Cabrera et al v. Service Employees International Union et al
Filing
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ORDER Granting Defendants' 87 Emergency Motion for Protective Order. Plaintiff's 90 and 91 Motions to Seal are Granted. Signed by Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Albregts on 11/22/2019. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - SLD)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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JAVIER CABRERA, et al.,
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Plaintiffs,
ORDER
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Case No. 2:18-cv-00304-RFB-DJA
v.
SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL
UNION, et al.,
Defendants.
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Presently before the Court is Defendants’ Emergency Motion for Protective Order (ECF
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No. 87), filed on November 8, 2019. Plaintiffs filed a Response (ECF No. 89) and Motion to Seal
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(ECF Nos. 90) on November 19, 2019. A duplicative Motion to Seal was filed by Plaintiffs (ECF
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No. 91) on November 20, 2019. Defendants filed a Reply (ECF No. 92) on November 20-21,
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2019. The Court finds the motions properly resolved without a hearing. See Local Rule 78-1.
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I.
BACKGROUND
The parties are familiar with the facts of this matter and the Court will only summarize
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them as necessary. Defendants’ Emergency Motion for Protective Order (ECF No. 87) is pending
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before the Court regarding the deposition of Bob Schoonover scheduled for December 27, 2019.
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They seek an order to protect Mr. Schoonover, who is the highest executive of a large public
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sector union who lacks firsthand knowledge of this matter, making the topics noticed for his
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deposition not proportional, unreasonably cumulative, or ones that can be obtained from another
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less burdensome source. Plaintiffs respond that Mr. Schoonover was directly involved in
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investigating and responding to the complaints of Local 721 staff against Defendant Manteca, in
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staffing the Local 1107 trusteeship, and has direct personal knowledge regarding compensation of
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Defendant Manteca. (ECF No. 89). Defendants reply that the deposition testimony is not
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relevant to the claims in this action and Mr. Schoonover is protected under the apex doctrine.
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(ECF No. 92).
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II.
DISCUSSION
a. Protective Order
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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(1) provides for broad and liberal discovery.
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“Parties may obtain discovery regarding any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party’s
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claim or defense.” Id. However, a court may limit discovery via Rule 26(c), which permits the
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court to issue a protective order to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment,
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oppression, or undue burden or expense when the party establishes good cause. For good cause
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to exist, the party seeking protection bears the burden of showing specific prejudice or harm will
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result if no protective order is granted. See Beckman Indus., Inc., v. Int’l. Ins. Co., 966 F.2d 470,
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476 (9th Cir. 1992). Rule 26(c) requires more than “broad allegations of harm, unsubstantiated
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by specific examples or articulated reasoning.” Id; see also Foltz v. State Farm, 331 F.3d 1122,
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1130 (9th Cir. 2003) (citing San Jose Mercury News, Inc., v. District Court, 187 F.3d 1096, 1102
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(9th Cir. 1999) (holding that the party must make a particularized showing of good cause)).
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The Supreme Court has interpreted the language of Rule 26(c) as conferring “broad
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discretion on the trial court to decide when a protective order is appropriate and what degree of
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protection is required.” Seattle Times Co. v. Rhinehart, 467 U.S. 20, 36 (1984). Additionally, the
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Supreme Court has acknowledged that the “trial court is in the best position to weigh fairly the
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competing needs and interests of the parties affected by discovery. The unique character of the
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discovery process requires that the trial court have substantial latitude to fashion protective
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orders.” Id.
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“It is very unusual for a court to prohibit the taking of a deposition altogether ... absent
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extraordinary circumstances.” United States CFTC v. Banc De Binary, Ltd., 2015 U.S. Dist.
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LEXIS 17567, at *6 (D. Nev. Feb. 11, 2015) (internal citations omitted). However, the Court has
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discretion to prohibit the deposition of a high-level corporate executive, or “apex” deponent,
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given the “tremendous potential for abuse or harassment” that exists for such discovery. Int’l
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Game Tech. v. Illinois Nat’l Ins. Co., 2018 WL 7499823, at *2 (D. Nev. Apr. 6, 2018) (internal
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citations omitted).
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A deponent’s status as a high-level executive alone is not a reason to prohibit his
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deposition. Courts within the Ninth Circuit consider two factors when deciding whether or not to
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allow the deposition of a high-level executive: (1) whether the executive has unique, personal
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knowledge of relevant information; and (2) whether the party seeking the information has
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exhausted other less intrusive discovery methods. 1 See Apple v. Samsung Elecs. Co., Ltd., 282
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F.R.D. 259, 263 (N.D. Cal. 2012); see also Luangisa v. Interface Operations, 2011 WL 6029880
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(D. Nev. Dec. 5, 2011).
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As a preliminary matter, the Court finds that Mr. Schoonover is a high-level executive
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based on his title, President and Executive Director of the Service Employees International
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Union, Local 721 and President of the SEIU State Council and Declaration. (ECF No. 87-5). Mr.
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Schoonover declares that he does not have unique and personal knowledge and his deposition
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would be duplicative or only serve to harass him or impose undue burden. (Id.). Plaintiffs’
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contend that Mr. Schoonover is not being truthful with the Court as to his involvement in the
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investigation of complaints relevant to the case.
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Knowledge is personal if the individual at issue was involved to some degree in the
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subject matter. See Int’l Game Tech., 2018 WL 7499823, at *4. Knowledge is unique if it is
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unavailable from less intrusive discovery. Id. Plaintiffs’ acknowledge that there were other
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people present at the May 9, 2016 meeting that Mr. Schoonover attended along with the second
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meeting. (ECF No. 89, 3-4). Further, mere speculation as to what role Mr. Schoonover played
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with respect to staffing the trusteeships or use of funds in the event of a trusteeship is insufficient
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to meet this first element.
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Second, Plaintiffs have failed to first exhaust other less intrusive methods of discovery.
See Int’l Game Tech., 2018 WL 7499823, at *4. In fact, Defendants represent that they have
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Although the Ninth Circuit has yet to recognize the apex doctrine, a majority of the District
Courts within the Ninth Circuit have. See e.g., Luangisa v. Interface Operations, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
139700, at *39-40 (D. Nev. Dec. 5, 2011).
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responded to written discovery on the alter ego status issue along with the trusteeship and funds
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issue, which may be followed up on at the already scheduled deposition of SEIU’s Rule 30(b)(6)
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witness. (ECF No. 92, 9:7). Therefore, Defendants’ request for a protective order is warranted at
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this time under the apex doctrine.
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b. Sealing Exhibits
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Plaintiffs request sealing of some of the exhibits to their Response (ECF No. 90-91).
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They represent that Exhibit 1 is subject to a protective order that is in place in another case,
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Garcia et al. v. SEIU et al., 2:17-cv-1340, but make no representations on whether the standards
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for keeping all of the requested exhibits sealed have been met. (ECF No. 91, 2). A party seeking
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to seal judicial records bears the burden of meeting the “compelling reasons” standard, as
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previously articulated in Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172 (9th Cir.
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2006). Under the compelling reasons standard, “a court may seal records only when it finds ‘a
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compelling reason and articulate[s] the factual basis for its ruling, without relying on hypothesis
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or conjecture.” Center for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Group, LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1097 (9th Cir.
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2016) (quoting Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1179). “The court must then ‘conscientiously balance[ ]
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the competing interests of the public and the party who seeks to keep certain judicial records
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secret.” 809 F.3d at 1097.
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There is an exception to the compelling reasons standard where a party may satisfy the
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less exacting “good cause” standard for sealed materials attached to a discovery motion unrelated
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to the merits of the case. Id. “The good cause language comes from Rule 26(c)(1), which
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governs the issuance of protective orders in the discovery process: ‘The court may, for good
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cause, issue an order to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or
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undue burden or expense.’” Id. (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(c)). “For good cause to exist, the party
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seeking protection bears the burden of showing specific prejudice or harm will result if no
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protective order is granted.” Phillips v. General Motors, 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002).
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The labels of “dispositive” and “nondispositive” will not be the determinative factor for deciding
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which test to apply because the focal consideration is “whether the motion is more than
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tangentially related to the merits of a case.” Ctr. for Auto Safety, 809 F.3d at 1101.
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The fact that the Court has entered the instant stipulated protective order and that a party
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has designated a document as confidential pursuant to that protective order does not, standing
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alone, establish sufficient grounds to seal a filed document. See Foltz v. State Farm Mut. Auto.
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Ins. Co., 331 F.3d 1122, 1133 (9th Cir. 2003); see also Beckman Indus., Inc. v. Int’l Ins. Co., 966
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F.2d 470, 476 (9th Cir. 1992). However, the Court finds that the less exacting good cause
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standard is applicable here and justifies keeping the requested exhibits under seal. The Court
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finds that Plaintiffs’ Exhibit 1 shall remain under seal pursuant to Judge Gordon’s order. Exhibit
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5 shall also remain sealed as it is financial information that would impair SEIU’s interests if
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publicly accessible. Therefore, the Court will grant Plaintiff’s motions to seal.
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III.
CONCLUSION
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants’ Emergency Motion for Protective Order
(ECF No. 87) is granted.
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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion to Seal (ECF No. 90) is granted.
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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion to Seal (ECF No. 91) is granted.
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DATED: November 22, 2019.
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DANIEL J. ALBREGTS
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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