Richard Leslie v. The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, et al

Filing 18

JOINT STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 17 by Magistrate Judge Maria A. Audero. [See document for details.] (es)

Download PDF
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 JOSEPH M. LOVRETOVICH, Bar No. 73403 JARED W. BEILKE, Bar No. 195698 KARINA GODOY, Bar No. 305895 JML LAW 5855 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Suite 300 Woodland Hills, CA 91367 Telephone: 818.610.8800 Facsimile: 818.610.3030 Attorneys for Plaintiff RICHARD LESLIE SARAH E. ROSS, Bar No. 252206 sross@littler.com LITTLER MENDELSON, P.C. 2049 Century Park East, 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 Telephone: 310.553.0308 Facsimile: 310.553.5583 RAE CHUNG, Bar No. 318300 rchung@littler.com LITTLER MENDELSON, P.C. 633 West 5th Street 63rd Floor Los Angeles, CA 90071 Telephone: 213.443.4300 Facsimile: 213.443.4299 Attorneys for Defendant THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY 18 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 19 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 LITTLE R MEND ELSO N, P .C . D 2049 C entury Park East 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 310.553.0308 RICHARD LESLIE, Plaintiff, v. THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY, an Ohio Corporation and DOES 1-20, inclusive, Defendants. Case No. ASSIGNED TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE DOLLY M. GEE JOINT STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Trial date: None set Complaint filed: April 1, 2020 (filed in Los Angeles superior court) 1 1. 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 disclosure 4 and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. 5 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following 6 Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Stipulated Protective 7 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery 8 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 13.3 11 below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential 12 information under seal; Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed 13 and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the Court to 14 file material under seal. Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of 15 confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from 16 public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation 17 may be warranted. 18 2. 19 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT This action is likely to involve confidential, non-public, sensitive, and/or 20 proprietary trade secrets, business, emp 21 identifiable information, documents and other materials for which special protection 22 from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this 23 action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist 24 of, among other things, confidential business or financial information, information 25 regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, 26 or commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third 27 parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be 28 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court LITTLE R MEND ELSO N, P .C . D 2049 C entury Park East 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 310.553.0308 2. 1 rules, case decisions, or common law. A 2 to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery 3 materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, 4 to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in 5 preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the 6 litigation, and to serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is 7 justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be 8 designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without 9 a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and 10 there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 11 3. 12 DEFINITIONS 3.1. Does 1 through 20, inclusive, Case No. 13 14 3.2. . Challenging Party: A Party or Nonparty that challenges the designation of information or items under this Stipulated Protective Order. 15 16 Action: Richard Leslie v. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, and 3.3. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information (regardless of how 17 it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 18 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified 19 above in the Good Cause Statement. 20 3.4. their support staff). 21 22 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and In-House Counsel (as well as 3.5. Designating Party: A Party or Nonparty that designates information or 23 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 24 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 25 3.6. Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless of 26 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained 27 (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible 28 things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to LITTLE R MEND ELSO N, P .C . D 2049 C entury Park East 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 310.553.0308 3. discovery in this matter. 1 3.7. 2 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel 3 4 3.8. 5 In-House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 6 In-House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other 7 outside counsel. 3.9. 8 Nonparty: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 9 10 3.10. Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a party 11 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action 12 and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated 13 with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes 14 support staff. 15 3.11. Party: Any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 16 In-House Counsel, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support staffs). 17 3.12. Producing Party: 18 A Party or Nonparty that produces Disclosure or Discovery Material in this Action. 19 3.13. Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation support 20 21 22 or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form 23 or medium) and their employees and subcontractors. 24 3.14. Protected Material: 25 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 26 3.15. Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 27 28 LITTLE R MEND ELSO N, P .C . D 2049 C entury Park East 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 310.553.0308 Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is from a Producing Party. 4. SCOPE 4. The protections conferred by this Stipulated Protective Order cover not only 1 2 Protected Material, but also (1) 3 Material; (2) 4 (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might 5 reveal Protected Material. erial; and 6 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial 7 judge. This Stipulated Protective Order does not govern the use of Protected Material 8 at trial. 9 5. DURATION 10 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 11 imposed by this Stipulated Protective Order shall remain in effect until a Designating 12 Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition 13 shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, 14 with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and 15 ppeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, 16 17 pursuant to applicable law. 18 6. 19 DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 6.1. ting Material for Protection. 20 Each Party or Nonparty that designates information or items for 21 protection under this Stipulated Protective Order must take care to limit 22 any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the 23 appropriate standards. 