Lasherril Reeves v. The University of Phoenix, Inc. et al

Filing 28

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge Karen L. Stevenson. Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. #26 (SEE ORDER FOR FURTHER DETAILS) (gr)

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5/26/2017

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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12 LASHERRILL REEVES, as an

individual,

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Plaintiff,
vs.
THE UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX,

16 INC., a business entity doing business

in California; APOLLO EDUCATION

Case No. 2:16-cv-08369-JFW (KSx)
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
ORDER
Honorable John F. Walter
Honorable Karen L. Stevenson

17 GROUP, INC., a business entity doing

business in California and DOES 1

18 through 10, Inclusive,
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Defendants

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER, CASE NO. 2:16-cv-08369-JFW (KSx)

1 1.

A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

2

Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,

3 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
4 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be
5 warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter
6 the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order
7 does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery
8 and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the
9 limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the
10 applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section
11 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file
12 confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures
13 that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks
14 permission from the court to file material under seal.
15

B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

16

This action is likely to involve student information and other valuable research,

17 commercial, technical and/or proprietary information, including the University’s
18 internal policies and procedures relating to student enrollment, employee hiring and
19 compensation, and employee training for which special protection from public
20 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than the litigation of this action is
21 warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of,
22 among other things, confidential business information, information regarding
23 confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, or
24 commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third
25 parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be
26 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court
27 rules, case decisions, or common law. Disclosure of this information would result in
28 the dissemination of private student information, and confidential/proprietary
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER, CASE NO. 2:16-cv-08369-JFW (KSx)
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1 information developed and used internally by the University only resulting in personal
2 and/or financial harm to the University and third parties. Accordingly, to expedite the
3 flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality
4 of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to
5 keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of
6 such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at
7 the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such
8 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information
9 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so
10 designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential,
11 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public
12 record of this case.
13 2.

DEFINITIONS

14

2.1

Action: the instant lawsuit entitled Lasherrill Reeves v. University of

15 Phoenix, Inc., et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-08369.
16

2.2

Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation

17 of information or items under this Order.
18

2.3

“CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of

19 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection
20 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good
21 Cause Statement.
22

2.4

Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their

23 support staff).
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25 items

2.5

Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or

that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as

26 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
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2.6

Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of

28 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER, CASE NO. 2:16-cv-08369-JFW (KSx)
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1 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
2 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
3

2.7

Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter

4 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an
5 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
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2.8

House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.

7 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
8 counsel.
9

2.9

Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or

10 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
11

2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party

12 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have
13 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which
14 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
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2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,

16 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
17 support staffs).
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2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

19 Discovery Material in this Action.
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2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support

21 services

(e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or

22 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
23 and their employees and subcontractors.
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2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

25 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
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2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material

27 from a Producing Party.
28 3.

SCOPE
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER, CASE NO. 2:16-cv-08369-JFW (KSx)
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1

The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only

2 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted
3 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of
4 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties
5 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
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Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial

7 judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
8 4.

DURATION

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Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations

10 imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees
11 otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be
12 deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with
13 or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and
14 exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action,
15 including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time
16 pursuant to applicable law.
17 5.

DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

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5.1

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Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection

Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

20 under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
21 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
22 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
23 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,
24 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
25 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
26

Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations

27 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
28 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER, CASE NO. 2:16-cv-08369-JFW (KSx)
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1 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party
2 to sanctions.
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If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it

4 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
5 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
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5.2

Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in

7 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
8 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
9 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
10 produced.
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Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

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(a)

for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic

13 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
14 proceedings),

that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend

15 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
16 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
17 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
18 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
19

A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection

20 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
21 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before
22 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed
23 “CONFIDENTIAL.”

After

the

inspecting Party has identified the documents it

24 wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or
25 portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the
26 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend”
27 to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the
28 material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER, CASE NO. 2:16-cv-08369-JFW (KSx)
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1 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
2 margins).
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(b)

for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the

4 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all
5 protected testimony.
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(c)

for information produced in some form other than documentary and for

7 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
8 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
9 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
10 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
11 portion(s).
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5.3

Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

13 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
14 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
15 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
16 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
17 Order.
18 6.

CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

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6.1

Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

20 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
21 Scheduling Order.
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6.2

Meet and Confer. The Challenging

Party shall initiate the dispute

23 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
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6.3

The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on

25 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
26 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
27 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or
28 withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER, CASE NO. 2:16-cv-08369-JFW (KSx)
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1 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing
2 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
3 7.

ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

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7.1

Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is

5 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
6 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
7 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
8 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving
9 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
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Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a

11 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
12 authorized under this Order.
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7.2

Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

14 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
15 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL”
16 only to:
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(a)

the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well

18 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to
19 disclose the information for this Action;
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(b)

the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the

21 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
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(c)

Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom

23 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
24 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
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(d)

the court and its personnel;

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(e)

court reporters and their staff;

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER, CASE NO. 2:16-cv-08369-JFW (KSx)
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1

(f)

professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional

2 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
3 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
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(g)

the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a

5 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
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(h)

during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the

7 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
8 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they will
9 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
10 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed
11 by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition
12 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately
13 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted
14 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
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(i)

any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,

16 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
17 8.

PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN

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OTHER LITIGATION

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If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation

20 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
21 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
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(a)

promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall

23 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
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(b)

promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to

25 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or
26 order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this
27 Stipulated Protective Order; and
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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER, CASE NO. 2:16-cv-08369-JFW (KSx)
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1

(c)

cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued

2 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
3

If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with

4 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this
5 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
6 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
7 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
8 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
9 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to
10 disobey a lawful directive from another court.
11 9.

A

NON-PARTY’S

PROTECTED

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PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION

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(a)

MATERIAL

SOUGHT

TO

BE

The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-

14 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
15 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
16 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
17 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
18

(b)

In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to

19 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
20 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
21 confidential information, then the Party shall:
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(1)

promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that

23 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with
24 a Non-Party;
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(2)

promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective

26 Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific
27 description of the information requested; and
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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER, CASE NO. 2:16-cv-08369-JFW (KSx)
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(3)

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make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-

2 Party, if requested.

(c)

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If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14

4 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may
5 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request.
6 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce
7 any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality
8 agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court
9 order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
10 protection in this court of its Protected Material.
11 10.

UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

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If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed

13 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
14 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
15 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
16 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
17 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
18 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
19 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
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11.

INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
PROTECTED MATERIAL
When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain

inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER, CASE NO. 2:16-cv-08369-JFW (KSx)
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1 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
2 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
3 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to
4 the court.
5 12.

MISCELLANEOUS

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12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any

7 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
8

12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this

9 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
10 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
11 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
12 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
13

12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any

14 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
15 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
16 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material
17 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in
18 the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
19 13.

FINAL DISPOSITION

20

After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60

21 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
22 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
23 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
24 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
25 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party
26 must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person
27 or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by
28 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER, CASE NO. 2:16-cv-08369-JFW (KSx)
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1 and (2)affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
2 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
3 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an
4 archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts,
5 legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports,
6 attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials
7 contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute
8 Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4
9 (DURATION).
10 14.

Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate

11 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary
12 sanctions.
13
14 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
15
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17 DATED: May 26, 2017
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19

KAREN L. STEVENSON
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER, CASE NO. 2:16-cv-08369-JFW (KSx)
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1

EXHIBIT A

2

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

3

I, ____________________ [print or type full name], of ___________________

4 [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its
5 entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United
6 States District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of
7 __________ Lasherill Reeves v. University of Phoenix, Inc., et al., Case No. 2:16-cv8 08369-JFW (KSx). I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this
9 Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so

REED SMITH LLP

A limited liability partnership formed in the State of Delaware

10 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I
11 solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is
12 subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict
13 compliance with the provisions of this Order. I further agree to submit to the
14 jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Central District of California for
15 the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such
16 enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action.

I hereby appoint

17 ___________________ [print or type full name] of _____________ [print or type full
18 address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in
19 connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this
20 Stipulated Protective Order.
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Date:
City and State where sworn and signed:
Printed name:
Signature:

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER, CASE NO. 2:16-cv-08369-JFW (KSx)