Allied World Assurance Company U.S., Inc. v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

Filing 29

PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian re REQUEST for Protective Order 28 . See order for details. (hr)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, WESTERN DIVISION

10
11

ALLIED WORLD ASSURANCE
COMPANY (U.S.) INC. a Delaware
corporation
Plaintiff,

12

14

DISCOVERY MATTER
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

v.

13

Case No. 2-17-cv-02582-FMO (JCx)

15

STATE FARM MUTUAL
AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE
COMPANY, an Illinois corporation,

16

Defendant.

17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27

I.

INTRODUCTION AND GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
Plaintiff Allied World Assurance Company (U.S.) Inc., (“Allied Word”) seeks

from defendant State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (“State Farm”)
the $2.5 million Allied World paid to settle an underlying personal injury claim of a
16 year old girl who was struck by a van while riding her bicycle. Allied World
alleges State Farm rejected a reasonable settlement offer for $500,000 and otherwise
failed to properly investigate the claim, which resulted in Allied World paying $2.5
million to protect its insured. State Farm contends it acted reasonably during the
handling of the underlying claim. State Farm evaluated and made all offers based
on the information in its possession. State Farm further contends that the

28
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
1

1

information presented at the time of the $500,000 demand did not warrant

2

settlement of the claim in that amount.

3

Based on the nature of this action, discovery will involve production of

4

information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for

5

any purpose other than this litigation is warranted, including medical records and

6

reserves. Disclosure of such confidential and proprietary information to the public

7

may violate the privacy rights of non-Parties, harm the business interests of the

8

Parties, and violate obligations the Parties have to certain non-Parties. Therefore, a

9

protective order for such information is warranted to facilitate the prompt resolution

10

of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect

11

information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, and to ensure that the

12

parties can use the material in this case and agreeably return or destroy it thereafter.

13

Accordingly, the Parties petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated

14

Protective Order. However, the Parties agree that, if for any reason the Court does

15

not sign the Order, such refusal will have no effect on the binding nature of this

16

agreement between Allied World and State Farm, and the agreement of any

17

qualified person to adhere to the terms herein.

18

II.

DEFINITIONS
2.1

19

Action: Allied World Assurance Company (U.S.) Inc. v. State Farm

20

Mutual Automobile Insurance Company; United States District Court, Central

21

District of California, Case No. 2-17-cv-02582-FMO (JCx).
2.2

22
23

of information or items under this Order.
2.3

24
25

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

“CONFIDENTIAL”: information or tangible things that qualify for

protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c).
2.4

26

Counsel:

attorneys retained to represent or advise a party to this

27

Action, including support staff.

28

///
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
2

2.5

1
2

“CONFIDENTIAL.”
2.6

3
4

Designating Party: a Party or non-Party that designates Discovery as

Discovery: all information and documents produced or generated in

disclosures or responses to discovery in this Action.
2.7

5

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

6

pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as

7

an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.

8

2.8

Final Disposition: When this Action is no longer appealable.

9

2.9

Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,

10

employees, experts, and Counsel.
2.10 Producing Party: a Party or non-Party that produces Discovery in this

11
12

Action.

13

2.11 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support

14

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

15

demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)

16

and their employees and subcontractors.

17

2.12 Protected Material: any Discovery designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

18

2.13 Receiving Party: a Party receiving Discovery from a Producing Party.

19

III.

SCOPE AND DURATION

20

This Stipulation and Order covers Protected Material and copies, excerpts, or

21

summaries thereof produced by a Party or non-Party through Final Disposition. In

22

the event that any Protected Materials are used in any court proceeding in this

23

Action, they shall not lose their confidential status through such use, and the party

24

using such shall take all reasonable steps to maintain their confidentiality during

25

such use.

26

IV.

27
28

DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
4.1

Designating Material for Protection: The Designating Party must

designate for protection only those portions of material that qualify for protection.
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
3

1

If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it

2

designated for protection do not qualify for protection, the Designating Party must

3

promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
4.2

4

Manner and Timing of Designations: Except as otherwise provided in

5

this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Discovery that qualifies for

6

protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before disclosure.

7

Documents shall have the word “CONFIDENTIAL” written on the bottom of each

8

page that contains Protected Material.
4.3

9

Inadvertent Failures to Designate: If timely corrected, an inadvertent

10

failure to designate qualified information or items does not waive the Designating

11

Party’s right to secure protection under this Order. Upon timely correction of a

12

designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the

13

material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
4.4

14

Medical Records: Due to the large volume of medical records,

15

including medical bills, that the Parties anticipate will be produced in this matter,

16

the Parties agree that any documents referring to the medical condition of Ms.

17

Alvarado are deemed to be automatically designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” without

18

the need for the parties to mark “CONFIDENTIAL” on the document. As for any

19

other documents that may be protected, the Parties will mark those documents as

20

necessary.

21

V.

CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

22

Any Party may challenge a designation of confidentiality at any time that is

23

consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order. The Challenging Party shall initiate

24

the dispute resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. The burden in any

25

challenge is on the Designating Party. All Parties shall continue to treat challenged

26

material as CONFIDENTIAL until the Court rules on a challenge.

27

///

28

///
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
4

1
2

VI.

ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
6.1

Persons To Whom Protected Material May be Disclosed: Unless

3

otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a

4

Receiving

5

“CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

disclose

any

information

or

item

designated

directors, and employees to whom disclosure is necessary for this Action;
(b) Experts to whom disclosure is necessary for this Action and who have

8
9

may

(a) the Receiving Party’s Counsel, and Receiving Party’s officers,

6
7

Party

signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Ex. A);

10

(c) the Court, court reporters, and their staff;

11

(d) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional

12

Vendors to whom disclosure is necessary for this Action and that signed Ex. A;

13

(e) witnesses and attorneys for witnesses in the Action to whom disclosure

14

is reasonably necessary provided the witness signs the form attached as Ex. A,

15

unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of

16

transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected

17

Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to

18

anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order;
(f) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,

19
20

mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions; and
(g) auditors, reinsurers, and retrocessionaries.

21
22

6.2

Filing Protected Materials With the Court: Any Party that seeks to file

23

protected materials with the court must follow the procedures for filing documents

24

under seal set forth in Local Rule 79-5.

25

6.3

Notes Regarding Protected Materials: The Protected Materials, and/or

26

any notes arising from the viewing of such documents, shall not be disclosed by the

27

parties or any person or entity which is now or might become a party to this

28

litigation, or by any party’s attorneys, agents, independent contractors, public
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
5

1

adjusters, consultants, experts, and/or representatives, except as set forth under the

2

terms of this Stipulation and Order. Any and all notes, thoughts, impressions,

3

and/or conclusions arising from the viewing of the Protected Materials, shall not be

4

disseminated or communicated, during the case or after it concludes, in any manner

5

to others not related to this litigation.
6.4

6

No Admission or Waiver: Nothing in this Stipulation and Order, nor

7

the production of any Protected Materials, nor any proceedings pursuant to this

8

Stipulation and Order shall be deemed to have the effect of an admission or waiver

9

by the Parties, or of altering the confidentiality of any document or information.

10

VII. PROTECTED

MATERIAL

SUBPOENAED

OR

ORDERED

11

PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION

12

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

13

that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as

14

“CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating

15

Party; (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to

16

issue that material sought is subject to this Protective Order; and (c) cooperate with

17

respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the Designating Party

18

whose Protected Material may be affected.

19

VIII. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

20

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

21

Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this

22

Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in

23

writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures; (b) use its best efforts

24

to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material; (c) inform the person or

25

persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order;

26

and (d) request such person or persons to sign Ex. A.

27

///

28

///
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
6

1

IX.

FINAL DISPOSITION

2

After the final disposition of this Action, each Receiving Party must return all

3

Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material within 60 days.

4

Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain a copy of all

5

pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal

6

memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney

7

work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials

8

contain Protected Material.

9

IT IS SO STIPULATED THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

10

Dated: July 26, 2017

11
12

NICOLAIDES FINK THORPE
MICHAELIDES SULLIVAN LLP
By:

/s/ Jared K. Clapper
Jared K. Clapper
Attorneys for Plaintiff Allied World
Assurance Company (U.S.) Inc.

13
14
15
16

Dated: July 26, 2017

17

PACIFIC LAW PARTNERS, LLP
By:

/s/ Anne Master
Anne Master
Attorneys for Defendant State Farm
Mutual Automobile Insurance Company.

18
19
20
21

FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

22
23
24
25

DATED: July 27, 2017

/s/
HON. JACQUELINE CHOOLJIAN
United States Magistrate Judge

26
27
28
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
7

Statement of Authority to File

1
2

Per Civil L.R. 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), I attest that all signatories on this document

3

and on whose behalf the filing is submitted concur in the filing’s content and have

4

authorized the filing of this document.

5

Dated: July 26, 2017

6
7

By:

/s/ Jared K. Clapper
Jared K. Clapper

8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
8

1

EXHIBIT A

2

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

3
4

I,

_____________________________

[print

or

type

5

_________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury

6

that I have read the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States

7

District Court for the Central District of California on July 27, 2017 in the case of

8

Allied World Assurance Company (U.S.) Inc. v. State Farm Mutual Automobile

9

Insurance Company, Case No. 2-17-cv-02582-FMO (JCx). I agree to comply with

10

and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order. I will not

11

disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated

12

Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the

13

provisions of this Order.

14

I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the

15

Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective

16

Order, even if enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I

17

hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of

18

_______________________________________ [print or type full address and

19

telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with

20

this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective

21

Order.

22

Date: ______________________________________

23

City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________

24

Printed name: _______________________________

25
26

Signature: __________________________________

27
28
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
9

full

name],

of