Aguilar v. Wawona Frozen Foods et al

Filing 33

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER re 32 signed by Magistrate Judge Gary S. Austin on 6/23/2015. (Martinez, A)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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LUIS AGULAR, on behalf of himself and all
others similarly situated,
Plaintiff,

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v.

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Case No.

1:15-CV-00093-TLN-GSA

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
(ECF No. 32)

WAWONA FROZEN FOODS; WAWONA
EXPORT; WAWONA PACKING CO. LLC.,
and DOES 1-50, inclusive
Defendants.

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United States District Court
Eastern District of California

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1.

PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are likely to involve production of

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confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure

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and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted.

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Defendant contends Plaintiff may be seeking information that contains highly confidential,

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trade secret and proprietary information that solely belongs to Defendant Wawona Frozen Foods.

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Defendant contends Plaintiff is also seeking production of information and documents that may

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invade privacy rights of third party employees and Defendant Wawona Frozen Foods that are

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protected by the United States and California constitutions. The information Plaintiff may be

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seeking may include safety and sanitary practices, formulas, customer lists, production line

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information and techniques, and other highly confidential information that constitutes trade secret

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and proprietary information. Plaintiff is also seeking personnel files, pay records, photos, and other

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private information of third party employees of Defendant Wawona Frozen Foods that are protected

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by the United States and California constitutions.

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Defendants contend protection by the Court concerning these matters is necessary because no

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remedy will adequately compensate Defendant and its third party employees if the information

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involved in this litigation is used improperly, is disclosed to the public, or falls into the wrong hands.
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For example, Defendants contend if Plaintiff and his counsel improperly use Defendant’s proprietary

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information or violate the privacy rights of third party employees, Plaintiff and his counsel likely do

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not have the means to fully compensate Defendant and its employees for such breaches.
Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the court to enter the following

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Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket

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protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public

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

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

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Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential

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information under seal; Civil Local Rules sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the

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standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under

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seal. Nor does it prevent either party from refusing to produce any document on the grounds of

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privilege, relevancy, or any other proper basis, notwithstanding the fact the document might be

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covered by the terms of this protective order.

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2.

DEFINITIONS

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2.1

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

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items under this Order.

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2.2

“CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is

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generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule of

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Civil Procedure 26(c).

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2.3

Counsel (without qualifier): Outside Counsel and House Counsel

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2.4

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

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produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
2.5

Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the medium

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or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things, testimony,

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transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to

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discovery in this matter.

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2.6

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

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the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a

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consultant in this action.
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Counsel does not include Outside Counsel.
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Party: any party to this action, including all of its officers, directors, employees,

consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel.
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Outside Counsel: attorneys (as well as their staff and contractors), who are not

employees of a party to this action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this action.

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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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House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this action. House

Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery

Material in this action.
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Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support services

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(e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing,

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storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors.
2.13

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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

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Producing Party.

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3.

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SCOPE
The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected Material (as

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defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all

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copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony,

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conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.

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However, the protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order do not cover the following

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information: (a) any information that is in the public domain at the time of disclosure to a Receiving

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Party or becomes part of the public domain after its disclosure to a Receiving Party as a result of

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publication not involving a violation of this Order, including becoming part of the public record
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through trial or otherwise; and (b) any information known to the Receiving Party prior to the

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disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the disclosure from a source who obtained the

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information lawfully and under no obligation of confidentiality to the Designating Party. Any use of

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Protected Material at trial shall be governed by a separate agreement or order.

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4.

DURATION
Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by this

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Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order

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otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and

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defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion

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and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this action, including the

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time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.

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5.

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DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
5.1

Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each Party or

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Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order must take care to

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limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The

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Designating 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, documents,

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items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within

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the ambit of this Order.

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Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are shown

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to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily

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encumber or retard the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on

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other parties) expose the Designating Party to sanctions.

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

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protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties

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that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.

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5.2

Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this Order

(see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered,
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Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so

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designated before the material is disclosed or produced.

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Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
(a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but

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excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party

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affix the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains protected material. If only a portion

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

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

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A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or materials available for inspection need not

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designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which material it would

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like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material made

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available for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has

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identified the 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 producing the

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specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend to each page

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that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for

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protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making

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appropriate markings in the margins).
(b) for testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings, that the

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Designating Party identify on the record, before the close of the deposition, hearing, or other

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proceeding, all protected testimony.
(c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any other

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tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or

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containers in which the information or item is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a

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portion or portions of the information or item warrant protection, the Producing Party, to the extent

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practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).

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5.3

Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to

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

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designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in

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accordance with the provisions of this Order.

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6.

