Viesse v. Tacoma Screw Products, Inc. et al

Filing 24

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER granting 23 Amended Motion for Protective Order. Signed by U.S. District Judge John C Coughenour. (PM)

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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ALBERT VIESSE, on behalf of himself
and all others similarly situated,

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
ORDER

Plaintiff,

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CASE NO. C16-1026-JCC

v.

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TACOMA SCREW PRODUCTS,
INC., et al.,

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Defendants.

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STIPULATION
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PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

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Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private

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information for which special protection may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby

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stipulate to and petition the court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties

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acknowledge that this agreement is consistent with LCR 26(c). It does not confer blanket

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protection on all disclosures or responses to discovery, the protection it affords from public

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disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to

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confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles, and it does not presumptively entitle

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parties to file confidential information under seal.

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
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2.

“CONFIDENTIAL” MATERIAL

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“Confidential” material shall include the following documents and tangible things produced or

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otherwise exchanged: Various price information and agreements designated by third parties as

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confidential or documents containing sensitive, financial or confidential information about third

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parties or parties.

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Tacoma Screw Products proprietary and confidential business information that is “Confidential”,

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includes, but is not limited to:

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Contracts;

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Price Quotes;

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Banking and Credit/Debit Information;

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Customer Names and related Customer Data/Information;

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Sales information; and

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Similar proprietary or confidential business data.

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3.

SCOPE

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The protections conferred by this agreement cover not only confidential material

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(as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from confidential material;

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(2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of confidential material; and (3) any

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testimony, conversations, or presentations by parties or their counsel that might reveal

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confidential material. However, the protections conferred by this agreement do not cover

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information that is in the public domain or becomes part of the public domain through trial or

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otherwise.

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4.

ACCESS TO AND USE OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL

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4.1

Basic Principles. A receiving party may use confidential material that is disclosed or

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produced by another party or by a non-party in connection with this case only for prosecuting,

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defending, or attempting to settle this litigation. Confidential material may be disclosed only to

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the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this agreement. Confidential

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
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material must be stored and maintained by a receiving party at a location and in a secure manner

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that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under this agreement.

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4.2

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court or permitted in writing by the designating party, a receiving party may disclose any

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confidential material only to:

Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the

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(a) the receiving party’s counsel of record in this action, as well as employees of
counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this litigation;

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(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including in house counsel) of the
receiving party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation, unless the parties

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agree that a particular document or material produced is for Attorney’s Eyes Only and is so

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designated;

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(c) experts and consultants to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this
litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);

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(d) the court, court personnel, and court reporters and their staff;

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(e) copy or imaging services retained by counsel to assist in the duplication of

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confidential material, provided that counsel for the party retaining the copy or imaging service

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instructs the service not to disclose any confidential material to third parties and to immediately

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return all originals and copies of any confidential material;

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(f) during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is

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reasonably necessary and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”

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(Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the designating party or ordered by the court. Pages of

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transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal confidential material must

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be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted

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under this agreement;

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(g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
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4.3

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referencing such material in court filings, the filing party shall confer with the designating party

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to determine whether the designating party will remove the confidential designation, whether the

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document can be redacted, or whether a motion to seal or stipulation and proposed order is

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warranted. Local Civil Rule 5(g) sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the

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standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under

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seal.

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Filing Confidential Material. Before filing confidential material or discussing or

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5.1

DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each party or non-

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party that designates information or items for protection under this agreement must take care to

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limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The

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designating party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or

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oral or written communications that qualify, so that other portions of the material, documents,

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items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably

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within the ambit of this agreement. Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are

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prohibited. Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an

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improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber or delay the case development process or to

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impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) expose the designating party to

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sanctions. If it comes to a designating party’s attention that information or items that it

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designated for protection do not qualify for protection, the designating party must promptly

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notify all other parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.

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5.2

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(see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered,

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disclosure or discovery material that qualifies for protection under this agreement must be clearly

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so designated before or when the material is disclosed or produced.

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Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this agreement

(a) Information in documentary form: (e.g., paper or electronic documents and

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
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deposition exhibits, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings),

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the designating party must affix the word “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains

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confidential material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for

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protection, the producing party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by

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making appropriate markings in the margins).

