Trabakoolas et al v. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. et al
Filing
98
STIPULATION AND ORDER FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS. Signed by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers on 10/22/12. (fs, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 10/22/2012)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
OAKLAND DIVISION
Case No. 4:12-cv-01172-YGR
JASON TRABAKOOLAS and SHEILA
STETSON, individually and on behalf of all
others similarly situated,
CLASS ACTION
Plaintiffs,
[PROPOSED] STIPULATED
PROTOCOL FOR PRODUCTION OF
DOCUMENTS AND
ELECTRONICALLY STORED
INFORMATION
v.
WATTS WATER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.,
WATTS REGULATOR CO., WATTS
ANDERSON-BARROWS METAL CORP.,
WATTS PLUMBING TECHNOLOGIES
(TAIZHO) CO., LTD., SAVARD PLUMBING
COMPANY, WOLVERINE BRASS, INC.,
AND JOHN DOES 1-100,
Defendants.
Honorable Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers
The parties to this action agree to the following protocol for the production of documents
and electronically stored information (“ESI”):
I.
SCOPE AND APPLICATION
This Protocol supplements the provisions of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 16, 26, 33,
34, 37 and 45 insofar as those Rules relate to the production of documents and ESI. To the
extent that instructions in Requests for Production conflict with this Protocol, the Protocol shall
govern.
II.
DEFINITIONS
A.
“Documents” shall be interpreted broadly and shall include all writings,
drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, and other data, data records or data compilations – stored
in any medium from which information can be obtained. The parties shall negotiate in good
1
LEGAL02/33480298v1
faith on the scope of documents that will be deemed responsive to each side’s discovery requests.
B.
“Electronically stored information” or “ESI,” as used herein, means and refers
to computer generated information or data of any kind, stored in or on any storage media located
on computers, file servers, disks, tape or other real or virtualized devices or media. Non limiting
examples of ESI include:
1.
2.
Contents of E-Mail server stores (e.g., Lotus Domino .NSF or Microsoft
Exchange .EDB)
3.
Applicable contents of databases (e.g., Access, Oracle, SQL Server data,
SAP);
4.
Word processed documents (e.g., Word or WordPerfect files and drafts);
5.
Spreadsheets and tables (e.g., Excel or Lotus 123 worksheets);
6.
Accounting application data (e.g., QuickBooks, Money, Peachtree data);
7.
Image and Facsimile files (e.g., .PDF, .TIFF, .JPG, .GIF images);
8.
Video and Animation (e.g., .AVI and .MOV files);
9.
Presentations (e.g., PowerPoint, Corel Presentations)
10.
Computer Aided Design/Drawing Files; and
11.
C.
Digital communications (e.g., e-mail, voice mail, instant messaging);
Cloud based or other virtualized ESI, including application, infrastructure
and data where applicable
“Cloud computing” means user accessing a remote computer hosted by a cloud
service provider over the Internet or intranet to access software programs to create, save, or
retrieve data, for example, to send messages or create documents, spreadsheets, or databases.
D.
“Native data format” means the format of ESI in which it was normally created,
viewed and/or modified by the producing party in the usual course of its business and in its
regularly conducted activities.
E.
“Metadata” means information about information, or data about data, and
2
LEGAL02/33480298v1
includes (i) information embedded in or associated with a native file that is not ordinarily
viewable or printable from the application that generated, edited, or modified such native file
which describes the characteristics, origins, usage and/or validity of the electronic file, and/or (ii)
information generated automatically by the operation of a computer or other information
technology system when a native file is created, modified, transmitted, deleted or otherwise
manipulated by a user of such system.
F.
“Static image” means a representation of ESI produced by converting a Native
File into a standard image format capable of being viewed and printed on standard computer
systems. A Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) image is an example of a Static Image.
G.
“Forensic image” (mirror image) of a hard drive or other storage device. A
process that preserves the entire contents of a hard drive or other storage device by creating a bitby-bit copy of the original data without altering the original media.
H.
“Extracted text” The text of a native file extracted during ESI processing of the
native file, most commonly when native files are converted to TIFF format.
I.
