Tavie Diversified, INC., a California Corporation et al v. The Pictsweet Company, a Delaware corporation

Filing 29

STIPULATION for PROTECTIVE ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Sheila K. Oberto on 2/20/2014. (Timken, A)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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FRESNO DIVISION

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TAVIE DIVERSIFIED, INC., a California
Corporation; OCTAVIA DIENER, in her
capacity as TRUSTEE of the OCTAVIA
DIENER LIVING TRUST, C.M.A., a
California general partnership; and RED
ROCK RANCH, INC., a California
corporation,

Case No. 1:13-cv-00901-SKO
STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE
ORDER; ORDER THEREON

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Plaintiffs,
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v.
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THE PICTSWEET COMPANY, a Delaware
corporation, and DOES 1 through 20,
inclusive,

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Defendants.
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and related Counterclaim

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The matter having come before the court by stipulation of counsel for
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Plaintiffs/Counter-defendants Tavie Diversified, Inc., Octavia Diener in her capacity as Trustee
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of the Octavia Diener Living Trust, C.M.A. and Red Rock Ranch, Inc. (“Plaintiffs”) and
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Defendant/Counter-defendant The Pictsweet Company (“Defendant”) for the entry of an a
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protective order limiting the review, copying or dissemination of private personal information
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STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER; ORDER
THEREON

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or confidential documents or information to be produced by the parties in the course of
discovery in this matter and to the extent set forth below, and each party and their respective
counsel, having consented to the form and entry of this Order,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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DESIGNATION OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
1. Plaintiffs sought discovery of information and documents comprising the
identity of Defendant’s other client-growers, grower contracts and internal plant
operations. This information and documents is proprietary to Defendant’s business.
Defendant asserts that a private confidentiality agreement would not afford adequate
protection because a breach of any private agreement would necessitate protracted and
costly litigation after irreparable damage has been done. A protective order would
ensure protection to Defendant while facilitating Plaintiff’s interest in pursuing
discovery.
2. Defendant sought discovery of Plaintiffs’ partnership agreements, articles of
incorporation, accounting records, tax returns, and other highly sensitive and confidential
information in an attempt to prove-up its “alter-ego” theory. Plaintiffs assert that a private
confidentiality agreement would not afford adequate protection because a breach of any private
agreement would necessitate protracted and costly litigation after irreparable damage has been
done. A protective order would ensure protection to Plaintiffs of this highly sensitive,
confidential information, while facilitating Defendant’s interest in pursuing discovery.
3. The parties may designate as “Confidential” material that has not been produced before
January 6, 2014 and that is confidential personal or financial information or materials that
contain private or confidential information. Any such designation must be made in good faith.
This Order is meant to encompass all forms of disclosure which may contain confidential
material, including any document, pleading, motion, exhibit, declaration, affidavit, deposition
transcript, inspection and other tangible items.

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STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER; ORDER
THEREON

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4. Material shall be designated as “Confidential” by stamping or otherwise designating the
material as “Confidential,” which designation may be made to a compact disk
containing only confidential information.
5. In the event that any question is asked at a deposition that calls for the disclosure of
confidential material, the witness shall answer such question (unless otherwise
instructed not to do so on grounds of privilege) provided that the only persons in
attendance at the deposition are persons who are qualified to receive such information
pursuant to the provisions below. Deposition testimony may be designated as
confidential by (1) identifying and designating as confidential the testimony on the
record at the deposition, or (2) following the deposition, by sending notice of the
designation in writing within 20 days after receipt by the designating party of the
deposition transcript. All deposition transcripts in their entirety shall be treated in the
interim as “Confidential” pursuant to this Order, unless otherwise agreed in writing by
the parties. When confidential material is incorporated in a deposition transcript, the
party designating such information as confidential shall make a good faith attempt to
arrange to have the court reporter (a) issue a transcript of the deposition with those
pages designated as “Confidential” bound separately and bearing the legend
“Confidential,” and (b) to not disclose any confidential material except in accordance
with the terms of this Order.
RESTRICTIONS ON CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL
6. Any material designated as “Confidential” shall not be disclosed to any person or
entity, except to the parties, counsel for the respective parties, expert witnesses or
consultants assisting counsel in this lawsuit, court reporters and other vendors
providing services in this lawsuit, and the court (as well as the employees and staff of
each such person). Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, a person who
has not signed the agreement attached as Exhibit “A” may be shown a document

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STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER; ORDER
THEREON

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marked CONFIDENTIAL if the document contains private or confidential information
about that person only, and that person need not otherwise maintain such documents as
confidential.
7. Any material designated as “Confidential” shall be used solely for the purposes of this
lawsuit and for no other purpose.

