Oyster Incorporated et al v. Equilon Enterprises, LLC et al

Filing 24

ORDER GRANTING 23 Joint MOTION for Protective Order. Signed by Judge Jeffrey S. White on 8/29/11. (jjoS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/29/2011)

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Case3:11-cv-01969-JSW Document23 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Filed08/26/11 Page1 of 15 WILSON TURNER KOSMO LLP Robin A. Wofford (137919) Hubert Kim (204957) Jocelyn D. Hannah (224666) 550 West C Street, Suite 1050 San Diego, California 92101 Telephone: (619) 236-9600 Facsimile: (619) 236-9669 E-mail: rwofford@wilsonturnerkosmo.com E-mail: hkim@wilsonturnerkosmo.com E-mail: jhannah@wilsonturnerkosmo.com Attorneys for Defendant EQUILON ENTERPRISES LLC, dba SHELL OIL PRODUCTS US Thomas P. Bleau, Esq., SBN 152945 Gennady L. Lebedev, Esq., SBN 179945 Megan A. Childress, Esq., SBN 266926 BLEAU FOX, A P.L.C. 3575 Cahuenga Boulevard West, Suite 580 Los Angeles, California 90068 Telephone: (323) 874-8613 Facsimile: (323) 874-1234 E-mail: bleaushark@aol.com E-mail: glebedev@bleaufox.com E-mail: mchildress@bleaufox.com Attorneys for Plaintiffs OYSTER INCORPORATED, EDWARDS & ANDERSON, INC., AMSIA MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, HASSAN EGHDAMI, JOSEPH FAZIO, HAMPTON'S SERVICE, INC., CBK INC., JONTS GASMART, INC., PREMIUM AUTO-TECH INC., JAMES LIN, HUNG TRINH, VTH RESOURCES, INC., WILL Y. WONG and SD TEK INC. 18 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 19 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 20 SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 OYSTER INCORPORATED, a California Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW corporation; EDWARDS & ANDERSON, INC. a California corporation; AMSIA STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, a California ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER corporation; HASSAN EGHDAMI, an THEREON individual; JOSEPH FAZIO, an individual; HAMPTON'S SERVICE, INC., a California Complaint Filed: March 21, 2011 corporation; CBK INC., a California corporation; JONTS GASMART, INC., a California corporation; PREMIUM AUTO-TECH INC., a Courtroom: 11 California corporation; JAMES LIN, an Judge: Jeffrey S. White individual; HUNG TRINH, an individual; VTH Trial Date: Not Set RESOURCES, INC., a California corporation; WILL Y. WONG, an individual; and SD TEK INC., a California corporation, 1 Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER THEREON Case3:11-cv-01969-JSW Document23 1 2 3 4 5 Filed08/26/11 Page2 of 15 Plaintiffs, v. EQUILON ENTERPRISES, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, SOUTHERN COUNTIES OIL CO., a California Limited Partnership, and DOES 1 through 100, Inclusive, Defendants. 6 7 8 Upon agreement of counsel for Defendant Equilon Enterprises LLC, dba Shell Oil Products 9 US (“Equilon”) and Plaintiffs Oyster Incorporated, Edwards & Anderson, Inc., Amsia Management 10 Corporation, Hassan Eghdami, Joseph Fazio, Hampton’s Service, Inc., CBK Inc., Jonts Gasmart, 11 Inc., Premium Auto-Tech Inc., James Lin, Hung Trinh, VTH Resources, Inc., Will Y. Wong and SD 12 Tek Inc. (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), and deeming it just and proper to do so, IT IS HEREBY 13 ORDERED that: 14 1. This Protective Order shall govern the use and dissemination of all information, 15 documents, and/or materials as may be produced by the parties and/or admitted into evidence during 16 deposition or trial within the above-captioned action (the “Action”). 17 2. Discovery in this Action has resulted in disclosure of certain confidential and 18 proprietary information and trade secrets. In addition, before discovery is complete in this Action, 19 the parties anticipate additional disclosure of trade secrets, confidential research, development or 20 commercial information, proprietary materials including manuals, business strategies, financial data, 21 client and vendor information, marketing plans, employee and salary information, computer software 22 programs, and other confidential, proprietary or non-public business, technical, employee, and 23 financial information as is contemplated by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c)(G). This 24 Protective Order shall govern the production in this Action of all documents or other information 25 through formal discovery procedures, including, without limitation, documents in written or 26 electronic form produced as initial disclosures, in response to requests for production of documents, 27 answers to special interrogatories, requests for admission, and deposition or other oral testimony 28 (collectively “Discovery Materials”). These Discovery Materials may include but shall not be 2 Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER THEREON Case3:11-cv-01969-JSW Document23 Filed08/26/11 Page3 of 15 1 limited to: correspondence, memoranda, notes, deposition transcripts and exhibits, business plans, 2 training materials, policies and procedures, financial records, proposals, strategic plans, personnel 3 records, marketing materials, third-party contracts, income tax returns, sales invoices and other sales 4 information. Based on the confidential nature of the documents that have been and will be produced 5 in this Action, which contain information that would be valuable to Equilon’s and Plaintiffs’ 6 competitors, good cause exists for the issuance of this Protective Order. 