“Document unitization” is the process of determining where a document begins
(its first page) and ends (its last page), with the goal of accurately describing what was a “unit”
as it was received by the party or was kept in the ordinary course of business by the document’s
custodian. A “unit” includes attachments, for example, an email with an attached spreadsheet.
Physical unitization utilizes actual objects such as staples, paper clips and folders to determine
pages that belong together as documents. Logical unitization is the process of human review of
each individual page in an image collection using logical cues to determine pages that belong
together as documents.
J.
“Parent - child relationships” Related documents are described as having a
parent/child relationship, for example, where the email is the parent and an attached spreadsheet
is the child.
3
LEGAL02/33480298v1
K.
“OCR” (Optical Character Recognition) is a process that converts a picture of
text into searchable text. The quality of the created text can vary greatly depending on the quality
of the original document, the quality of the scanned image, the accuracy of the recognition
software and the quality control process of the provider.
L.
“MD5 Hash” is an algorithm that is used to verify data integrity through the
creation of a 128-bit message digest from data input that is as unique to that specific data as a
fingerprint is to a specific individual.
M.
“PDF” (Portable Document Format) is a file format created by Adobe that allows
a range of options, including electronic transmission, viewing, and searching.
N.
“Media” means an object or device, real or virtualized, including but not limited
to a disc, tape, computer or other device, on which data is or was stored.
III.
PROCESSING OF COLLECTED DATA
A.
Time Zone. When processing ESI, Eastern Standard Time should be selected
as the time zone. To the extent that a party has already processed ESI using a different time zone,
the producing party will note the time zone used in its processing. Additionally, the use of
daylight savings time will be employed.
B.
Deduplication. Parties will perform global de-duplication on identical ESI as
follows:
4
LEGAL02/33480298v1
1.
Electronic Files:
Electronic files will be de-duplicated
based upon calculated MD5 Hash values for binary file content. File
contents only will be used for MD5 Hash value calculation and will not
include operating system metadata (filename, file dates) values.
2.
Messaging Files: Messaging files will be de-duplicated
based upon MD5 Hash values for the message family, including parent
object and attachments. The following fields will be used to create the
unique value for each message: To; From; CC; BCC; Date Sent; Subject;
Body; and, MD5 Hash values for all attachments, in attachment order.
Messaging materials will be de-duplicated at a family level, including
message and attachment(s).
3.
For all files processed, a DupCustodian field will be
populated with the duped out custodians if known and the DupCustodian
field should be included at time of final production.
C.
Date Range. Parties will agree upon a date range to apply to the processing of
the data that will eliminate data outside of the range from further review and production.
D.
Compressed files. Compression file types (i.e., .CAB, .GZ, .TAR. .Z, .ZIP) shall
be decompressed in a reiterative manner to ensure that a zip within a zip is decompressed into
the lowest possible compression resulting in individual folders and/or files.
IV.
SEARCH METHODOLOGY
A.
The Parties will cooperate in good faith regarding the disclosure and formulation
of appropriate search terms and protocols in advance of any search to collect ESI. With the
objective of limiting the scope of review and production, and thereby reducing discovery
burdens, the parties shall meet and confer as early as possible, and in advance of commencing
5
LEGAL02/33480298v1
any production efforts, to develop a list of agreeable search terms and disclose semantic
synonyms. Semantic synonyms shall mean without limitation code words, terms, phrases or
illustrations, acronyms, abbreviations, or non-language alphanumeric associational references to
relevant ESI, or information that may lead to relevant ESI.
B.
Once a final search protocol has been agreed to and executed, a requesting Party
may, in good faith, seek to expand the scope of the search. Where such a request is made, the
Parties will meet and confer and attempt in good faith to reach agreement as to the timing and
conditions of such expansion. If the Parties cannot reach agreement, the dispute may be
presented to the Court pursuant to the Court’s Standing Order in Civil Cases regarding discovery
disputes.
C.
The parties will continue to meet and confer regarding any search process issues
as necessary and appropriate. This ESI protocol does not address or resolve any other objections
to the scope of the parties’ respective discovery requests.
V.
FORMAT OF PRODUCTION
A.