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CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
8. Each person to whom disclosure is to be made shall execute a written “Confidentiality
Agreement” (in the form attached hereto as Exhibit “A”) consenting to be bound by the
terms of this Order. The counsel making the disclosure shall keep the Confidentiality
Agreement and make it available to the other party upon request. The parties, counsel
for the respective parties (including legal assistants and other personnel), and the court
are deemed to be bound by this Order and are not required to execute a Confidentiality
Agreement.
9. Only counsel of record in this lawsuit shall be permitted to disseminate confidential
material produced by another party. Upon dissemination of any confidential material,
each non-designating counsel of record in this lawsuit shall maintain a written record as
to: (1) the identity of any person given confidential material, and (2) the identity of the
confidential material so disseminated. Such record shall be made available to the
designating party upon request, unless such record is protected by the work product
doctrine.
10. If additional persons become parties to this lawsuit, they shall not have access to any
confidential material until they execute and file with the court their written agreement
to be bound by the terms of this Order.
11. If a deponent refuses to execute a Confidentiality Agreement, disclosure of confidential
material during the deposition shall not constitute a waiver of confidentiality. Under
such circumstances, the witness shall sign the original deposition transcript in the

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STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER; ORDER
THEREON

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presence of the court reporter and no copy of the transcript or exhibits shall be given to
the deponent.
RESPONDING TO DISCOVERY REQUESTS IN OTHER PROCEEDINGS
12. If a non-designating party is subpoenaed or otherwise demanded through legal process
to produce confidential material in another proceeding, such party shall promptly notify
the designating party of the pending subpoena or demand and shall not produce any
confidential material until the designating party has had reasonable time to object or
otherwise take appropriate steps to protect such confidential material.
DECLASSIFICATION OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
13. A party may contest the applicability of this Order to material designated as
“Confidential” by notifying the designating party’s counsel in writing and identifying
the information contested. The parties shall have 20 days after such notice to attempt to
resolve the issue. If the dispute is not resolved within such 20-day period, the party
who designated the material as “Confidential” shall have 20 days thereafter in which to
make a motion for a protective order with respect to the contested information.
Information that is subject to a dispute as to whether it is properly designated shall be
treated as designated in accordance with the provisions of this Order until the court
issues a final ruling.
INADVERTENT DISCLOSURE
14. The inadvertent failure to designate any material as “Confidential” shall not constitute a
waiver of an otherwise valid claim of confidentiality pursuant to this Order, so long as a
claim of confidentiality is asserted within 15 days after discovery of the inadvertent
failure. At such time, arrangements shall be made by the parties to designate the
material as “Confidential” in accordance with this Order.
NO WAIVER OF RIGHTS
15. This Order shall be without prejudice to the right of any party to oppose protection of

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STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER; ORDER
THEREON

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any information or object to its admissibility into evidence.

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REPORTING VIOLATIONS
16. When any counsel of record in this lawsuit becomes aware of any violation of this
Order, or of facts constituting good cause to believe that a violation of this Order may
have occurred, such attorney shall report that there may have been a violation of this
Order to the court and all counsel of record.
TREATMENT OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION AFTER LAWSUIT
17. Within 30 days after the termination of this lawsuit, all confidential material (including
all copies) shall be returned to counsel for the designating party or destroyed. In
addition, counsel returning or destroying such material shall execute an affidavit
verifying that all confidential material produced to such counsel and any subsequently
made copies are being returned in their entirety or destroyed in their entirety pursuant
to the terms of this Order. Such a representation fully contemplates that counsel
returning or destroying the materials has: (1) contacted all persons to whom that
counsel disseminated confidential material, and (2) confirmed that such material has
been returned to disseminating counsel.
18. This Order shall remain in effect and shall govern the treatment and use of confidential
material even after the above-captioned action is resolved through settlement, judgment
and/or exhaustion of all appeals. After the termination of this lawsuit, the provisions of
this Order shall continue to be binding and this court shall retain jurisdiction over the
parties and any other person who has access to documents and information produced
pursuant to this Order for the sole purpose of enforcement of its provisions.

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BINDING STIPULATION
19. The parties agree to comply with the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order once it is
signed, regardless of whether it has been entered as an order by the court or rejected by
the court.

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STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER; ORDER
THEREON

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Date: February 14, 2014

WALTER & WILHELM LAW GROUP

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By:

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/s/ Tracy E. Blair
Michael L. Wilhelm
Tracy E. Blair
Attorneys for Plaintiffs/Counter-defendants 1

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Date: February 14, 2014

KLEIN, DENATALE, GOLDNER,
COOPER, ROSENLIEB & KIMBALL, LLP

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By:

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/s/ Connie M. Parker
DAVID J. COOPER
CONNIE M. PARKER
Attorneys for Defendant/Counterclaimant

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Electronic signatures to this stipulation are set forth pursuant to the signatures filed by the parties in Document
27.
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STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER; ORDER
THEREON

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EXHIBIT A TO SIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

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I, _____________________________________ [print or type full name], of

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_________________________________________ [print or type full address], declare under

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penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order

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that was issued by the United States Court Eastern District of California on

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________________________ [date] in the case of Tavie Diversified, Inc., et. al., v. The

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Pictsweet Company, Case No. 1:13-cv-00901-SKO. I agree to comply with and to be bound

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by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, and I understand and acknowledge that

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failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I

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solemnly 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 with the

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provisions of this Order.

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Date: _____________________________

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Executed in _____________________, ___________________.

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Printed name: _______________________________________.

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Signature: __________________________________________.

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ORDER
Pursuant to the parties' stipulation filed on February 18, 2014 (Doc. 27), the protective
order as set forth above is hereby entered.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

February 20, 2014

/s/ Sheila K. Oberto
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER; ORDER
THEREON