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CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
6.1

Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of

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confidentiality at any time. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s confidentiality

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designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial unfairness, unnecessary economic burdens,

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or a significant disruption or delay of the litigation, a Party does not waive its right to challenge a

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confidentiality designation by electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the original

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designation is disclosed.
6.2

Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process

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by providing written notice of each designation it is challenging and describing the basis for each

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challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to whether a challenge has been made, the written notice must

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recite that the challenge to confidentiality is being made in accordance with this specific paragraph

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of the Protective Order. The parties shall attempt to resolve each challenge in good faith and must

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begin the process by conferring directly (in voice to voice dialogue; other forms of communication

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are not sufficient) within 14 days of the date of service of notice. A Challenging Party may proceed

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to the next stage of the challenge process only if it has engaged in this meet and confer process first

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or establishes that the Designating Party is unwilling to participate in the meet and confer process in

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a timely manner.

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6.3

Judicial Intervention. If the Parties cannot resolve a challenge without court

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intervention, the Designating Party shall file and serve a motion to retain confidentiality under L.R.

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251 within 21 days of the initial notice of challenge or within 14 days of the parties agreeing that the

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meet and confer process will not resolve their dispute, whichever is earlier. Each such motion must

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comply with L.R. 251 and be accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the movant has

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complied with the meet and confer requirements imposed in the preceding paragraph. Failure by the

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Designating Party to make such a motion including the required declaration within 21 days (or 14

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days, if applicable) shall automatically waive the confidentiality designation for each challenged
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designation. At least seven days prior to filing its motion, the Designating Party shall prepare its

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portion of a Joint Statement pursuant to L.R. 251 and serve it upon the Challenging Party for

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addition of its relevant portion.
In addition, the Challenging Party may file a motion challenging a confidentiality designation

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at any time if there is good cause for doing so, including a challenge to the designation of a

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deposition transcript or any portions thereof. Any motion brought pursuant to this provision must be

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accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the meet and

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confer requirements imposed by the preceding paragraph and the motion must comply with L.R.

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251.
The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating

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Party. Frivolous designations, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose

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

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Unless the Designating Party has waived the confidentiality designation by failing to file a motion to

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retain confidentiality as described above, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question

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the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the court

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rules on the challenge.

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7.

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ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
7.1

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

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produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this case only for prosecuting,

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defending, or attempting to settle this litigation. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to

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the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When the litigation has

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been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL

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DISPOSITION).

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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.
7.2

Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by

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the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any

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information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
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(a) the Plaintiff(s) and the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel in this action, as well as

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employees of said Outside Counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information

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for this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is

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attached hereto as Exhibit A;
(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the Receiving

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Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the

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“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
(c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is

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reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the “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, professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors,

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mediators, and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation

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and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
(f) during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is reasonably

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necessary and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A),

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unless otherwise 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 must be separately

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bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this

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Stipulated Protective Order.
(g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or

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other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.

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8.

PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER

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LITIGATION

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

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disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party

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must:

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(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall include a
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copy of the subpoena or court order;
(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue in the

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other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this

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Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the

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Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena

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or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL”

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before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has

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obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and

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expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material – and nothing in these

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provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this action to

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disobey a lawful directive from another court.

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9.

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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

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action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in

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connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order.

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Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional

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protections.

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

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Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the

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Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then the Party shall:

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

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this litigation, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the

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information requested; and
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(3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party.

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

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

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

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seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or

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control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by

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

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seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.

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10.

UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected

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Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order,

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the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized

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disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c)

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inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this

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

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Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

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11.

INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE PROTECTED

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MATERIAL

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When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently produced

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material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties

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are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to

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modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production

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without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the

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

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the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement

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in the stipulated protective order submitted to the court.

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12.

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MISCELLANEOUS
12.1

Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek

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its modification by the court in the future.
12.2

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

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no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any

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information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no

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Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by

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this Protective Order.
12.3

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Filing Protected Material. Without written permission from the Designating Party or a

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court order secured after appropriate notice to all interested persons, a Party may not file in the

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public record in this action any Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected

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Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 141. Protected Material may only be filed under seal

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pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. Pursuant

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to Civil Local Rule 141, a sealing order will issue only upon a request establishing that the Protected

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Material at issue is protected under the applicable law. If a Receiving Party's request to file Protected

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Material under seal pursuant to Civil Local Rule 141 is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party

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may file the information in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
12.4

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No Disclosure to Unions or Any other Entity for Any Purposes Unrelated to

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this Matter. No disclosure of information shall be made directly or indirectly to any union or any

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other entity for any reason, or any purpose not related to this matter.

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13.

FINAL DISPOSITION
Within 60 days after the final disposition of this action, as defined in paragraph 4, each

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Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material.

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As used in 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 Material. Whether

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

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

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by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material

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that was returned or 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 of the Protected

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Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all

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

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

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and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies

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

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Section 4 (DURATION).

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IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

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DATED: ________________________

_____________________________________
Attorneys for Plaintiff

DATED: ________________________

_____________________________________
Attorneys for Defendant

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ORDER

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The Court has reviewed the stipulation outlined above and adopts it as a stipulated protective
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order in this case.1 To the extent motion practice is required, the parties are advised to review Local

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Rules 141, 141.1, 230, and 251.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:

June 23, 2015

/s/ Gary S. Austin
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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A fully executed version of the stipulation is available on the Court’s docket as ECF No. 32. That version also
includes the “Exhibit A” referenced in the stipulation.
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