Sleeping Well, LLC v. The Travelers Indemnity Company

Filing 74

ORDER Granting 73 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER. Signed by Judge Claudia Wilken on 6/2/2011. (ndr, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/2/2011)

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GEORGE D. YARON, ESQ. (State Bar #96246)
HENRY M. SU, ESQ. (State Bar #171853)
HIELAM CHAN, ESQ. (State Bar #267321)
YARON & ASSOCIATES
601 California Street, 21st Floor
San Francisco, California 94108
Telephone:
[phone]
Facsimile:
[phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Plaintiff
SLEEPING WELL, LLC

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BRUCE D. CELEBREZZE, ESQ. (State Bar #102181)
MATTHEW C. LOVELL, ESQ. (State Bar #189728)
SEDGWICK LLP
One Market Plaza
Steuart Tower, 8th Floor
San Francisco, California 94105
Telephone:
[phone]
Facsimile:
[phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Defendant
ST. PAUL FIRE AND MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SLEEPING WELL, LLC, a Vermont limited
liability corporation,

Case No. CV-10-03658-CW
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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Plaintiff,
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v.
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ST. PAUL FIRE AND MARINE
INSURANCE COMPANY, a New York
corporation, and DOES 1-20, inclusive,

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Defendants.
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Plaintiff SLEEPING WELL, LLC (“Plaintiff”) and Defendant ST. PAUL FIRE AND

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MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY (“Defendant”) (collectively the “parties”), by and through

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their respective counsel, have agreed to the terms of this Protective Order (“Protective Order”).

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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Now, therefore, the Court having been fully advised and for good cause shown, hereby enters the

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following ORDER:

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1.

Purpose of Order. The purpose of this Protective Order is to prevent the disclosure

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of materials or information designated as confidential (“Confidential Information”) by one or more

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of the parties under the terms of this Protective Order to persons or entities other than those

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involved in the prosecution or defense of this litigation and to facilitate the exchange of

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information between the parties pending any ruling by the Court on the ultimate confidentiality of

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information or whether it constitutes confidential information as a matter of law. The Protective

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Order is necessary to protect confidential and trade secret information from disclosure and to

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ensure that case information is not disseminated to third parties. The privacy interests in such

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information substantially outweigh the public’s right to access to these documents. Good cause

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exists for the issuance of this Protective Order under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26.

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2.

Governance. This Protective Order shall govern the treatment and handling of all

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documents, things, answers, responses and information (“Materials”) produced or filed by, or

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obtained from any party or any other person or entity including (without limitation) answers to

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requests for admissions, answers to interrogatories, documents produced pursuant to a request for

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production of documents, documents subpoenaed in connection with depositions or otherwise, and

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deposition transcripts.

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3.

Confidential Information. For the purpose of this Order, the term

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“CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION” shall mean any information that any party to this action

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believes to contain or reflect confidential or personal information, disclosure of which would cause

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a significant harm to a corporate party’s competitive and financial position or, if containing

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information confidential to an individual, contain such information that is not available to

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opposing parties outside the formal discovery process, whether memorialized in a document or

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otherwise held by a party. “Confidential Information” shall also mean information that a party

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reasonably believes is subject to the confidentiality rights of a non-party that are protected by

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statute or rule.

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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4.

Designating Materials as Confidential. Any party to this action may designate as

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“Confidential” any Materials, including interrogatory answers or documents produced pursuant to

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this Order by (i) conspicuously stamping or labeling the Materials, including documents or

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interrogatory answers with the words “Confidential” or (ii) identifying such Materials by bates

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stamp numbers. Any non-documentary information deemed confidential that is provided in

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written form shall be sealed in an envelope marked “Confidential”. Documents or Materials

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produced or disclosed by either party shall not be treated as confidential pursuant to this Order

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unless they are stamped, labeled, or otherwise identified by bates number, in such a fashion except

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as provided in this Order. The inadvertent failure to designate material as “Confidential” does not

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preclude a party from subsequently making such a designation, and, in that case, the material is

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treated as confidential only after being properly designated. Parties to this action may also

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designate deposition testimony in this action as “Confidential” by advising opposing counsel of

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record, in writing, within thirty (30) days after receipt of a copy of the transcript, or such other

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time period as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties, of the pages and lines of the deposition

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which the party believes to be Confidential. Alternatively, any party may, on the record at the

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deposition, designate deposition testimony as “Confidential” by advising all persons present that

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the party believes that the portion of the deposition in question falls under the scope of this Order.

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The court reporter or other official making a transcript of the deposition will be advised to identify

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those pages of the transcript afforded confidential treatment in the table of contents or other

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appropriate location at the front of the transcript and shall stamp the pages containing the

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designation as “Confidential”. In the event that opposing counsel disagrees with any such

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designation, counsel shall comply with Local Rule 37-1 in order to resolve the dispute.

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5.

Summaries and Exhibits. All exhibits prepared from information designated as

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Confidential Information shall be identified as “Confidential” by counsel causing them to be

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prepared.

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6.

Disclosure of Confidential Information. Any discovery materials which are marked

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as “Confidential” are to be treated as such by the party receiving the discovery and shall be utilized

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by such party only for the prosecution or defense of this case. Except as agreed upon by the

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parties, or ordered by the Court, disclosure of such material or information contained therein shall

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be restricted to the following persons:
a.

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assisting in the prosecution or defense of this case.
b.

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The parties, including officers or employees of a party in this case who are

In-house counsel and outside counsel of record in this litigation and all

counsel’s legal and clerical assistants and staff;
c.