Document Image Format. Unless otherwise required by the terms of this ESI
protocol (Section V.(B)) or agreed to in writing by a requesting party, ESI is to be produced in
TIFF format.
Accompanying this TIFF shall be a multipage text (.TXT) file containing
searchable text from the native file, and the metadata as discussed later in this document. The
parties are not obligated to populate manually any of the fields in Appendix A if such fields
cannot be extracted from a document, with the exception of the CUSTODIAN, and VOLUME,
which shall be populated by the producing party. Load files of the static images should be
created and produced together with their associated static images to facilitate the use of the
produced images by a document management or litigation support database system. The parties
shall meet and confer to the extent reasonably necessary to facilitate the import and use of the
produced materials with commercially available document management or litigation support
6
LEGAL02/33480298v1
software. Each party agrees to bear their own costs for the conversion of native files to TIFF and
the production, storage, and maintenance of ESI in TIFF format. Nothing in this ESI Protocol
shall prevent a party from seeking relief from the Court pursuant to Rule 26(b)(2)(B) and/or Rule
26(c).
B.
Native Data Format. Unless redacted or otherwise agreed to in writing by a
requesting party, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Powerpoint, Microsoft Access Database and .txt
file extensions shall be produced in native data format - as the ESI exists on the producing
party’s computer system.
C.
Production of Structured Data. To the extent a response to discovery requires
production of discoverable electronic information contained in a database, and where data is
reasonably accessible, the parties shall meet and confer to agree upon a set of queries to be made
for discoverable information.
D.
Production of Physical Documents. Documents or records which either were
originally generated or created as ESI but now only exist in physical hard-copy format, or
documents or records that were originally generated in hard-copy format shall be converted to a
single page TIFF file and produced following the same protocols set forth herein or otherwise
agreed to by the parties.
E.
Document Unitization. For files not produced in their native data format, each
page of a document shall be electronically saved as an image file. If a document consists of
more than one page, the unitization of the document and any attachments and/or affixed notes
shall be maintained as it existed in the original when creating the image files.
The producing party shall produce a unitization file (“load file”) for all produced
Documents in accordance with the following formatting, including a separate load file for native
Documents:
7
LEGAL02/33480298v1
1.
OCR and Extracted Text Files (.TXT Files):
a.
b.
Pages separated by form feed character (decimal 12, hex 0xC)
c.
Filenames should be of the form:
.txt
Where is the BATES number of the first page in the
document.
d.
2.
Single text file per document containing all the document's pages.
Text must be encoded in UTF-8.
Images Files:
a.
b.
8 1/2 X 11 inch page size, except for documents requiring different
resolution or page size.
c.
Single page per image.
d.
Single image per file.
e.
TIFF is default FORMAT unless the following formats are agreed
to: jpeg, jpeg2000, giff, png, single image tiff, and bmp.
f.
3.
Group IV TIFF at 300 X 300 dpi resolution.
Filenames should be of the form:
.
Where is the BATES number of the page, and
is the appropriate extension for the image format (.jpg, .tif, .png,
etc)
Index Files:
a.
Comma Separated Value (.CSV) files (commonly .DAT files).
8
LEGAL02/33480298v1
b.
c.
Every row must have the same number of columns/fields (empty
values are acceptable).
d.
Text must be encoded in UTF-8.
e.
Values must be enclosed by decimal 17, hex 0x11 (ascii device
control 1).
f.
4.
First line must contain the column/field names (set forth in
Paragraph 1(c) herein).
Values must be separated by decimal 19, hex 0x13 (ascii device
control 3).
Native Index Files:
a.
b.
All lines contain data – first row must NOT contain column
headers.
c.
Every row must have 2 columns/fields (empty values are NOT
acceptable).
d.
First column/field must contain the BATES number for the
document.
e.
Second column/field must contain the filename (NOT the full path)
of the native file. Filenames must be unique in the production –
unless the content is identical (for example, a native and an OCR
text file may both be named XYZ01234567.TXT if they are
identical).
f.
Text must be encoded in UTF-8.
g.
Values must be enclosed by double quotes (ascii character 34).
h.
