Ubaldi v. SLM Corporation

Filing 274

ORDER re the Parties' Joint Motion for a Protective Order 272 by Magistrate Judge Elizabeth D. Laporte. (shyS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 11/19/2015)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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TINA M. UBALDI, et al.,

Case No. 11-cv-01320-EDL

Plaintiffs,
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v.
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SLM CORPORATION, et al.,

United States District Court
Northern District of California

Defendants.

ORDER RE THE PARTIES’ JOINT
MOTION FOR A PROTECTIVE
ORDER
Re: Dkt. No. 272

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On October 13, 2015, the Parties filed a joint motion for a protective order concerning

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Defendants’ production of documents to a third-party vendor so that potential class members can

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be identified. At a case management conference on October 20, 2015, the Court ordered the

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Parties to meet and confer on their dispute concerning liability in the event of a data breach. On

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November 10, 2015, the Parties filed a joint update indicating that they have been unable to reach

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an agreement. Although the Court recognizes Defendants’ concerns regarding potential data

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breaches and the limitation on the amount of the proposed third-party vendor’s insurance coverage

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for any such breaches, it declines to adopt Defendants’ unusual proposal of making Plaintiffs’

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counsel jointly and severally liable with the third-party vendor in the event of a breach, for which

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Defendants cite no authority. The alternative of requiring a fully manual review in a “clean room”

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of approximately 170,000 documents risks being unduly burdensome if the vendor is in fact able

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to extract the data through electronic processes. The Court orders the Parties to meet and confer

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regarding the possibility of the vendor conducting the review in some form of “clean room” and/or

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other safeguards to protect the data. The Parties should agree on a protocol that provides

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reasonable safeguards for the data so that it may be produced without the necessity of a fully

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manual review in the first instance, which the Court will then order the Defendants to permit and

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the Plaintiffs to follow. The Parties shall file a joint update as to their meet and confer efforts by

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December 3, 2015.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: November 17, 2015

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________________________
ELIZABETH D. LAPORTE
United States Magistrate Judge

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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