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Experts and consultants actually retained or employed to consult with,

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advise, or assist counsel in the preparation or trial of this litigation, provided that any such expert

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or consultant shall first agree in writing to abide by the terms of this Protective Order and shall

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sign a Representation of Confidentiality in the form of Exhibit A attached hereto;

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d.

Any independent document reproduction services or document or video

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recording and retrieval services;

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e.

Court personnel, including court reporters, persons operating video

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recording equipment at depositions, and any special master or mediator appointed by the Court;

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and
f.

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Any deponent noticed by either party during the course of the deposition;

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provided, however, that before showing Confidential Information to a deponent, deposing counsel

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shall first show the Confidential Information to opposing counsel. If there is a dispute about

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whether the deponent should reasonably be exposed to, or questioned about, the Confidential

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Information, the deponent shall not then be shown the Confidential Information until counsel have

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fully complied with Local Rule 37-1.

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7.

Prior to disclosing Confidential Information to persons authorized to receive such

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Confidential Information under 6 c. and f., counsel for receiving party shall shall (i) provide each

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person who will receive such Confidential Information with a copy of this Order; and (ii) obtain

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from each such person an executed Representation of Confidentiality in the form attached hereto

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as Exhibit A (“Representation of Confidentiality”), a copy of which shall be retained by counsel

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for the receiving party.

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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In all cases, all persons having access to Confidential Information made available pursuant

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to this agreement shall agree not to make any use of such Confidential Information except in

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connection with this litigation and further shall agree not to deliver or transfer Confidential

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Information except in connection with this litigation and further shall agree not to deliver or

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transfer Confidential Information to any person not previously authorized by the terms of this

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Protective Order.

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8.

Binding Effect of This Order. This Order is binding upon the parties, their agents

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and employees, all counsel for the parties and their agents and employees, and all persons to whom

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disclosure of discovery materials or testimony are limited pursuant to the terms of this Order.

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9.

Use of Confidential Information. The parties and their counsel shall exercise

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reasonable care not to disclose information contained in these confidential documents by placing

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them in the public record in this case. Any Confidential Information that is produced or disclosed,

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including documents, shall be used only for purposes of this litigation, and not for any other claims

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or purposes, whether such claims currently exist or may arise in the future, nor may such

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information be used for any other existing litigation. Specifically, the parties and their counsel,

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however, have the right to use any such information contained in these documents, or the

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documents themselves, in the trial of this case after providing opposing counsel notice and the

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opportunity to address the need for continued confidentiality with the Court. The parties do not

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waive any right to object at trial to the admissibility of a document, which falls under the scope of

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this Order, or portion thereof, or the right to file a motion in limine regarding the use of any such

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documents. Any Confidential Information that is produced shall be used with respect to this

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lawsuit only, and may not support or form the basis of any submissions, arguments, evidence, or

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interviews in any other lawsuit. Disclosure or use of Confidential Information is prohibited except

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as provided in paragraph 6 unless written consent from the parties or authorization of the Court is

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obtained prior to disclosure or use.

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10.

Motion to File Under Seal. A party filing Confidential Information shall be

responsible for filing a Motion to Seal and/or redact that information as appropriate in compliance

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with Local Rule 79-5. Such motion shall include a request for the disposition of documents

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containing Confidential Information at the conclusion of the proceedings.

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Return of Confidential Information. Upon the final termination of this litigation

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(either by settlement, the expiration of time to appeal from an adverse ruling, or the exhaustion of

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all appellate remedies), and upon written request by the other party, counsel shall forward to

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opposing counsel all Confidential Information previously produced or disclosed. This includes,

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but is not limited to the following: testimony concerning Confidential Information; any extract,

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summary, or copy of such Confidential Information for which counsel is responsible under the

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provisions of this paragraph; and any Confidential Information given to any person identified in

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paragraph 6. Counsel may retain attorney work product concerning Confidential Information. The

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parties, however, retain the right to keep any documents that were admitted as exhibits in this case.

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12.

No modification or amendment of this Protective Order is permitted except by a

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writing signed by counsel for the parties and approved by the Court. The parties agree that it is

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unreasonable to rely on any oral modification or amendment of this agreement.

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13.

By executing this Protective Order the parties certify that prior to the disclosure of

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any Confidential Information, the proposed recipient of the Confidential Information first will be

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provided a copy of this Protective Order and be required to execute a verification of their receipt of

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the same.

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14.

All copies of Confidential Information disclosed under this agreement shall be

subject to the same restrictions as imposed on the original information.
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Any violation of the terms of this Protective Order shall subject the violator to

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sanctions as determined by the Court.

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DATED: May 27, 2011

YARON & ASSOCIATES

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SF/2201150v1

By:

_____/s/ George D. Yaron_____________________
GEORGE D. YARON
HENRY M. SU
HIELAM CHAN
Attorneys for Plaintiff
Sleeping Well, LLC
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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

Case No. CV-10-03658-CW

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DATED: May 27, 2011

SEDGWICK LLP

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By:

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_________/s/ Bruce D. Celebrezze__________
BRUCE D. CELEBREZZE
MATTHEW C. LOVELL
Attorneys for Defendant
St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company

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ATTESTATION OF FILING

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Pursuant to General Order 45.X.B, I attest that I have obtained concurrence in the filing of
this document from the counsel listed above.

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/s/ Matthew C. Lovell
Matthew C. Lovell

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PURSUANT TO STIPULATION, IT IS SO ORDERED:

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June 2
DATED: _________, 2011

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___________________________________________
The Honorable Claudia Wilken
Judge of the United States District Court

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SF/2201150v1

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

Case No. CV-10-03658-CW