Viesse v. Tacoma Screw Products, Inc. et al

Filing 28

STIPULATION AND ORDER granting 25 Stipulated Motion to Seal. Exhibits 4 and 5, filed under seal as Docket Numbers 26 and 27 , shall remain under seal. 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 others similarly situated,

CASE NO. C16-1026-JCC
STIPULATION AND ORDER

Plaintiff,

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v.

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TACOMA SCREW PRODUCTS,
INC., et al.,

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Defendants.

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This matter comes before the Court on the parties’ stipulation to seal exhibits 4 and 5
(Dkt. No. 25).

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STIPULATION
Plaintiff Albert Viesse, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, and

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Defendant Tacoma Screw Products, Inc., by and through their respective counsel, agree to this

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stipulated motion and respectfully request that the Court seal Exhibits 4 and 5 filed under seal

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concurrently with this Motion.

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This Motion is based upon the following:

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The Court’s Protective Order

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On March 30, 2017, this Court approved of and entered a Stipulated Protective Order.

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(Dkt. No. 24.) The Stipulated Protective Order provided, among other things, that

STIPULATION AND ORDER
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“‘Confidential’ material shall include … documents containing sensitive, financial or

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confidential information about third parties or parties” and that “Tacoma Screw Products

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proprietary and confidential business information that is ‘Confidential’, includes, but is not

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limited to … Sales information; and Similar proprietary or confidential business data.” (Dkt. No.

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24 at p. 2:1-13.)

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Documents Produced Subject To Protective Order And Marked Confidential

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As part of the discovery process in this case Defendant produced documents Bates

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numbered TSP000812-TSP001551 that were marked by Defendant as “CONFIDENTIAL

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SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER.” These documents consist entirely of merchant

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statements provided to Defendant from Defendant’s payment card processor (Element Payment

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Services which later became Vantiv) that contain information about Defendant’s monthly credit

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and debit card sales and transactions.

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Defendant believes that these documents are “CONFIDENTIAL SUBJECT TO

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PROTECTIVE ORDER” and marked them as such primarily because they contain various dollar

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($) denominated sales and other dollar ($) denominated figures throughout the documents.

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Use Of The Documents For Class Certification Purposes

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Plaintiff’s motion for class certification is due for filing by May 30, 2017. (Dkt. No. 21.)

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Concurrently with this Motion, Plaintiff is filing under seal Exhibit 4 (Bates numbered

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TSP001179-TSP001222) which consists of merchant statements for Defendant’s Kirkland store

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location.

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Also concurrently with this Motion, Plaintiff is filing under seal Exhibit 5 (Bates

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numbered TSP000812-TSP001178 and TSP001223-TSP001551) which consists of merchant

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statements for Defendant’s other store locations.

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Plaintiff intends to rely on the documents Bates numbered TSP000812-TSP001551 in

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support of his motion for class certification. Plaintiff will also file an expert declaration in

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support of his motion for class certification that references and opines on certain information

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contained in the documents. For example, but without limitation, Plaintiff intends to use the

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documents to show things such as samples of the number of consumer credit and/or debit cards

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used during the class period to support issues such as the numerosity factor of FRCP Rule 23.

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For example, but without limitation, there will be statements in the brief and/or expert

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declaration that for the merchant statement dated 05/31/2015, there were 125 transactions using

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Visa Type 1Y51 at the Kirkland store. Defendant is not concerned about such types of

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references. Nor is Defendant concerned about references to “Charge Type” ranges such as

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“1100-1199,” “1200-1299,” “1300-1399,” “1500-1599,” “1800-1899,” “1Dxx,” “1Exx,” “1Txx,”

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“1Yxx,” as codes/categories and ranges for credit or debit cards. Instead, Defendant is

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concerned about the various dollar ($) denominated sales and other dollar ($) denominated

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figures that appear throughout the documents. However, Plaintiff does not currently intend to

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make reference to dollar ($) denominated sales and other dollar ($) denominated figures in either

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Plaintiff’s opening brief in support of his motion for class certification or in the initial expert

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declaration to be filed concurrently with his opening brief.

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Certification: The Parties Have Conferred About The Issues Resulting In This
Stipulated Motion
Counsel for the parties certify that during May 15 and 16, 2017, counsel for the parties

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exchanged emails concerning the issues addressed by this Motion and thereafter, on May 17,

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2017 the following counsel conferred telephonically to further address the issues, attempt to

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reach agreement on the need to file the documents under seal, to minimize the amount of

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material filed under seal, and to explore redaction and other alternatives to filing under seal:

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James A. Sturdevant and Chant Yedalian on behalf of Plaintiff, and Bradley B. Jones and

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Stephanie Bloomfield on behalf of Defendant.

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As discussed above, Plaintiff does not currently intend to make reference to dollar ($)

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denominated sales and other dollar ($) denominated figures in either Plaintiff’s opening brief in

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support of his motion for class certification or in the initial expert declaration to be filed

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concurrently with his opening brief. Thus, for purposes of at least the opening brief and initial

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expert declaration in support of the motion for class certification in this case, dollar ($)

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denominated sales and other dollar ($) denominated figures will not be referenced and thus the

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public does not have a legitimate private interest to the disclosure to such information. In

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contrast, and as previously reflected in the Stipulated Protective Order, Defendant believes that it

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has a private interest to maintain dollar ($) denominated sales and other dollar ($) denominated

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figures confidential, at least in an instance such as this where Plaintiff will not use such

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information in either Plaintiff’s opening brief in support of his motion for class certification or in

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the initial expert declaration to be filed concurrently with his opening brief.

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Further, Defendant believes that its private interests to maintain dollar ($) denominated

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sales and other dollar ($) denominated figures confidential will be compromised if the

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documents are not sealed.

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The parties have conferred regarding potentially less restrictive alternatives but believe

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that in light of the number of pages involved and the fact that the various dollar ($) denominated

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sales and other dollar ($) denominated figures sought to be kept under seal appear throughout the

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documents, alternatives such as redaction would not be reasonably practicable.

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Dated this 19th day of May, 2017.

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Respectfully submitted,

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By: /s James A. Sturdevant
JAMES A. STURDEVANT
[e-mail]
119 North Commercial Street, #920
Bellingham, WA 98225
Phone: [phone]

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By: /s Chant Yedalian
Chant Yedalian (Pro Hac Vice)
[e-mail]

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STIPULATION AND ORDER
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CHANT & COMPANY
A Professional Law Corporation
1010 N. Central Ave.
Glendale, CA 91202
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

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Counsel for Plaintiff

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By: /s Bradley B. Jones
By: /s Stephanie Bloomfield
Bradley B. Jones, WSBA #17197
[e-mail]
Stephanie Bloomfield, WSBA #24251
[e-mail]
GORDON THOMAS HONEYWELL LLP
1201 Pacific Avenue, Suite 2100
Tacoma, WA 98402
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

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Counsel for Defendant

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ORDER

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For the foregoing reasons, the parties’ stipulated motion to seal exhibits 4 and 5 (Dkt. No.

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25) is GRANTED. Exhibits 4 and 5, filed under seal as Docket Numbers 26 and 27, shall

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REMAIN UNDER SEAL.

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DATED this 23rd day of May, 2017.

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A

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John C. Coughenour
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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STIPULATION AND ORDER
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