F.
.CSV files.
Values must be separated by a comma (ascii character 44).
Exception Files: The parties will make reasonable efforts to resolve any user-
generated files that have been collected that cannot be produced and/or imaged.
G.
Color. For files not produced in their native format, if an original document
contains color, the producing party may produce black and white image(s). At the request of the
receiving party, the parties shall meet and confer to discuss production of color image(s) for
specific documents.
9
LEGAL02/33480298v1
H.
Bates Numbering and Other Unique Identifiers. For files not produced in their
native data format, each page of a produced document shall have a legible, unique page identifier
(“Bates Number”) electronically “burned” onto the TIFF image in such a manner that
information from the source document is not obliterated, concealed, or interfered with. There
shall be no other legend or stamp placed on the document image unless the document has been
redacted in accordance with applicable law, court order or pursuant to an applicable protective
order or other case specific principle. In the case of redacted materials, a designation may be
“burned” onto the document’s image at a location that does not obliterate or obscure any
information from the source document. Additionally, any natively produced files must have a
Bates number added to the file name: i.e. if a file is named “example.pdf” then when producing it
would be “PREFIX00000001_example.pdf. Bates numbers must meet the criteria below:
1.
2.
maintain a constant length (zero/0-padded) across the entire
production,
3.
contain no special characters or embedded spaces, and
4.
be sequential within a given document.
5.
I.
be unique across the entire document production,
If a Bates number or set of Bates numbers is skipped in a
production, and not otherwise identified on a privilege log,
the producing party will disclose the Bates numbers or
ranges in a cover letter accompanying the production.
Production Media. Documents shall be produced on CD-ROM, DVD, external
hard drive (with standard PC compatible interface), or such other readily accessible computer or
electronic media as the parties may hereafter agree upon (the “Production Media”). Each item of
Production Media shall include: (1) text referencing that it was produced in Trabakoolas, et al. v.
Watts Water Technologies, Inc., et al., (Case No. 12-cv-01172-YGR), (2) the production date, and
(3) the Bates number range of the materials contained on such Production Media item. Load
10
LEGAL02/33480298v1
files shall not span across media (e.g., CDs, DVDs, Hard Drives, etc.); a separate volume shall
be created for each piece of media delivered.
J.
Cover Letter.
A cover letter shall accompany each transmission of ESI
discovery providing basic information including the number of media, the unique identifiers of
the media, a brief description of the contents, any applicable Bates ranges or other unique
production identifiers, and any necessary passwords to access the content. Passwords should not
be in the cover letter accompanying the data, but in a separate communication.
K.
Electronic Text Files. For files not produced in their native data format, text
files for produced documents shall be produced reflecting the full text that has been
electronically extracted from the original, native electronic files (“Extracted Text”). The
Extracted Text shall be provided in ASCII text format. The text files will be named with the
unique Bates number of the first page of the corresponding document followed by the extension
“.txt.” Electronic text must be extracted directly from the native electronic file unless the
document was redacted, an image file, or a hard copy document. In these instances, a text file
shall be created using OCR and shall be produced in lieu of extracted text. Additionally, a list of
Bates numbers of files without text will be provided upon the completion of the final production.
L.
Hash Value.
The parties will either preserve the MD5 hash value on the
electronic documents or preserve the MD5 hash value and produce this hash value with the
electronic document.
M.
Metadata. The Metadata fields identified in Appendix A will be extracted and
produced (to the extent available and not privileged) in an attached file accompanying the TIFF
productions. This list of fields does not create any obligation to create or manually code fields
that are not automatically generated by the processing of the ESI, that do not exist as part of the
original Metadata of the document, or that would be burdensome or costly to obtain. The parties
11
LEGAL02/33480298v1
retain the right to move the Court for the production of additional electronic metadata fields
should ongoing discovery reveal the need for such Metadata.
N.
Attachments. Email attachments and embedded files or links, to the extent
produced, should be mapped to their parent by the Document or Production number. If
attachments and embedded files are combined with their parent documents, then “BeginAttach”
and “EndAttach” fields listing the unique beginning and end number for each attachment or
embedded document must be included.
O.
Embedded Objects. Embedded objects will not be automatically extracted. The
parties will confer about specific embedded materials that will be produced and if they are
unable to agree they can bring this matter to the Court.
P.
Compressed Files. Compression file types (i.e., .CAB, .GZ, .TAR, .Z, .ZIP)
shall be decompressed in a reiterative manner to ensure that a zip within a zip is decompressed
into the lowest possible compression resulting in individual folders and/or files. (See III- F,
“File Inclusion List.”)
Q.
Dynamic Fields. Documents with dynamic fields for file names, dates, and times
will be processed to show the field code (e.g., “[FILENAME]” or “[AUTODATE]”), rather than
the values for such fields existing at the time the file is processed.
VI.
OBJECTIONS TO ESI PRODUCTION
A.
Documents that present imaging or format production problems shall be promptly
identified and disclosed to the requesting party; the parties shall then meet and confer to attempt
to resolve the problems.
B.
If either party objects to producing the requested information on the grounds that
such information is not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost, or because
production in the requested format is asserted to be not reasonably accessible because of undue
12
LEGAL02/33480298v1
burden or cost, the responding party will inform the requesting party of the format in which it is
willing and able to produce, the nature and location of the information claimed to not be
reasonably accessible, the reason(s) why the requested form of production would impose an
undue burden or is unreasonably costly, and afford the requesting party 10 business days from
receipt of such notice to propose an alternative means of compliance with the request.
C.
If a party believes that responsive ESI no longer exists or is not retrievable, the
responding party shall identify the ESI and explain the circumstances surrounding the change in
its status and the reasons the ESI no longer exists or is no longer retrievable. The requesting
party can schedule a meet and confer to discuss whether any backup or copy of the responsive
ESI exists, and if so, whether and how best to obtain responsive information.
VII.
PRIVILEGE AND WORK PRODUCT CLAIMS
For any document withheld in its entirety or produced but redacted, the producing
party will produce privilege/redaction logs in Excel format or any other format that permits
electronic sorting and searching. The Parties shall have no obligation to log privileged
communications with their clients concerning this litigation or privileged information generated
after the commencement of this litigation. A privilege log will be produced 45 days after
completion of the production of the first set of custodial files and 45 days after any further set of
custodial files, or no less than five days prior to a particular custodian’s deposition for which
custodial documents were withheld, whichever is sooner. In no event, however, will any
privilege log need to be produced prior to December 15, 2012.
When there is a chain of privileged e-mails, the producing party need only include
one entry on the privilege/redaction log for the entire e-mail chain and need not log each e-mail
contained in the chain separately. The producing party and the receiving party may modify the
deadlines for production of privilege/redaction logs by agreement.
For each document withheld or redacted, the producing party’s privilege/redaction
logs shall include the following information:
13
LEGAL02/33480298v1
(a)
Custodian or source,
(b)
Date,
(c)
Author(s),
(d)
For documents produced, but redacted on the ground of privilege, the starting
and ending Bates number;
Recipient(s), CC(s) and BCC(s) (for e-mail and hard-copy communication
such as letters and internal memoranda);
(e)
(f)
Specification of the privilege claimed;
(g)
A description of the document and the basis for the privilege claim.
Following the receipt of a privilege/redaction log, a receiving party may identify, in
writing, specific documents that it believes require further explanation. If a party challenges
a request for further information, the parties shall meet and confer to try to reach a mutually
agreeable solution prior to informing the Court of unresolved issues.
Nothing herein is intended to modify or supersede any Protective Orders entered in
this matter.
VIII. CATEGORIES OF ESI DISCOVERABLE ONLY UPON A SHOWING OF
GOOD CAUSE
The following categories of ESI are discoverable only upon a showing of good cause: (1)
“deleted,” “slack,” “fragmented,” or “unallocated” data on hard drives; (2) random access
memory (RAM) or other ephemeral data; (3) on-line access data such as temporary internet files,
history, cache, cookies, etc.; (4) data in metadata fields that are frequently updated automatically,
such as last-opened dates; (5) backup and archival data that is substantially duplicative of data
that is more accessible elsewhere; (6) the entire E-Mail Server Stores; (7) sound recordings (such
as WAV and .MP3 files); (8) entire databases; (9) contact and relationship management data;
(10) calendar or diary application data; (11) online access data (e.g., Temporary Internet Files,
14
LEGAL02/33480298v1
History, Cookies); (12) network access and server activity logs; and (13) project management
application data.