24 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written 25 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, 26 documents, items, or communications for which protection is not 27 warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Stipulated 28 Protective Order. LITTLE R MEND ELSO N, P .C . D 2049 C entury Park East 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 310.553.0308 The Designating Party must designate for 5. 1 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. 2 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been 3 made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case 4 he Designating Party to sanctions. 5 6 6.2. Manner and Timing of Designations. 7 Stipulated Protective Order 8 (see, e.g., Section 6.2(a)), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure 9 or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Stipulated 10 Protective Order must be clearly so designated before the material is 11 disclosed or produced. Designation in conformity with this Stipulated Protective Order 12 13 requires the following: 14 (a) For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 15 16 or 17 the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains protected 18 material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 19 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly 20 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate 21 markings in the margins). 22 A Party or Nonparty that makes original documents available 23 for inspection need not designate them for protection until after the 24 inspecting Party has indicated which documents it would like copied 25 and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all 26 of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed 27 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the 28 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must LITTLE R MEND ELSO N, P .C . D 2049 C entury Park East 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 310.553.0308 6. 1 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for 2 protection under this Stipulated Protective Order. Then, before 3 4 the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains Protected 5 Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 6 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly 7 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate 8 markings in the margins). (b) 9 For testimony given in depositions, that the Designating Party 10 identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before 11 the close of the deposition, all protected testimony. (c) 12 For information produced in nondocumentary form, and for any other tangible items, 13 14 15 information is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a 16 portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the 17 protected portion(s). 18 6.3. 19 Inadvertent Failure to Designate. 20 If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate qualified 21 information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating 22 Party’s right to secure protection under this Stipulated Protective Order for 23 such material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving 24 Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in 25 accordance with the provisions of this Stipulated Protective Order. 26 27 28 LITTLE R MEND ELSO N, P .C . D 2049 C entury Park East 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 310.553.0308 7. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 7.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Nonparty may challenge a designation of 7. 1 confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling 2 Order. 7.2. 3 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process, 4 5 which shall comply with Local Rule 37.1 et seq., and with 6 Section 4 of Judge Audero’s Procedures (“Mandatory Telephonic 7 Conference for Discovery Disputes”). 1 7.3. 8 Burden of Persuasion. 9 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be 10 on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an 11 improper purpose (e.g. 12 13 Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality 14 designation, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the 15 level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s 16 designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 17 8. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIALS 8.1. 18 Basic Principles. 19 A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or 20 produced by another Party or by a Nonparty in connection with this Action 21 only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such 22 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and 23 under the conditions described in this Stipulated Protective Order. When 24 the Action reaches a final disposition, a Receiving Party must comply with 25 the provisions of Section 14 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving 26 27 28 LITTLE R MEND ELSO N, P .C . D 2049 C entury Park East 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 310.553.0308 1 Judge Audero’s Procedures are available at https://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/honorable-maria-audero. 8. 1 Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited 2 to the persons authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order. 3 8.2. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. 4 Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the 5 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item 6 designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 7 (a) The Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record, as well as 8 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is 9 reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 10 (b) The officers, directors, and employees (including In-House 11 Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably 12 necessary for this Action; 13 (c) disclosure is reasonably necessary 14 for this Action and who have signed the 15 16 (d) The Court and its personnel; 17 (e) Court reporters and their staff; 18 (f) Professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 19 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary or this Action 20 and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to be 21 22 (g) The author or recipient of a document containing the information or 23 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the 24 information; 25 (h) During their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in 26 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: 27 (i) the deposing party requests that the witness sign the 28 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound LITTLE R MEND ELSO N, P .C . D 2049 C entury Park East 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 310.553.0308 9. and 1 (ii) the witness will not be permitted to keep any confidential 2 information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement 3 to Be Bound,” unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or 4 ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or 5 6 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to 7 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 8 (i) 9 Any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 10 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement 11 discussions. 12 9. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 13 IN OTHER LITIGATION 14 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that 15 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 16 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 17 (a) include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 18 19 Promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall (b) Promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to 20 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 21 subpoena or order is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order. Such 22 notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 23 (c) Cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued 24 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 25 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the 26 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as 27 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the Court from which the subpoena or 28 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The LITTLE R MEND ELSO N, P .C . D 2049 C entury Park East 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 310.553.0308 10. 