Owings, et al. v. FCA US LLC, et al.

Filing 8

Stipulated Protective Order, signed by Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean on 3/20/2017. (Rosales, O)

SEDGWICK LLP
PHILIP R. COSGROVE, State Bar No. 92564
[e-mail]
RYAN E. COSGROVE, State Bar No. 277907
[e-mail]
801 South Figueroa Street, 19th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017-5556
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 877.547.6580
Attorneys for Defendant
FCA US LLC (f/k/a Chrysler Group LLC)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, FRESNO DIVISION

FAYE and GERALD OWINGS,
Plaintiffs,

Case No. 1:16-CV-01745-LJO-EPG
[Assigned to: Hon. Lawrence J. O'Neill,
District Judge; and Hon. Erica P. Grosjean,
Magistrate Judge]

v.
FCA US LLC; CHRYSLER GROUP LLC;
CHRYSLER LLC; and DOES 1-50,
inclusive,
Defendants.

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
Trial Date: None

The parties having stipulated to the entry of this Protective Order, and the Court
otherwise being advised;
IT IS ORDERED that the following provisions and conditions shall govern the parties
and FCA US LLC, formerly known as Chrysler Group LLC (“FCA US”):
1.

In response to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(1)(A)(ii) disclosures and

discovery in this matter, FCA US will identify responsive materials that it considers
proprietary and competitively sensitive, and that it wishes to protect from dissemination
outside the confines of this litigation. This Protective Order shall control the disclosure and
dissemination of such documents and information, and shall apply to all parties in this case
and to other persons as described herein.

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2.

FCA US shall designate material confidential only after determining that the

material is a trade secret or other confidential, research, development or commercial
information, or is otherwise considered confidential under applicable law.
3.

In responding to written discovery, FCA US may designate any portion of its

response which contains trade secret or other confidential, research, development or
commercial information, or information otherwise considered confidential under applicable
law by marking the material, in a manner which will not interfere with its legibility, with the
words “This document is subject to a Protective Order in Faye and Gerald Owings v. FCA
US LLC,” “Confidential,” or a similar designation.
4.

In any deposition, if the deponent's testimony is deemed confidential, FCA US

will notify opposing counsel in writing of the page and line numbers of the testimony deemed
confidential within 30 days of receiving the deposition transcript. Any testimony read from
or directly referencing confidential documents is automatically deemed to be confidential,
including any confidential documents that are used as deposition exhibits.
5.

Any confidential information that FCA US provides to a party may be

disclosed only to that party and/or immediate employees of that party’s trial counsel’s law
firm, and other individuals legitimately assisting in the preparation of this case for trial such
as a party’s co-counsel, consultants, and experts.
6.

Any recipient of confidential information shall not disclose the confidential

information to any other person to whom disclosure is not authorized by the terms of this
Protective Order and shall not use such confidential information for purposes other than
preparation of this action for trial. Any recipient of confidential information shall exercise
reasonable and appropriate care with regard to the storage, custody, and/or use of confidential
information in order to ensure that its confidential nature is maintained.
7.

Any recipient of confidential information, by accepting its receipt, agrees to be

subject to the jurisdiction of this Court in connection with any proceeding or hearing relating
to the confidential information and/or this Protective Order, including, but not limited to, any
proceeding relating to the enforcement of this Protective Order.
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8.

Any recipient of confidential information, prior to its receipt, shall be furnished

with a copy of this Protective Order, and shall execute the acknowledgment letter attached as
Exhibit A, certifying that the recipient will not disclose confidential information to any
person to whom disclosure is not authorized by the terms of this Protective Order, that the
recipient will not use any confidential information in any way whatsoever other than for
purposes of this action, and that the recipient has read this Protective Order and agrees to be
bound by its terms. The original of each acknowledgement letter shall be maintained by
counsel for a party and furnished to counsel for FCA US upon the conclusion of this
litigation.
9.

There shall be no reproduction or copying of confidential information except

for those people authorized to receive information pursuant to this Protective Order after
execution of the acknowledgement letter.
10.

In the event that any discovery materials designated as subject to this Protective

Order are included with, or the contents thereof are in any way disclosed in, any pleading,
motion or other paper filed with this Court, such confidential document or information shall
be submitted in accordance with Local Rule 141.
11.

Information designated as “Confidential” may be referred to by a party in

notices, motions, briefs, or any other pleadings, may be used in depositions, and may be
marked as deposition exhibits in this action. No such information shall be used, however, for
any of these purposes unless it, or the portion where it is revealed, is appropriately marked
and protected from dissemination and, where filing is necessary, separately filed under seal
with the Court in accordance with Local Rule 141.
12.

If, at the time of trial, a party intends to introduce into evidence any

information designated as Confidential, that party shall give timely notice of such intention to
the Court and counsel for FCA US may take such steps as it shall deem reasonably necessary
to preserve the confidentiality of such information.