IX.
CONTINUING OBLIGATIONS OF ALL PARTIES TO MEET AND CONFER
To expedite discovery of relevant electronic evidence and reduce each parties’ costs, the
parties' attorneys and IT professionals will informally cooperate and discuss procedures or
protocols to facilitate identification, retrieval and production of computerized information. The
parties will work with one another in good faith to resolve any issues, disputes or objections that
arise in connection with electronic discovery issues before raising such matters with the court.
Issues shall be raised promptly in writing, and the parties shall have good faith discussions to
attempt to resolve the matter. The responsibility shall be continuing, unless otherwise ordered by
the Court.
The parties shall comply with the Court’s Standing Order regarding discovery
disputes, including the in-person meet and confer requirement.
DAVID S. MacCUISH
TODD BENOFF
LINDSAY G. CARLSON
ALSTON & BIRD LLP
DATED: October __, 2012
______________________________
DAVID S. MacCUISH
Attorneys for Defendant Watts Regulator Co. and
Specially Appearing Defendant Watts Water
Technologies, Inc.
JOSEPH J. TABACCO, JR.
TODD A. SEAVER
BERMAN DEVALERIO
STEVE W. BERMAN
ANTHONY D. SHAPIRO
JEFF D. FRIEDMAN
ELAINE T. BYSZEWSKI
15
LEGAL02/33480298v1
HAGENS BERMAN SOBOL SHAPIRO LLP
DONALD L. PERELMAN
GERARD A. DENVER
FINE, KAPLAN AND BLACK, P.C.
SIMON BAHNE PARIS
PATRICK HOWARD
CHARLES J. KOCHER
SALTZ, MONGELUZZI, BARRETT &
BENDESKY, P.C.
DATED: October __, 2012
_________________________________
SIMON PARIS
Attorneys for Plaintiffs and the proposed Classes
Pursuant to Stipulation (Dkt. No. 95) and subject to the Court’s modifications
herein, IT IS SO ORDERED. This Order terminates Dkt. No. 95.
DATED: October 22, 2012
__________________________________
Honorable Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers
United States District Court Judge
16
LEGAL02/33480298v1
APPENDIX A
TABLE OF METADATA FIELDS1
Field
Name
Format
Description
BegDoc
Text
Starting Bates Number for record
EndDoc
Text
Ending Bates Number for record
Numeric
Number of pages in document
BegAttach
Text
Bates number, first page of parent document
for the document group
EndAttach
Text
Bates number, last page of last attachment, for the
document group
Custodian
Text
Custodian
Volume
Text
Volume of Production
Pages
Date,
DateCreate
Creation date of original file
MM/DD/YYYY
FileExt
Text
Original document file extension
Subject
Text
Subject line of email
Author
Text
Document author
From
Text
Author of message
To
Text
Recipients of message
1
These metadata fields will be provided to the extent it is available in the native file at
the time of collection. Some fields may have limited utility. For example, where a template is
used to generate a document, the author on the face of the document would differ from that in the
metadata. Similarly, the file extension may not be indicative of the file type, as users can modify
the extension without affecting the way the file is read by the application.
17
LEGAL02/33480298v1
CC
Text
CC recipients of message
BCC
Text
BCC recipients of message
Date,
DateSent
Sent date if email message
MM/DD/YYYY
Designation
Text
Confidentiality designation
MD5_Hash
Hash
Digital footprint of the file
Y or N
“Yes” or “No” indication of whether the Document
Redacted
at issue is redacted.
DupCustodian
Text
List of duplicate custodians for each file; Please
note, custodians listed more than once in any given
email file, such as in the “From” and “CC” fields
will have the custodian list in both the regular
“Custodian” field as well as the “DupCustodian”
field.
18
LEGAL02/33480298v1
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?