1 2 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as 3 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive 4 from another court. 5 10. A NONPARTY’S PROTECTED 6 SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 7 MATERIAL 10.1. Application. 8 The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order are applicable to 9 information produced by a Nonparty in this Action and designated as 10 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 11 connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief 12 provided by this Stipulated Protective Order. Nothing in these provisions 13 should be construed as prohibiting a Nonparty from seeking additional 14 protections. 15 Such information produced by Nonparties in 10.2. Notification. 16 In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 17 produce a Nonparty’s confidential information in its possession, and the 18 Party is subject to an agreement with the Nonparty not to produce the 19 Nonparty’s confidential information, then the Party shall: 20 (a) Promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Nonparty 21 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a 22 confidentiality agreement with a Nonparty; 23 (b) Promptly provide the Nonparty with a copy of the Stipulated 24 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), 25 and a reasonably specific description of the information requested; 26 and 27 28 LITTLE R MEND ELSO N, P .C . D 2049 C entury Park East 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 310.553.0308 (c) Make the information requested available for inspection by the Nonparty, if requested. 11. 10.3. Conditions of Production. 1 2 If the Nonparty fails to seek a protective order from this Court within 3 fourteen (14) days after receiving the notice and accompanying 4 information, the Receiving Party may produce the Nonparty’s confidential 5 information responsive to the discovery request. If the Nonparty timely 6 seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any 7 information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality 8 agreement with the Nonparty before a determination by the Court. Absent 9 a court order to the contrary, the Nonparty shall bear the burden and s Court of its Protected Material. 10 11 11. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 12 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 immediately must (1) notify in writing 15 the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (2) use its best efforts to retrieve 16 all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (3) inform the person or persons to 17 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Stipulated Protective 18 Order, and (4) request 19 20 12. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 21 PROTECTED MATERIAL 22 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 23 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 24 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 25 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure 26 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior 27 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the 28 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or LITTLE R MEND ELSO N, P .C . D 2049 C entury Park East 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 310.553.0308 12. 1 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the 2 parties may incorporate their agreement in the Stipulated Protective Order submitted to 3 the Court. 4 13. MISCELLANEOUS 13.1. Right to Further Relief. 5 Nothing in this Stipulated Protective Order abridges the right of any 6 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 7 13.2. Right to Assert Other Objections. 8 9 By stipulating to the entry of this Stipulated Protective Order, no 10 Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or 11 producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 12 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object 13 on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this 14 Stipulated Protective Order. 13.3. Filing Protected Material. 15 16 A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must 17 comply with Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed under 18 seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific 19 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material 20 under seal is denied by the Court, then the Receiving Party may file the 21 information in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the Court. 22 14. FINAL DISPOSITION 23 24 request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected 25 Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, 26 “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and 27 any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the 28 Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written LITTLE R MEND ELSO N, P .C . D 2049 C entury Park East 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 310.553.0308 13. 1 certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the 2 Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where 3 appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms 4 that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries 5 or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. 6 Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel is entitled to retain an archival copy of all 7 pleadings; motion papers; trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts; legal memoranda; 8 correspondence; ; ; attorney work product; 9 10 Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain 11 subject to this Stipulated Protective Order as set forth in Section 5. 12 15. VIOLATION 13 Any violation of this Stipulated Order may be punished by any and all appropriate 14 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary 15 sanctions. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 LITTLE R MEND ELSO N, P .C . D 2049 C entury Park East 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 310.553.0308 14. 1 2 3 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. Dated: October 9, 2020 JOSEPH M. LOVRETOVICH JARED W. BEILKE KARINA GODOY JML LAW Attorneys for Plaintiff RICHARD LESLIE CHARD 4 5 6 7 Dated: October 12, 2020 SARAH E. ROSS ARAH AE RAE Y. CHUNG LITTLER MENDELSON, P.C. Attorneys for Defendant THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY 8 9 10 11 12 13 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: 10/14/20 Maria A. Audero United States Magistrate Judge 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 LITTLE R MEND ELSO N, P .C . D 2049 C entury Park East 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 310.553.0308 15. 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, [full name], of 4 [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 7 the case of RICHARD LESLIE v. THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY, 8 and DOES 1-20, Case No. 9 to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, and I understand and [date] in I agree to comply with and 10 11 the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any 12 information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or 13 Stipulated Protective Order. 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I hereby appoint [full name] of [address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. Signature: Printed Name: Date: City and State Where Sworn and Signed: 27 28 LITTLE R MEND ELSO N, P .C . D 2049 C entury Park East 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067.3107 310.553.0308 16.

Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.


Why Is My Information Online?