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(b) Testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings: the parties

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must identify on the record, during the deposition, hearing, or other proceeding, all protected

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testimony, without prejudice to their right to so designate other testimony after reviewing the

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transcript. Any party or non-party may, within fifteen days after receiving a deposition transcript,

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designate portions of the transcript, or exhibits thereto, as confidential.

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(c) Other tangible items: the producing party must affix in a prominent place on the

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exterior of the container or containers in which the information or item is stored the word

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“CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information or item warrant protection,

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the producing party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).

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5.3

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qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the designating party’s right to

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secure protection under this agreement for such material. Upon timely correction of a

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designation, the receiving party must make reasonable efforts to ensure that the material is

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treated in accordance with the provisions of this agreement.

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Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate

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CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

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6.1

Timing of Challenges. Any party or non-party may challenge a designation of

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confidentiality at any time. Unless a prompt challenge to a designating party’s confidentiality

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designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial unfairness, unnecessary economic

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burdens, or a significant disruption or delay of the litigation, a party does not waive its right to

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challenge a confidentiality designation by electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the

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original designation is disclosed.

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
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6.2

Meet and Confer. The parties must make every attempt to resolve any dispute regarding

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confidential designations without court involvement. Any motion regarding confidential

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designations or for a protective order must include a certification, in the motion or in a

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declaration or affidavit, that the movant has engaged in a good faith meet and confer conference

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with other affected parties in an effort to resolve the dispute without court action. The

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certification must list the date, manner, and participants to the conference. A good faith effort to

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confer requires a face-to-face meeting or a telephone conference.

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6.3

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the designating party may file and serve a motion to retain confidentiality under Local Civil Rule

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7 (and in compliance with Local Civil Rule 5(g), if applicable). The burden of persuasion in any

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such motion shall be on the designating party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an

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improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties)

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may expose the challenging party to sanctions. All parties shall continue to maintain the material

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in question as confidential until the court rules on the challenge.

Judicial Intervention. If the parties cannot resolve a challenge without court intervention,

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7.

PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN

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OTHER LITIGATION

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If a party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels

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disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that

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party must:

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(a) promptly notify the designating party in writing and include a copy of the subpoena
or court order;

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(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue in the

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other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this

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agreement. Such notification shall include a copy of this agreement; and

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(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the
designating party whose confidential material may be affected.

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
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8.

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

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confidential material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this agreement,

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the receiving party must immediately (a) notify in writing the designating party of the

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unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the

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protected material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were

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made of all the terms of this agreement, and (d) request that such person or persons execute the

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“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

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9.

INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

PROTECTED MATERIAL

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When a producing party gives notice to receiving parties that certain inadvertently produced

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material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the receiving

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parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not

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intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order or agreement

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that provides for production without prior privilege review. Parties shall confer on an appropriate

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non-waiver order under Fed. R. Evid. 502.

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10.

NON TERMINATION AND RETURN OF DOCUMENTS

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Within 60 days after the termination of this action, including all appeals, each receiving party

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must return all confidential material to the producing party, including all copies, extracts and

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summaries thereof. Alternatively, the parties may agree upon appropriate methods of destruction.

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Notwithstanding this provision, counsel are entitled to retain one archival copy of all documents

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filed with the court, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, correspondence, deposition and

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trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product,

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even if such materials contain confidential material. The confidentiality obligations imposed by

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this agreement shall remain in effect until a designating party agrees otherwise in writing or a

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court orders otherwise.

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
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IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
DATED:

March 27, 2017

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Chant Yedalian, Admitted Pro Hac Vice

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/s/ Chant Yedalian_________________

Attorneys for Plaintiff

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DATED:

March 27, 2017

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Stephanie Bloomfield, WSBA 24251

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/s/ Stephanie Bloomfield_____________

Attorneys for Defendant

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PURSUANT TO STIPULATION, IT IS SO ORDERED.

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DATED this 30th day of March, 2017.

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John C. Coughenour
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
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EXHIBIT A

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

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I, ____________________________ [print or type full name], of

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____________________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury

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that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by

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the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington on _____________[date]

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in the case of Albert Viesse v. Tacoma Screw Products, Inc. et al 2:16-cv-01026-JCC. I agree to

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comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I

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understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and

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punishment in the nature of contempt.

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I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject

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to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the

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provisions of this Order.

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I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Western

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District of Washington for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order,

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even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action.

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Date:

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City and State where sworn and signed:

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Printed name:

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Signature:

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
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