7 3. This Protective Order is entered solely for the purpose of facilitating the exchange of 8 documents and information between the parties to this Action without involving the Court 9 unnecessarily in the process. Nothing in this Protective Order or the production of any information 10 or documents under the terms of this Protective Order or any proceedings pursuant to this Protective 11 Order shall be deemed to have the effect of an admission or waiver by either party on the merits of 12 this Action or as to any objection to any discovery request. 13 4. Nothing in this Protective Order shall be deemed to restrict in any manner the use by 14 any party of its own information contained in its own documents and materials, regardless of 15 whether such documents are designated Confidential by a Producing Party or any other party, except 16 to the extent that materials designated by a Producing Party as Confidential Information in this 17 Action, but which were obtained by another party to the Action (“Receiving Party”) prior to the 18 execution of this Protective Order, shall be treated as Confidential Information by the Receiving 19 Party and shall be subject to the terms of this Protective Order herein. 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 5. The term “counsel” or “attorney” shall mean outside counsel of record, and other attorneys, paralegals, secretaries, and other support staff employed in the law firms identified below: WILSON TURNER KOSMO LLP 550 West C Street, Suite 1050 San Diego, California 92101 BLEAU FOX, A P.L.C. 3575 Cahuenga Boulevard West, Suite 580 Los Angeles, California 90068 “Counsel” or “attorney” shall also include in-house attorneys for Equilon, as well as any other counsel retained in this Action in the future. 28 3 Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER THEREON Case3:11-cv-01969-JSW Document23 1 2 Filed08/26/11 Page4 of 15 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION: 6. Any document, thing, material, testimony, or other information derived therefrom, 3 and any other form of evidence which, in the good-faith opinion of the party providing such 4 discovery material (“Producing Party”), contains any trade secret or other confidential or proprietary 5 information or any information that involves privacy concerns regarding any third party, any party or 6 the employee, officer, director or representative of a party may be designated by the Producing Party 7 as “CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.” Such Confidential Information includes, but is not limited 8 to, documents reflecting the parties’ and third parties’ financial condition, brokers’ opinions of 9 value, documents pertaining to Equilon’s internal valuations of retail sites and other assets, 10 documents pertaining to third parties’ valuations of Equilon’s retail sites and other assets, 11 documents pertaining to Equilon’s marketing plans and programs, documents relating to Equilon’s 12 strategic plan to divest itself of retail locations, documents pertaining to the negotiation of 13 transactions to sell Equilon’s real property and other assets, third party offers to purchase Equilon’s 14 retail sites and other assets, customer lists and account numbers, profit and loss statements for the 15 subject petroleum marketing premises, vendor lists and retailer credit information. Confidential 16 Information, designated as such in accordance with this Protective Order, shall be used by the party 17 who has propounded the discovery request seeking the Confidential Information (“Requesting 18 Party”) only for the purposes of preparation of this matter for trial and may be disclosed or made 19 available only to persons specified in Paragraph 9 herein. 20 21 22 7. Confidential Information may be identified and made subject to this Protective Order as follows: (a) With respect to documents or copies of documents provided by one party to 23 the other, by marking the initial page and any page or pages upon which any Confidential 24 Information appears with the legend “CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER.” 25 (b) Testimony or information disclosed at a deposition, conference or hearing 26 may be designated by a party as Confidential Information by indicating on the record at the 27 deposition, conference or hearing the specific testimony which contains Confidential Information 28 that is to be made subject to the provisions of this Protective Order. Alternatively, a party may 4 Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER THEREON Case3:11-cv-01969-JSW Document23 Filed08/26/11 Page5 of 15 1 designate testimony or information disclosed at a deposition or other proceeding as Confidential 2 Information by notifying all parties in writing within thirty (30) days of receipt of the transcript (or 3 within a shorter time as agreed by the parties in the event the deposition transcript or information 4 cannot be received thirty (30) days prior to a hearing or conference, at which a party intends to use 5 the transcript or information), of the specific pages and lines of the transcripts that are to be 6 designated Confidential Information. Each party shall attach a copy of such written statement to the 7 face of the transcript and each copy thereof in its possession, custody or control. Whether or not 8 designation is made at the time of a deposition or other proceeding, all depositions or other 9 transcripts shall be treated as Confidential Information from the taking of the deposition or other 10 proceeding until within thirty (30) days of receipt of the transcript (or within a shorter time as agreed 11 by the parties in the event the deposition transcript or information cannot be received thirty (30) days 12 prior to a hearing, or conference at which a party intends to use the transcript or information), or 13 until receipt of the notice referred to in this paragraph, whichever occurs sooner. 14 (c) In the case of responses to interrogatories, responses to other discovery 15 requests, affidavits, briefs, memoranda or other papers filed with the Court, information contained 16 therein may be designated as Confidential Information by prominently marking such papers 17 “CONFIDENTIAL”; 18 (d) Tangible objects may be designated as Confidential Information by affixing to 19 the object or its container a label or tag marked “CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE 20 ORDER.” 21 8. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any employee, agent, advisor, representative or 22 person affiliated with a party who is not qualified to receive Confidential Information under 23 Paragraph 9 herein may attend a deposition or other proceeding at which Confidential Information 24 may be disclosed. In such event, a party seeking to designate Confidential Information must 25 designate the specific testimony or information containing Confidential Information by indicating on 26 the record at the deposition or other proceeding that such Confidential Information is subject to the 27 provisions of this Protective Order. The party making such designation shall have the right to 28 5 Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER THEREON Case3:11-cv-01969-JSW Document23 Filed08/26/11 Page6 of 15 1 exclude such persons from the deposition or other proceeding only during the period any 2 Confidential Information is disclosed or discussed. 3 4 9. Confidential Information produced pursuant to this Protective Order to Requesting Party may be disclosed or made available by that party only to: 5 (a) The Requesting Party (and their officers, directors, managing agents or other 6 representatives who are engaged in or are assisting in the preparation of this Action for trial or other 7 resolution, except as otherwise provided herein), provided that it has executed this Protective Order; 8 9 (b) The Court and its officers, any special master, referee or mediator authorized to act in this proceeding; 10 (c) Counsel of record in this Action and their employees or employee equivalents 11 (e.g., contract paralegals, copy vendors, etc.) who are assisting counsel in the preparation of this 12 Action for trial or other resolution; 13 (d) Independent experts or consultants retained by counsel or the Requesting 14 Party with respect to preparation of this Action for trial or other resolution, and their employees or 15 employee equivalents who are assisting such experts or consultants with respect to the preparation of 16 this Action for trial or other resolution; 17 (e) Court reporters and their staff, to the extent necessary to perform their duties; 18 (f) A witness at any deposition or other proceeding in this Action; and 19 (g) Any other person to whom the parties agree in writing. 20 10. With respect to material being designated “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL 21 – FOR ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY,” any person indicated on the face of the document to be its 22 originator, author or a recipient of a copy thereof may be shown the same. 23 24 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY: 11. Any Producing Party may further designate certain discovery material or testimony 25 which contains financial information and/or corporate ownership information of a highly 26 confidential and/or proprietary nature or employee information of a highly confidential or private 27 nature such as employee disciplinary matters, salary information and/or other private information as 28 “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” in the manner described in paragraphs 1 through 7, above, except 6 Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER THEREON Case3:11-cv-01969-JSW Document23 Filed08/26/11 Page7 of 15 1 that the applicable legend for such information shall be: “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY – 2 SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER.” Attorneys’ Eyes Only Material, and the information 3 contained therein, shall be disclosed only to the Court, counsel for the Requesting Party (including 4 the paralegal, clerical, and secretarial staff employed by such counsel) to the above-captioned 5 litigation, and other persons identified in Paragraphs 9(d) and (e), above, and, if the witness is the 6 drafter of the documents or an employee of the producing party, Paragraph 9(f), above, but shall not 7 be disclosed to the Requesting Party itself, or to an officer, director or employee of Requesting 8 Party, or anyone else unless otherwise agreed to in writing or ordered. The procedures regarding 9 disclosure of Confidential Material at a deposition set forth in Paragraph 7(b) shall apply to 10 Discovery Material designated under this paragraph. 11 12 GENERAL PROVISIONS: 12. Material designated under this Protective Order, the information contained therein, 13 and any summaries, copies, abstracts, or other documents derived in whole or in part from 14 designated Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information, shall be used only for the purpose of 15 the prosecution, defense, or settlement of this Action, and for no other purpose. 16 13. Each party or non-party that designates information or items for protection under this 17 Order (“Designating Party”) must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 18 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection 19 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify so 20 that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for which protection is 21 not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Protective Order. Mass, 22 indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are shown to be 23 clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily 24 encumber or retard the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on 25 other parties) expose the Designating Party to sanctions. If it comes to a Designating Party’s 26 attention that information or items that it designated for protection do not qualify for 27 protection, that Designating Party must promptly notify all other parties that it is withdrawing the 28 mistaken designation. 7 Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER THEREON Case3:11-cv-01969-JSW Document23 1 2 14. Filed08/26/11 Page8 of 15 A copy of this Protective Order shall be served with any subpoena or deposition notice compelling the production of documents or information from any third party. 3 15. A condition precedent to disclosure of any Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only 4 Information to any experts or consultants as provided for in Paragraph 9(d) or any Confidential 5 Information to any witness provided for pursuant to Paragraph 9(f) or the person whom the parties 6 agree may receive information under Paragraph 9(g) is that person must: (a) acknowledge receipt of 7 this Protective Order; (b) agree to be bound thereby; (c) agree to use such information and materials 8 solely for this litigation; (d) agree not to disclose any such information or materials to any other 9 person, firm, or concern; and (e) agree never to use the information, directly or indirectly, in 10 competition with the party that disclosed it nor allow any other person to do so. 11 16. Each expert or consultant to whom Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information 12 is to be provided pursuant to Paragraph 9(d), each witness to whom Confidential Information is to be 13 provided pursuant to Paragraph 9(f) and each person to whom the parties may agree pursuant to 14 Paragraph 9(g) shall execute a declaration acknowledging the foregoing in the form set forth as 15 follows: 16 AGREEMENT TO COMPLY WITH PROTECTIVE ORDER 17 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America and the 18 State of California that I have read and agree to comply with and be bound by the terms of the 19 Protective Order entered in Oyster Incorporated, et al. v. Equilon Enterprises LLC, et al., United 20 States District Court for the Northern District of California, Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW. 21 22 I hereby consent to the jurisdiction of said Court for purposes of enforcing this Order. Date: Signature 23 24 25 26 Print Name 17. Counsel for the party obtaining a person’s signature pursuant to the form described in Paragraph 16 shall retain the original signed and dated acknowledgment. 27 28 8 Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER THEREON Case3:11-cv-01969-JSW Document23 1 18. Filed08/26/11 Page9 of 15 The parties acknowledge that in this Action certain third party witnesses may produce 2 documents, things, materials, testimony, or other information derived therefrom, and any other form 3 of evidence, which the parties and/or the third party producing such materials may consider to be 4 Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information. Accordingly, the parties and/or the producing 5 third party may designate such materials as Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information in a 6 manner consistent with the terms of this Protective Order. The provisions of this Protective Order 7 shall also apply with regard to the handling, use, filing and dissemination of such third party 8 Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information. 9 19. If another court or administrative agency subpoenas or orders production of 10 Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information that a party has obtained under the terms of this 11 Protective Order such party shall, if there are fewer than ten (10) days to comply, within two (2) 12 days, if possible, or immediately, if not, or if there are more than ten (10) days to comply, at least 13 seven (7) court days prior to the due date for compliance, notify the Producing Party of the pendency 14 of the subpoena, public records request, or order, in writing, and shall not produce the designated 15 information until the Producing Party has taken appropriate steps to protect the material unless 16 required to disclose the material on terms and conditions other than set forth in this Paragraph by any 17 applicable court order or law. It shall be the responsibility of the Producing Party to obtain relief 18 from the subpoena, public records request, or order prior to the date of compliance, and, to give the 19 Producing Party an opportunity to obtain such relief, the party from whom the information is sought 20 shall not make the disclosure before the actual due date of compliance set forth in the subpoena, 21 public records request, or other order. 22 20. Subject to public policy, further Court order and the Local Rules of the United States 23 District Court for the Northern District of California, no document may be filed under seal, i.e., 24 closed to inspection by the public, except pursuant to a Court order that authorizes the sealing of the 25 particular document, or portions thereof. Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 79-5, a sealing order may 26 issue only upon a request that establishes that the document, or portions thereof, is privileged or 27 protectable as a trade secret or otherwise entitled to protection under the law (hereinafter referred to 28 9 Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER THEREON Case3:11-cv-01969-JSW Document23 Filed08/26/11 Page10 of 15 1 as “sealable”). The request must be narrowly tailored to seek sealing only of sealable material, and 2 must conform with Civil Local Rule 79-5(b) or (c). 3 21. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing Paragraph 20, if a party 4 wishes to file a document that has been designated Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only 5 Information by another party pursuant to this Protective Order, or if a party wishes to refer in a 6 memorandum or other filing to information so designated by another party, the submitting party 7 must file and serve an Administrative Motion for a sealing order and lodge the document, 8 memorandum or other filing in accordance with Civil Local Rule 79-5(d). If only a portion of the 9 document, memorandum or other filing is sealable, the submitting party must also lodge with the 10 Court a redacted version of the document, memorandum or other filing to be placed in the public 11 record if the Court approves the requested sealing order. The document shall be titled to show that it 12 corresponds to an item filed under seal, e.g., “Redacted Copy of Sealed Declaration of John Smith in 13 Support of Motion for Summary Judgment.” Within seven (7) days thereafter, the Designating Party 14 must file with the Court and serve a declaration establishing that the designated information is 15 sealable, and must lodge and serve a narrowly tailored proposed sealing order, or must withdraw the 16 designation of confidentiality. If the Designating Party does not file its responsive declaration as 17 required by Civil Local Rule 79-5(d), the document or proposed filing will be made part of the 18 public record. 19 22. All documents and materials filed with the Court in matters related to discovery 20 motions or proceedings, including, but not limited to, deposition transcripts, exhibits, discovery 21 responses, briefs or memoranda, which comprise or contain Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only 22 Information shall be filed with the Court in sealed envelopes or other appropriately sealed 23 containers, complying with all applicable rules of Court, on which shall be endorsed the title of this 24 Action, an indication of the nature of the contents, the identity of the party filing the materials, the 25 phrase “CONFIDENTIAL,” and a statement the materials in the sealed envelope or container are 26 “TO BE FILED UNDER SEAL PURSUANT TO COURT ORDER IN THIS ACTION DATED 27 _____________.” 28 10 Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER THEREON Case3:11-cv-01969-JSW Document23 1 23. Filed08/26/11 Page11 of 15 In all matters other than discovery motions or proceedings, the party seeking to 2 submit Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information will lodge any documents or materials 3 which comprise or contain Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information with the Court in 4 sealed envelopes or other appropriately sealed containers, complying with all applicable Local 5 Rules, on which shall be endorsed the title of this Action, an indication of the nature of the contents, 6 the identity of the party filing the materials, the phrase “CONFIDENTIAL,” and a statement the 7 materials in the sealed envelope or container are “LODGED CONDITIONALLY UNDER SEAL 8 PURSUANT TO COURT ORDER IN THIS ACTION DATED ______________.” 9 24. Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information obtained from a Producing Party 10 pursuant to pretrial discovery in this Action, may be used and disclosed only for purposes of this 11 Action. No person or party shall make any other use of any such Information, including, but not 12 limited to, use for commercial or competitive purposes or use in any other legal proceeding, except 13 as permitted by a Court order. All Confidential Information shall be held in confidence by those 14 inspecting or receiving it. Counsel for each party, and each person receiving Confidential 15 Information, shall take reasonable precautions to prevent the unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure 16 of such information. If Confidential Information is disclosed to any person other than a person 17 authorized by this Order, the party responsible for the unauthorized disclosure must immediately 18 bring all pertinent facts relating to the unauthorized disclosure to the attention of the other parties 19 and, without prejudice to any rights and remedies of the other parties, make every effort to prevent 20 further disclosure by the party and by the person(s) receiving the unauthorized disclosure. 21 25. Nothing herein shall be construed as an agreement or admission: (a) that any 22 information, document or the like, designated as Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information 23 is in fact confidential or a trade secret; (b) with respect to the competency, relevance, materiality, or 24 admissibility of any such information, document or the like; (c) that any document or information is 25 subject to production. 26 26. At any stage of these proceedings, any party may object to a designation of the 27 materials as Confidential Information or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information. The party objecting to 28 the designation (“Challenging Party”) shall notify counsel for the Designating Party and identify in 11 Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER THEREON Case3:11-cv-01969-JSW Document23 Filed08/26/11 Page12 of 15 1 writing with reasonable specificity, the objected-to materials and the grounds for the objection. The 2 parties shall attempt to resolve any such dispute by holding a conference of counsel in the manner 3 specified in Civil Local Rule 37-1. If the dispute is not resolved by stipulation between the parties 4 within ten (10) business days of receipt of such a notice of objections, the objecting party may 5 challenge the designation through an application to the Court for a determination of the issue. The 6 burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating Party. 7 Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose 8 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. 9 Unless the Designating Party has waived the confidentiality designation by failing to file a motion 10 to retain confidentiality as described above, all parties shall continue to treat the material as 11 Confidential Information or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information, as designated by the Designated 12 Party, until the Court rules on the challenge or the matter has otherwise been resolved. 13 27. The inadvertent or unintentional failure by a Producing Party to designate specific 14 documents or materials as containing Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information shall not be 15 deemed a waiver in whole or in part of a party’s claim of confidentiality as to such documents or 16 materials. Upon notice to the receiving party of such failure to designate, the receiving party shall 17 cooperate to restore the confidentiality of the inadvertently disclosed information, without prejudice. 18 28. Nothing herein shall prevent disclosure beyond the terms of this Protective Order if 19 the Producing Party consents in writing to such disclosure, or if the Court, after notice to all affected 20 parties, orders such disclosure. 21 29. Upon final termination of this Action, including any and all appeals, counsel for each 22 party shall, upon request of the Producing Party, return all Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only 23 Information to the Producing Party, including any copies, excerpts, and summaries thereof, or shall 24 destroy same at the option of the producing party, and shall purge all such information from all 25 machine-readable media on which it resides. Notwithstanding the foregoing, counsel for each party 26 may retain all pleadings, briefs, memoranda, motions, and other documents filed with the Court that 27 refer to or incorporate Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information, and will continue to be 28 bound by this Protective Order with respect to all such retained information. Further, attorney work 12 Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER THEREON Case3:11-cv-01969-JSW Document23 Filed08/26/11 Page13 of 15 1 product materials that contain Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information need not be 2 destroyed, but if they are not destroyed, the person in possession of the attorney work product will 3 continue to be bound by this Protective Order with respect to all such retained information. 4 30. The restrictions and obligations herein shall not apply to any information that: (a) the 5 parties agree should not be designated as Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information; (b) the 6 parties agree, or the Court rules, is already public knowledge; (c) the parties agree, or the Court 7 rules, has become public knowledge other than as a result of disclosure by the receiving party, its 8 employees, or its agents in violation of this Protective Order; or (d) has come or shall come into the 9 receiving party’s legitimate knowledge independently of the production by the Designating Party. 10 11 Prior knowledge must be established by pre-production documentation. 31. The restrictions and obligations herein shall not be deemed to prohibit discussions of 12 any Confidential or Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information with anyone if that person already has or 13 obtains legitimate possession thereof. 14 32. Transmission by facsimile is acceptable for all notification purposes herein. 15 33. This Protective Order may be modified by agreement of the parties, subject to 16 17 approval by the Court. 34. This Protective Order has been entered into by the parties to facilitate discovery and 18 production of relevant evidence in this Action. Neither the entry into this Protective Order nor the 19 designation of any information or document, nor the failure to make such designation shall constitute 20 evidence with respect to any issue in this Action. 21 35. This Protective Order is without prejudice to the right of the parties to this litigation 22 to seek relief from the Court, upon good cause shown, from any of the restrictions provided above or 23 to impose additional restrictions on the disclosure of any information or material produced. 24 36. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Protective Order, counsel for Equilon and 25 Plaintiffs agree that documents which were previously produced by Equilon to Plaintiffs’ counsel in 26 the matters known as (1) Shahriar Almasi, et al. v. Equilon Enterprises LLC (U.S.D.C. - Northern 27 District of California Case No. 10-CV-03458 EJD), (2) Barja, Inc., et al. v. Equilon Enterprises LLC 28 (U.S.D.C. - Central District of California Case No. CV 10-06936 ODW (PLAx)) and (3) G5 13 Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER THEREON Case3:11-cv-01969-JSW Document23 Filed08/26/11 Page14 of 15 1 Ventures, Inc., et al. v. Equilon Enterprises LLC (California Superior Court, County of Orange Case 2 No. 30-2010-00376445) (collectively, the “Prior Lawsuits”) need not be produced again in this 3 Action. Instead, Equilon and Plaintiffs may use such previously produced materials in the Action as 4 though they were originally produced in the Action. However, counsel for Equilon and Plaintiffs 5 further agree that to the extent the parties to the Action intend to use materials in the Action which 6 were previously designated by Equilon as Confidential and/or Attorneys’ Eyes Only in the Prior 7 Lawsuits, such materials shall retain their original Confidential and/or Attorneys’ Eyes Only 8 designations in accordance with the terms of the Protective Orders issued in each respective Prior 9 Lawsuit. 10 37. Confidential information or documents shall remain subject to this Protective Order 11 only through the commencement of trial. Accordingly, the procedures for filing Confidential 12 documents and information as set forth in this Protective Order shall not apply to the introduction or 13 presentation of evidence at the trial of this matter. However, to the extent any party seeks to 14 maintain the confidentiality of Confidential and Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information at the time of 15 trial, such party shall file an application with the Court to maintain the confidentiality of such 16 materials upon a showing of good cause. 17 38. Any motion to return documents filed under seal pursuant to this Protective Order 18 must be made prior to the commencement of trial, the entry of dismissal or, where the Court has 19 issued an order maintaining certain documents under seal upon an application by a party showing 20 good cause, prior to final judgment. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 14 Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER THEREON Case3:11-cv-01969-JSW Document23 1 2 39. Filed08/26/11 Page15 of 15 The provisions of this Protective Order are subject to further Court order, based upon public policy and other considerations. 3 4 Dated: August 26, 2011 WILSON TURNER KOSMO LLP 5 By: 6 7 8 9 10 Dated: August 26, 2011 /s/ Hubert Kim Robin A. Wofford Hubert Kim Jocelyn D. Hannah Attorneys for Defendant EQUILON ENTERPRISES LLC, dba SHELL OIL PRODUCTS US BLEAU FOX, A P.L.C. 11 By: 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 /s/ Gennady L. Lebedev Thomas P. Bleau, Esq. Gennady L. Lebedev, Esq., Megan A. Childress, Esq. Attorneys for Plaintiffs OYSTER INCORPORATED, EDWARDS & ANDERSON, INC., AMSIA MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, HASSAN EGHDAMI, JOSEPH FAZIO, HAMPTON'S SERVICE, INC., CBK INC., JONTS GASMART, INC., PREMIUM AUTO-TECH INC., JAMES LIN, HUNG TRINH, VTH RESOURCES, INC., WILL Y. WONG and SD TEK INC. 19 20 PURSUANT TO STIPULATION, IT IS SO ORDERED. 21 22 23 Dated: August 29, 2011 By: HON. JEFFREY S. WHITE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 24 25 26 27 28 15 Case No. CV 11-01969 JSW STIPULATION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND [PROPOSED] ORDER THEREON

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