Marx Garcia v. Zodiac Pool Systems LLC et al

Filing 15

ORDER GRANTING STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 14 by Magistrate Judge Jean P. Rosenbluth. See document for details. (es)

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TRISTAN R. KIRK (SBN: 313262)
[e-mail]
SCOTT De NARDO (SBN: 216749)
[e-mail]
PEYTON SHERWOOD (SBN: 354197)
[e-mail]
WINSTON & STRAWN LLP
333 S. Grand Avenue, 38th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90071-1543
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
Attorneys for Defendant
ZODIAC POOL SYSTEMS LLC
Michael J. Jaurigue (SBN: 208123)
S. Sean Shahabi, Esq. (SBN: 204710)
Amanda K. Collins, Esq. (SBN: 340622)
JAURIGUE LAW GROUP
300 W. Glenoaks Boulevard, Suite 300
Glendale, California, 91202
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
[e-mail] s
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Plaintiff
MARX GARCIA

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MARX GARCIA, an individual
v.

Plaintiff,

ZODIAC POOL SYSTEMS LLC; and
DOES 1-50, INCLUSIVE,
Defendants.

Case No. 5:24-cv-02041-MCS
(AJRx)
DISCOVERY MATTER
[PROPOSED] ORDER
GRANTING STIPULATED
PROTECTIVE ORDER
Complaint Filed: July 31, 2024

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1.

GENERAL
1.1

Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to involve

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production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special

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protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting

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this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and

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petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties

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acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or

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responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and

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use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential

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treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as

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set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle

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them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the

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procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party

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seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.

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1.2

Good Cause Statement.

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This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists,

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individuals’ private information, and other valuable confidential research,

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development, commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary information, as is

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contemplated by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c)(1)(G), and special protection

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from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this

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action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information

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consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial information,

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information regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential research,

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technical, cost, price, development, marketing, or other commercial information

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(including information implicating privacy rights of third parties), information

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otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise

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protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions,

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or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the
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prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to

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adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure

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that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation

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for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation,

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and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this

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matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as

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confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith

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belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is

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good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case.

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2.

DEFINITIONS

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2.1

Action: this pending federal lawsuit.

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2.2

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

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of information or items under this Order.
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Confidential Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is

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generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things contained or disclosed in any

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materials, including documents, portions of documents, answers to interrogatories,

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responses to requests for admissions, trial testimony, deposition testimony, and

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transcripts of trial testimony and depositions, including data, summaries, and

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compilations derived therefrom that is deemed to be confidential information by any

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Party to which it belongs and that qualifies for protection under Federal Rule of Civil

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Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement.

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2.4

Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record, House Counsel for Defendant

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Zodiac Pool Systems LLC (“Defendant”), and other attorneys, paralegals, secretaries,

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and other support staff employed in the following law firms: Winston & Strawn LLP

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and Jaurigue Law Group. “Counsel” also includes paralegals, secretaries, and other

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support staff for Defendant.

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2.5

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

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items that it produces in disclosures, in responses to discovery, or in deposition

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testimony as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

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2.6

Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless

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of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,

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among other things, documents, portions of documents, tangible things, testimony,

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transcripts, answers to interrogatories, responses to requests for admissions, as well

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as any data, summaries, and compilations derived therefrom), that are produced or

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generated in disclosures, responses to discovery, or deposition testimony in this

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matter.

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2.7

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

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

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an 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.

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House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside

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counsel.

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2.9

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

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

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

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to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have

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appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that

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has appeared on behalf of that party, including support staff.

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

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employees, consultants, retained experts, House Counsel, and Outside Counsel of

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Record (and their support staffs).

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2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
Discovery Material in this Action.

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2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support

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

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

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and their employees and subcontractors.

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2.14 Protected Material:

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any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

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2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material

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from a Producing Party.

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3.

SCOPE

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The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only

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Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information or data copied or

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extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or

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compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or

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presentations by Parties 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

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

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4.

DURATION

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Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the court-filed information to be introduced

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that was previously designated as confidential or maintained pursuant to this

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protective order becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members

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of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific

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factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the

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trial. See Kamakana v. City and Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir.

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2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in

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discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are

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part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend

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beyond the commencement of the trial.

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5.

DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
5.1

Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

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

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Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies

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under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection

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only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that

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qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications

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for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of

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this Order.

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Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations

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that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper

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purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose

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unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party

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to sanctions.

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

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

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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

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this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise

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stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection

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under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or

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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

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documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial

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proceedings), that the Producing Party affix, at a minimum, the legend

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“CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter the “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that

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contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
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qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected

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portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).

