Deutsch Hollandische Tabakgesellschaft mBH & Co., KG v. Trendsettah USA, Inc.

Filing 155

PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge John D. Early re Stipulation for Protective Order 154 . (see document for information) (hr)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SOUTHERN DIVISION

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DEUTSCH-HOLLANDISCHE
TABAKGESELLSCHAFT MBH
& CO., KG,

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Plaintiff/Counterclaim
Defendant,

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v.

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CASE NO: 8:17-cv-00181-DOC-JDE
PROTECTIVE ORDER
District Court Judge David O. Carter
Magistrate Judge John D. Early

TREND SETTAH, INC.,

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Defendant/Counterclaim
Plaintiff.

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Pursuant to the Stipulation of the Parties, and good cause appearing therefor,
the Court finds and orders as follows:

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1.

PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

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

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proprietary or private information for which special protection from public

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disclosure and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be

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warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to

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enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this

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Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to

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discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends

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only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment

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under the applicable legal principles.

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2.

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Attempts to enforce the judgment entered in this action (Dkt. 125) (the

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“Judgment”) may involve the exchange of trade secrets, customer and pricing

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information, as well as other valuable research, development, commercial,

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accounting, tax, financial, technical and/or proprietary information for which special

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

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prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials

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

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information, information regarding confidential business practices, or other

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confidential research, development, or commercial information (including

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information implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise

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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.

GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

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Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt

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resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately

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

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parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for

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

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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

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

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

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3.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE

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The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this

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Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information

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under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed

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and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court

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to file material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right

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of access to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-

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dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See

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Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006),

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Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-

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Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even

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stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of

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good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal

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justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to

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file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material

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as CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the submission of competent evidence by

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declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as

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confidential,

privileged,

or

otherwise

protectable—constitute

good

cause.

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Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then

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compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the

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relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected.

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See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For

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each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced

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under seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons,

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supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order.

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Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal

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must be provided by declaration.

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Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in

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its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted.

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If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting

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only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document,

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shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their

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entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.

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4.

DEFINITIONS

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4.1

Action: This federal action: Deutsch-Hollandische Tabakgesellschaft

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mbH & Co., Kg. (“DHT”) v. Trend Settah Inc. (“TSI”) and Trendsettah USA, Inc.,

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and its corresponding counterclaims (Case No. 8:17-cv-00181-DOC-JDE). The

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Action remains pending before the Honorable Judge David O. Carter and Magistrate

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Judge John D. Early in relation to enforcement of the Judgment, while its result is

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on appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Case No. 18-56177).

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4.2

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

of information or items under this Order.
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“CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of

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how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for

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protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in

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the Good Cause Statement.

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4.4

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

their support staff).
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Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or

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items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as

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“CONFIDENTIAL.”

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4.6

Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless

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

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among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or

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generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.

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4.7

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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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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4.9

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

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

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

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to this Action but are retained to represent a party to this Action and have appeared

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

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appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.

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

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employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their

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support staffs).

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

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4.13 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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4.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
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Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery

Material from a Producing Party.

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5.

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 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 and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of

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Protected material at trial.

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6.

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Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as

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CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced

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as an exhibit during trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all

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

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

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of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause”

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showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”

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standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Except with

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respect to documents and information that become a matter of public record, the

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provisions of this Order shall continue to be binding upon all Parties, Counsel, and

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Non-Parties bound by this Order until the Judgment is reversed in a final and non-

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appealable order by a court of competent appellate jurisdiction, or alternatively until

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the Judgment is satisfied.

DURATION

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7.

DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

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7.1

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

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

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

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protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written

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

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or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably

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within the ambit of 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

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Party 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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7.2

Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in

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this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material

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that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before

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the material is disclosed or 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 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that

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contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for

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protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)

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(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.”

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

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documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order.

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before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the

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“CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a

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

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

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After the inspecting Party has identified the
Then,

in the margins).

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

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identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the

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deposition all protected testimony.

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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

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

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

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protected portion(s).

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7.3

Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

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failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive

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the 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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8.

CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

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8.1.

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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8.2

Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute

resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a
joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.

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8.4 Challenge Process. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge

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

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for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and

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

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Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all

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parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to

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which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on

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the challenge.

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9.

ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such
Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL
DISPOSITION).
Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
authorized under this Order.

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9.2

Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

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

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Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated

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“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 of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably

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necessary to disclose the information for this Action;

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

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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)

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they 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

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

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as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
(i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel,

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mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
10.

PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED
PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION

OR

ORDERED

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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

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

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subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include

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a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and

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(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be

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pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the

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

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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

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subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s

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permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking

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protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions

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should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action

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to disobey a lawful directive from another court.

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11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
(a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
produced by Non-Parties in connection with this Action is protected by the remedies
and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed
as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
(b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
confidential information, then the Party shall:
(1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the NonParty that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
agreement with a Non-Party;
(2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
specific description of the information requested; and
(3) make the information requested available for inspection by
the Non-Party, if requested.

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

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within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving

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Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the

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discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving

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Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to

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the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the

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court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and

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expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.

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12.

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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 an

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Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.

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UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

13. 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 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a
communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work
product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated
protective order submitted to the court.
14.

MISCELLANEOUS

14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or
producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated

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

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

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

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Protected Material must comply with Local Civil 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. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal

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is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the

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public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.

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15.

FINAL DISPOSITION

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After the final disposition of this Action, by either final appellate action or by

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satisfaction of the Judgment, as defined in paragraph 6, within 30 days of a written

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request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected

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Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material.

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subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,

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summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected

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Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving

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Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same

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person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 30-day deadline that (1) identifies

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(by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or

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destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,

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abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any

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of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to

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retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing

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transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert

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reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such

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materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or

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As used in this

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constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in

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Section 6 (DURATION).

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16.

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Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures

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VIOLATION

including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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DATED: October 25, 2018

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_________________________
JOHN D. EARLY
United States Magistrate Judge

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Exhibit A: Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound

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I,

, (PRINT NAME) hereby acknowledge

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and affirm that I have read and understand the terms and conditions of the

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Stipulation and Proposed Protective Order (the “Order”) entered by the Court in

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Deutsch-Hollandische Tabakgesellschaft mbH & Co., Kg. (“DHT”) v. Trend Settah

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Inc. (“TSI”) and Trendsettah USA, Inc. (Case No. 8:17-cv-00181-DOC-JDE). I

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understand that my agreement to its terms is a condition of my access to the

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confidential documents, things and information.

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I recognize that any breach of this Acknowledgement or of the Order may be

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punishable as a contempt of court, and I hereby consent to the jurisdiction of the

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above-captioned Court for the purpose of enforcing this Order. All civil remedies

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for breach of this Acknowledgement are specifically reserved by the Parties, and I

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recognize that the Parties may pursue civil remedies available to them as a third-

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party beneficiary of my agreement.

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Date:

Signature:

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Associated Party:

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Address:

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City, State, Zip:

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Telephone No.:

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STATE OF

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COUNTY\CITY OF

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The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me the above-named

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individual, whose identity is known to me or was proven by valid identification.
Date:

(SEAL)
Notary: