Eisenberg v. MRS BPO, L.L.C. et al

Filing 25

PROTECTIVE ORDER - granting ECF No. 24 Stipulated Protective Order. Signed by Magistrate Judge Elayna J. Youchah on 9/23/2024. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - GA)

Shannon G. Splaine, Esq.
Nevada Bar No. 8241
LINCOLN, GUSTAFSON & CERCOS LLP
3960 Howard Hughes Parkway, Suite 200
Las Vegas, NV 89169-5968
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail]
James K. Schultz, Esq.
Nevada Bar No. 10219
SESSIONS ISRAEL & SHARTLE, L.L.P.
1550 Hotel Circle North, Suite 260
San Diego, CA 92108
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail [e-mail]
Attorneys for Defendant Transworld Systems Inc.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEVADA

Neil Eisenberg,
Plaintiff,
vs.
MRS BPO, LLC, and Transworld
Systems, Inc.,
Defendant.

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Case No.: 2:24-cv-00520-RFB-EJY

[PROPOSED]
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
ORDER

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PROTECTIVE ORDER

1.

PURPOSE AND LIMITATIONS
Discovery in this action is likely to involve trade secrets, confidential

research, development, technology or other proprietary information belonging to
the defendants, and/or personal income, credit and other confidential information
of Plaintiff for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any
purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the
parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated
Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket
protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it
affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or
items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles.
The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 13.3, below, that this
Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information
under seal.
2.

GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
This action is likely to involve trade secrets, confidential consumer

information including consumer financial account numbers, financial transaction
logs, and personally identifiable information for which special protection from
public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action
is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist
of, among other things, proprietary software systems that log consumer disputes;
proprietary software systems that log consumer credit history; proprietary training
and policy manuals; personnel records; financial records; records pertaining to
confidential research, development, or commercial information (including
information implicating privacy rights of third parties); information otherwise
generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise
protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions,
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PROTECTIVE ORDER

or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the
prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to
adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure
that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in
preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the
litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is
justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be
designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated
without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public
manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of
this case.
3.

DEFINITIONS
3.1.

Action: This pending federal lawsuit.

3.2.

Challenging Party: A Party or Nonparty that challenges the
designation of information or items under this Stipulated
Protective Order.

3.3.

“CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information
(regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or
tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule
of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good
Cause Statement.

3.4.

Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and In-House Counsel (as
well as their support staff).

3.5.

Designating Party: A Party or Nonparty that designates
information or items that it produces in disclosures or in
responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

3.6.

Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information,
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PROTECTIVE ORDER

regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated,
stored, or maintained (including, among other things,
testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that is produced or
generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this
matter.
3.7.

Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in
a matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a
Party or its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a
consultant in this Action.

3.8.

In-House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a party to
this Action. In-House Counsel does not include Outside
Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel.

3.9.

Nonparty: Any natural person, partnership, corporation,
association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this
action.

3.10. Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees
of a party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise
a party to this Action and have appeared in this Action on
behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has
appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
3.11. Party: Any party to this Action, including all of its officers,
directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, In-House
Counsel, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support
staffs).
3.12. Producing Party: A Party or Nonparty that produces Disclosure
or Discovery Material in this Action.
3.13. Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation
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PROTECTIVE ORDER

support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating,
preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing,
or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees
and subcontractors.
3.14. Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that
is designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
3.15. Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
Material from a Producing Party.
4.

SCOPE
The protections conferred by this Stipulated Protective Order cover not only

Protected Material, but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected
Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material;
and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel
that might reveal Protected Material.
Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
trial judge. This Stipulated Protective Order does not govern the use of Protected
Material at trial.
5.

DURATION
Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations

imposed by this Stipulated Protective Order shall remain in effect until a
Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs.
Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and
defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein
after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or
reviews of this Action, including the time limits for filing any motions or
applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.

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PROTECTIVE ORDER

6.

DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
6.1.

Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for
Protection. Each Party or Nonparty that designates information
or items for protection under this Stipulated Protective Order
must take care to limit any such designation to specific material
that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating
Party must designate for protection only those parts of material,
documents, items, or oral or written communications that
qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items,
or communications for which protection is not warranted are
not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Stipulated
Protective Order.
Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited.
Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been
made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the
case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and
burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to
sanctions.
If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or
items that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that
Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is
withdrawing the inapplicable designation.

6.2.

Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
this Stipulated Protective Order (see, e.g., Section 6.2(a)), or as
otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that
qualifies for protection under this Stipulated Protective Order must be
clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
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PROTECTIVE ORDER

Designation in conformity with this Stipulated Protective Order
requires the following:
(a)

For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other
pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a
minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that
contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the
material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party
also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by
making appropriate markings in the margins).
A Party or Nonparty that makes original documents
available for inspection need not designate them for protection
until after the inspecting Party has indicated which documents
it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
before the designation, all of the material made available for
inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the
inspecting Party’s Outside Attorney Of Record has identified
the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing
Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof,
qualify for protection under this Stipulated Protective Order.
Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing
Party must affix the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page
that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of
the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by
making appropriate markings in the margins).

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PROTECTIVE ORDER

(b)

For testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party
identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record,
before the close of the deposition all protected testimony.

(c)

For information produced in nondocumentary form, and for any
other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a
prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in
which the information is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.”
If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall
identify the protected portion(s).

6.3.

Inadvertent Failure to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing
alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under
this Stipulated Protective Order for such material. Upon timely
correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the
provisions of this Stipulated Protective Order.

7.

CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
7.1.

Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Nonparty may challenge a
designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with
the Court’s Scheduling Order.

7.2.

Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the
dispute resolution process, which shall comply with Local Rule
37.1 et seq.

7.3.

Burden of Persuasion. The burden of persuasion in any such
challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating Party.
Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
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PROTECTIVE ORDER

(e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on
other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions.
Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the
confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford
the material in question the level of protection to which it is
entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court
rules on the challenge.
8.

ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
8.1.

Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected
Material that is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a
Nonparty in connection with this Action only for prosecuting,
defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected
Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and
under the conditions described in this Stipulated Protective
Order. When the Action reaches a final disposition, a Receiving
Party must comply with the provisions of Section 14 below.
Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a
Receiving Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that
access is limited to the persons authorized under this Stipulated
Protective Order.

8.2.

Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the
Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or
item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
(a)

The Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record, as
well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to

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PROTECTIVE ORDER

whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the
information for this Action;
(b)

The officers, directors, and employees (including InHouse Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom
disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;

(c)

Experts of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is
reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
Bound” (Exhibit A);

(d)

The Court and its personnel and the jury;

(e)

Court reporters and their staff;

(f)

Professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably
necessary or this Action and who have signed the
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to be Bound”
(Exhibit A);

(g)

The author or recipient of a document containing the
information or a custodian or other person who otherwise
possessed or knew the information;

(h)

During their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for
witnesses, in the Action to whom disclosure is
reasonably necessary provided: (i) the deposing party
requests that the witness sign the “Acknowledgment and
Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); and (ii) the
witnesses will not be permitted to keep any confidential
information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and
Agreement to Be Bound,” unless otherwise agreed by the
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PROTECTIVE ORDER

Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of
transcribed

deposition

testimony

or

exhibits

to

depositions that reveal Protected Material may be
separately bound by the court reporter and may not be
disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this
Stipulated Protective Order; and
(i)

Any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting
personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties
engaged in settlement discussions.

9.

PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation

that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
“CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
(a)

Promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

(b)

Promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered
by the subpoena or order is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order.
Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective
Order; and

(c)

Cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be
affected.
If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the
Party served with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any
information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a
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PROTECTIVE ORDER

determination by the Court from which the subpoena or order issued,
unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these
provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a
Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from
another court.
10.

A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
10.1. Application. The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order are
applicable to information produced by a Nonparty in this
Action

and

designated

as

“CONFIDENTIAL.”

Such

information produced by Nonparties in connection with this
litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by
this Stipulated Protective Order. Nothing in these provisions
should be construed as prohibiting a Nonparty from seeking
additional protections.
10.2. Notification. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid
discovery request, to produce a Nonparty’s confidential
information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an
agreement with the Nonparty not to produce the Nonparty’s
confidential information, then the Party shall:
(a)

Promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party
and the Nonparty that some or all of the
information

requested

is

subject

to

confidentiality agreement with a Nonparty;

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PROTECTIVE ORDER

a

(b)

Promptly provide the Nonparty with a copy of the
Stipulated Protective Order in this Action, the
relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
specific description of the information requested;
and

(c)

Make the information requested available for
inspection by the Nonparty, if requested.

10.3. Conditions of Production. If the Nonparty fails to seek a
protective order from this Court within fourteen (14) days after
receiving the notice and accompanying information, the
Receiving Party may produce the Nonparty’s confidential
information responsive to the discovery request. If the
Nonparty timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party
shall not produce any information in its possession or control
that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the
Nonparty before a determination by the Court. Absent a court
order to the contrary, the Nonparty shall bear the burden and
expense of seeking protection in this Court of its Protected
Material.
11.

UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed

Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party immediately must (1) notify in
writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (2) use its best efforts
to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (3) inform the person
or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this
Stipulated Protective Order, and (4) request such person or persons to execute the
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PROTECTIVE ORDER

“Acknowledgment and Agreement to be Bound” (Exhibit A).
12.

INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL
When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain

inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever
procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production
without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and
(e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a
communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work
product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the Stipulated
Protective Order submitted to the Court.
13.

MISCELLANEOUS
13.1. Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Stipulated Protective
Order abridges the right of any person to seek its modification
by the Court in the future.
13.2. Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of
this Stipulated Protective Order, no Party waives any right it
otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any
information or item on any ground not addressed in this
Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any
right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the
material covered by this Stipulated Protective Order.
13.3. Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal
any Protected Material must comply with Local Rule 79-5.
Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a
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PROTECTIVE ORDER

court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected
Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material
under seal is denied by the Court, then the Receiving Party may
file the information in the public record unless otherwise
instructed by the Court.
14.

FINAL DISPOSITION
After the final disposition of this Action, within sixty (60) days of a written

request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected
Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving
Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same
person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies
(by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or
destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,
abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing
any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel is entitled
to retain an archival copy of all pleadings; motion papers; trial, deposition, and
hearing transcripts; legal memoranda; correspondence; deposition and trial exhibits;
expert reports; attorney work product; and consultant and expert work product, even
if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such files and/or archival copies
that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Stipulated
Protective Order as set forth in Section 5.
15.

VIOLATION
Any violation of this Stipulated Order may be punished by any and all

appropriate measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or
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PROTECTIVE ORDER

monetary sanctions.
[Signatures on next page]

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PROTECTIVE ORDER

IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
Dated: September 24, 2024

Dated: September 24, 2024

FREEDOM LAW FIRM
By: /s/Gerardo Avalos
Gerardo Avalos
Attorneys for Plaintiff

SESSIONS, ISRAEL & SHARTLE, LLP
By: /s/James k. Schultz
James K. Schultz
Attorneys for Defendant

FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: September 24, 2024

Hon. Elayna J. Youchah
United States Magistrate Judge

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PROTECTIVE ORDER

EXHIBIT A
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
I,

[full name],

of

[address], declare under

penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated
Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the District
of Nevada on

[date] in the case of Neil Eisenberg v. MRS BPO,

LLC, et al., 2:24-cv-00520-RFB-EJY. I agree to comply with and to be bound by
all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, and I understand and acknowledge
that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature
of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any
information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person
or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Stipulated Protective
Order.
I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
for the District of Nevada for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated
Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of
this action. I hereby appoint

_________________________ [full name] of

_____________________________________________ [address and telephone
number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action
or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
Signature:
Printed Name:
Date:
City and State Where Sworn and Signed:

ACKNOWLEDGMENT