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

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need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated

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which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and

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before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be

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deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents

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it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents,

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or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing

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the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL

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legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions

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of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly

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identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the

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margins).

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(b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify

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the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record whenever possible. A Party may

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also designate portions of depositions as containing Confidential Information after

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transcription of the proceedings; a Party will have until thirty (30) days after receipt

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of the deposition transcript to inform the other Party to the action of the portions of

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the transcript to be designated “CONFIDENTIAL.”

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(c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and

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for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on

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the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend

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“CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants

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protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected

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portion(s).

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5.3

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Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
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Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.

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Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable

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efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this

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Order.

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6.

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CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
6.1

Timing of Challenges.

Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

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designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s

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Scheduling Order.

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6.2

Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute

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resolution process under Local Rule 37-1, et seq. Any discovery motion must strictly

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comply with the procedures set forth in Local Rules 37-1, 37-2, and 37-3.

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6.3

Burden. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding

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shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an

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

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other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating

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Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall

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continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled

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under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.

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7.

ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
7.1

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

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disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this

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Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such

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Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the

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conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving

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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

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location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons

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authorized under this Order.

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7.2

Disclosure of Confidential Information or Items. Unless otherwise

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ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving

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Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

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(a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as

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well as employees or support staff of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is

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reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action;

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

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disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the

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

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Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have

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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 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

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the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing

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party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they

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will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the

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“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise

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agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed

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deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be

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separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as

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permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and

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(i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,

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

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8.

PROTECTED

MATERIAL

SUBPOENAED

OR

ORDERED

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PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION

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

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

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“CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:

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(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
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

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issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena

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or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of

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this Stipulated Protective Order; and

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(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.

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

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the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action

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as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena

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or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
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Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court

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of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as

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authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful

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directive from another court.

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9.

A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE

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PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION

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

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Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

Such information

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produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the

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remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be

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construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.

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(b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce

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a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an

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agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential

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information, then the Party shall:

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(1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party

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that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement

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with a Non-Party;

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(2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated

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Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably

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specific description of the information requested; and

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(3) make the information requested available for inspection by the NonParty, if requested.

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(c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within 14

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days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may

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produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request.

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If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce

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any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality
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agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court. Absent a court

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order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking

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protection in this Court of its Protected Material.

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10.

UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

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

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

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

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

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

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and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and

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Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. If the Receiving Party

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has disclosed the materials before receiving the designation, the Receiving Party must

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notify the Designating Party in writing of each such disclosure. Counsel for the

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parties will agree on a mutually acceptable manner of labeling or marking the

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inadvertently produced materials as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

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11.

INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

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PROTECTED MATERIAL

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When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain

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inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,

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the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil

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Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure

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may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior

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privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the

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parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or

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information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the

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parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted

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to the Court.
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12.

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

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

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

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Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to

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disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this

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Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any

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ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.

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

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Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material

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may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the

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specific Protected Material at issue; good cause must be shown in the request to file

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under seal. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the

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Court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless

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otherwise instructed by the Court.

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13.

FINAL DISPOSITION

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After the final disposition of this Action, within 60 days of a written request by

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the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the

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Producing Party or destroy such material, and must purge all such information from

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all machine-readable media on which it resides. As used in this subdivision, “all

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Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any

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other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the

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Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written

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certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the

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Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where

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appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed, and (2) affirms

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that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations,

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summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material.
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Notwithstanding this provision, counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all

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

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correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product,

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

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Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material,

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including attorney work product, remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth

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in Section 4 (DURATION).

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14.

VIOLATION OF ORDER

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

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measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary

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sanctions.

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IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

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DATED: January 3, 2025
/s/ Amanda Collins
Attorney for Plaintiff
Marx Garcia

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DATED: January 3, 2025

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/s/ Tristan R. Kirk
Attorney for Defendant
Zodiac Pool Systems LLC

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FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

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January 6, 2025
DATED:_______________

__________________________________
HON. A. JOEL RICHLIN
United States Magistrate Judge

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EXHIBIT A

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

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I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________

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[full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and

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understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States

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District Court for the Central District of California on ____________ [date] in the

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case of Marx Garcia v. Zodiac Pool Systems LLC, Case No. 5:24-cv-02041-MCS

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(AJRx). I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated

10

Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could

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expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly

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promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject

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to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance

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with the provisions of this Order.

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

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for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this

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Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after

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termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [full

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name] of _______________________________________ [full address and

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

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

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Order.

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Date: ______________________________________

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City and State where signed: _________________________________

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Printed name: _______________________________

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Signature: __________________________________

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