The party claiming information is

confidential shall have the burden of proving that confidentiality.

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13.

After the conclusion of this action, this Protective Order shall continue to apply

to all confidential information provided by FCA US and the Court shall retain jurisdiction
over all recipients of such confidential information for purposes of enforcing the provisions
of this Protective Order.
14.

All documents and copies of documents designated as Confidential shall be

returned to FCA US at the conclusion of this case. This paragraph shall require the return of
the original materials produced, together with all photocopies, duplicates, abstracts, or
reproductions of such materials.
15.

The terms of this Protective Order do not preclude FCA US from providing

confidential and/or protected information and documents to the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (“NHTSA”), either voluntarily or in connection with FCA US’s
obligations under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (“Safety Act”),
49 U.S.C. § 30101, et seq.
16.

In the event that a party disagrees with FCA US’s designation of any item as

Confidential and subject to this Protective Order, the party shall send a written notice to FCA
US specifying the items in question. In the event that the parties cannot reach an agreement
concerning the confidentiality of the item, the party opposing continued confidentiality shall
proceed to file a motion with this Court seeking a determination whether the items are
properly subject to this Protective Order. Any such items shall continue to be treated as
confidential and subject to this Protective Order until such time as this Court rules that the
items are not entitled to confidential treatment.
17.

Neither plaintiff(s) nor defendant(s) or their respective counsel, experts, or

other persons retained by them to assist in the preparation of this action shall under any
circumstances, sell, offer for sale, advertise, or publicize the contents of confidential
information.
///
///
///
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18.

The terms of this Protective Order shall remain confidential and this Protective

Order shall not be used, disclosed, or cited by any party hereto in connection with any other
proceeding, except in connection with a motion seeking enforcement of the provisions of this
Protective Order.

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

STIPULATED AND AGREED TO:

DATED: March 13, 2017

LAW OFFICES OF WAGNER & JONES LLP

By:

/s/ Daniel Kopfman

NICHOLAS WAGNER
DANIEL KOPFMAN
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
FAYE and GERALD OWINGS
DATED: March 13, 2017

SEDGWICK LLP
By:

/s/ Philip R. Cosgrove

PHILIP R. COSGROVE
RYAN E. COSGROVE
Attorneys for Defendant
FCA US LLC (f/k/a Chrysler Group LLC)

Pursuant to the Electronic Case Filing Administrative Policies and Procedures, I
certify that the content of this document is acceptable to counsel for Plaintiffs and I have
obtained authorization from counsel for Plaintiffs to affix his electronic signature to this
document.

DATED: March 13, 2017

SEDGWICK LLP

By:

/s/ Philip R. Cosgrove

PHILIP R. COSGROVE
RYAN E. COSGROVE
Attorneys for Defendant
FCA US LLC (f/k/a Chrysler Group LLC)

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EXHIBIT "A"
WRITTEN ASSURANCE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF MADERA
I, ____________________________, hereby attest to my understanding that
information or documents designated confidential are provided to me pursuant to the terms
and conditions and restrictions of the Protective Order of ______________________,
20__, in Faye and Gerald Owings v FCA US LLC, that I have been given a copy of and
have read the Protective Order and understand its terms. I further agree that I shall not
disclose to others, except in accordance with that Protective Order, such information or
documents including notes or other memorandum or writings regarding information
contained in them, and that such information or documents shall be used only for the
purposes of the legal proceeding in which they are produced. I further agree and attest to
my understanding that my obligation to honor the confidentiality of such information or
documents will continue even after the termination of the legal proceeding. I further agree
and attest to my understanding that, in the event that I fail to abide by the terms of the
Protective Order, I may be subject to sanctions, including sanctions by way of contempt of
court, imposed by the Court for such a failure. Further, I agree to subject myself to the
jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Fresno
Division, in and for any contempt proceeding or other appropriate sanctions as the Court
may deem proper for a violation of the Court's Protective Order.

___________________________________
Subscribed and sworn to before me this __________ day of ____________, _______.
___________________________________
NOTARY PUBLIC

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Order
The Court has reviewed the above stipulated protective order and adopts it. The Court also
clarifies paragraph 16 to describe the procedure for seeking leave of court to file a motion
challenging a confidentiality designation: Counsel must receive permission from the Court
following an informal telephone conference. A party wishing to schedule such a conference
should contact chambers to receive available dates. The Court will schedule the conference as
soon as possible, taking into consideration the urgency of the issue. Prior to the conference, the
Court will require the parties to submit letter briefs of no more than 3 pages in length to chambers
for review. Telephonic conferences will not be on the record and the Court will not issue a formal
ruling at that time. Nevertheless, the Court will attempt to provide guidance to the parties to
narrow or dispose of the dispute. If no resolution is reached, the Court will consider whether the
filing of a formal motion is appropriate.

IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

March 20, 2017

/s/
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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