

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produced in response to a discovery request, subpoena, agreement, or otherwise.

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PARTIES
6.

A “Disclosing Party” is the party who produces or discloses

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Confidential Information, or on whose behalf such information is disclosed, to a

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receiving party’s attorneys. A “Receiving Party” is any party (either Plaintiff or a

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defendant) that receives or is permitted to receive Confidential Information from

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the Disclosing Party under the Order.

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DESIGNATION OF CONFIDENTIALITY
7.

Confidential Information shall be disclosed by the parties and their

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counsel only in accordance with the terms of this Confidentiality Order and shall

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be used solely for the purposes of this action and shall not be used by the parties or

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their counsel for any other purpose. The following describes the procedure for

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designating “Confidential Information” as “Confidential.”
a.

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Confidential Information may be designated by a Disclosing

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Party as “Confidential” by marking it as “Confidential” or by designating the

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information as “Confidential” by any separate writing sufficient to identify the

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information which is provided to the Receiving Party.
b.

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Where such designation is made by stamping or similar means,

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it shall be made by placing notice on the document, thing, response to discovery,

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deposition or court transcript or record, information, or document stored on

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diskette or otherwise in computer usable form, or tangible thing or object, in such a

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manner as will not interfere with the legibility or accessibility of the Confidential

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Information.

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c.

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Information and documents designated as “Confidential

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Information” shall be subject to the disclosure restrictions of the Order. Any

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Receiving Party or other person who receives a document so designated is subject

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to this Confidentiality Order and the jurisdiction of the Central District of

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California for enforcement of the Order.
d.

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If a party wishes to challenge the designation of a document or

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portion of a document as “Confidential,” the party challenging the designation

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shall meet and confer in good faith with the designating party in an attempt to

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resolve the dispute pursuant to Local Rule 37-1. If the parties are unable to resolve

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their dispute, they agree to file a joint stipulation, including all issues in dispute

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and the contentions and points of authorities of each party, prior to seeking

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adjudication of the matter pursuant to Local Rule 37-2 and Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c).

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Any motion challenging a confidential designation must be filed in strict

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compliance with Local Rules 37-1 and 37-2 (including the Joint Stipulation

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requirement). The party seeking confidentiality has the burden of establishing that

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protection is warranted under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c).
DISCLOSURE

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8.

Confidential Information disclosed by a Disclosing Party under the

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Order shall be used by the Receiving Party only for purposes of this litigation and

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not for any business, commercial, scientific, competitive, or other purpose

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whatsoever.

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9.

Nothing in this Confidentiality Order shall be construed to impose

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affirmative obligations on the Court or court personnel, who are subject only to the

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Court’s internal procedures regarding the handling of material filed or lodged

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under seal. Confidential Information shall not be disclosed by the parties or their

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counsel to anyone other than the Court and its officers, counsel and their agents

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and employees, and the parties.

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10.

Counsel may disclose Confidential Information to qualified third-

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parties employed or retained to assist in the prosecution, defense, or settlement of

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this action, such as investigators, expert witnesses and technical advisers. Anyone

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(other than the Court and its personnel) who is allowed to receive Confidential

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Information shall be provided with a copy of this Confidentiality Order and shall

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sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement in form set forth below or in a substantially

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similar form before such disclosure is made:

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Non-Disclosure Agreement

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I, (name of individual), have read and fully understand the

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Confidentiality Order dated (date), in the action BASA, et al v.

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CROFT, in the United States District Court for the Central District of

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California. I am familiar with and agree to comply with and be bound

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by the provisions of said Order and submit myself to the jurisdiction

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of the United States District Court for the Central District of

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California for any proceedings with respect to said Confidentiality

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Order. I will not divulge to persons other than those specifically

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authorized by said Order, or copy or use, except solely for the

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purposes of this action, any material or information obtained pursuant

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to said Order except as specifically permitted by the Court.
Dated:

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(Signature)

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(Address)

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(Telephone)

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11.

Confidential Information may be filed with the Court under seal only

by following the requirements set forth in Local Rule 79-5.
12.

Prior to hearings or testimony before the Court in this case, the

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parties, in the event that it is known reasonably in advance of such hearing or

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testimony that matters involving “Confidential Information” will be raised, shall so

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advise the Court.
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INADVERTENT DISCLOSURE
13.

In the event that a party discovers after they have produced

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information that they have inadvertently failed to designate as “Confidential

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Information,” that was not designated as Confidential, the disclosing party may

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designate the information as Confidential by a subsequent notice in writing

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identifying the information and furnishing the correct designation, in which event

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the parties shall henceforth treat such information as provided in the Order, and

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shall undertake a best effort to retrieve any disclosure, dissemination, or use of

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such information prior to re-designation.

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OTHER
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Nothing in this Confidentiality Order shall affect the admissibility of

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any Confidential Information in this action.

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documents, producing Parties do not waive any objection to the confidential

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documents’ admissibility, relevance, or any other ground of objection, all of which

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grounds are specifically reserved.

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15.

By producing the confidential

Within 30 days after the termination of this action all Confidential

Information produced by a party shall be returned to that party’s counsel.
16.

Nothing in this Confidentiality Order shall be construed to unduly

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hamper the rights of the parties to prosecute and defend this action. The execution

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of this Confidentiality Order shall not preclude any party from objecting to

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discovery that it believes to be improper, from moving the Court for confidentiality

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orders in the course of this litigation, or from moving for an order modifying or

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expanding this Confidentiality Order as needed.

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17.

This Confidentiality Order shall survive the final termination of this

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action. The Court shall retain jurisdiction to enforce this Confidentiality Order for

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six months after the final termination to resolve any dispute concerning the use of

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Confidential Information.

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18.

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

at law or in equity, to enforce its terms.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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DATED: April 29, 2015
___________/s/_______________
Hon. Jacqueline Chooljian
United States Magistrate Judge

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