Wendy Winslow v. Target Corporation et al
Filing
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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge John D. Early re Stipulation for Protective Order 29 (aro)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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WENDY WINSLOW, an Individual,
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Plaintiff,
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
ORDER
v.
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TARGET CORPORATION,
VELOCITY PHARMA LLC,
KILITCH HEALTHCARE INDIA
LIMITED, and DOES 1-20, inclusive,
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Defendants.
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Case No.: 8:24-cv-02300-JWH-JDE
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Based on the parties’ Stipulation and for good cause shown, the Court finds
and orders as follows.
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1.
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Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
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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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This action is likely to involve trade secrets, commercial, financial, technical,
GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
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personal health and/or proprietary information for which special protection from
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public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action
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is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of,
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among other things, confidential business or financial information, information
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regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential research,
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development, personal health or commercial information (including information
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implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise generally
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unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from
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disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common
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law. 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.
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The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE
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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 as
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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 its
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entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If
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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 pending federal lawsuit, WENDY WINSLOW v. TARGET
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CORPORATION, ET AL.
4.2
Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
designation of information or items under this Order.
4.3
“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
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their support staff).
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4.5
Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
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
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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, 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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4.8
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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4.9
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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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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.
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.
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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.
SCOPE
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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
DURATION
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CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced
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as an exhibit at 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). Accordingly, the
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terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
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7.
DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
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7.1
Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for
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Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or
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items for protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to
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specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating
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Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or
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oral or written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material,
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documents, items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not
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swept unjustifiably 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.” After the inspecting Party has identified the
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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. Then, before
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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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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
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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.
8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the
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Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
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(e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
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expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived
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or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the
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material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the
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Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
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9.
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9.1 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. Upon termination of the Action, a Receiving
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Party must comply with section 15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
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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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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
the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
(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
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(i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel,
mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
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10.
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PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
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
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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
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BE PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
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(a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
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Non-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
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produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
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subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
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confidential 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
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agreement 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
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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.
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 an
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Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.
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13.
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INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
OTHERWISE 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
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prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar
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as the 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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14.
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14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
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MISCELLANEOUS
person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
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14.2 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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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 may
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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.
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After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6, within 60
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days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
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all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in
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this 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 60-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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constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
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Section 6 (DURATION).
FINAL DISPOSITION
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16.
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Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
VIOLATION
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including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
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DATED: _____January 28, 2025____________
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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, _____________________________, of __________________
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[COPMANY NAME], ______________________ [ADDRESS], declare under
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penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated
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Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central
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District of California on January 28, 2025, in the case of WENDY WINSLOW v.
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TARGET CORPORATION, et al, Case No.: 8:24-cv-02300-JWH-JDE. I agree to
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comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and
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I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to
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sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will
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not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated
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Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the
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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 enforcing the terms of this Stipulated
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Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of
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this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full
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name] of _______________________________________ [print or type full address
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and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection
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with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated
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Protective Order.
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Date: ______________________________________
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City and State where sworn and signed: ___________________
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Printed name: _______________________________
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Signature: __________________________________
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