Sorensen v. CPC Special Logistics West, LLC et al

Filing 17

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER re 15 Stipulated MOTION for Protective Order by Hon. Brian A Tsuchida. (KMP)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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MATTHEW SORENSEN, an individual,
Plaintiff,

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Case No. 2:18-cv-00446-BAT
STIPULATED MOTION AND
PROTECTIVE ORDER

v.
CPC SPECIAL LOGISTICS WEST, LLC, a
Washington corporation, and LARRY
KELLER, an individual,
Defendants.

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I.

PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

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

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private information for which special protection may be warranted. Accordingly, Matthew

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Sorensen (“plaintiff”), CPC Special Logistics West, LLC, and Larry Keller (collectively, “CPC”)

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

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parties 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 confidential

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

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file confidential information under seal.

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PROTECTIVE ORDER - 1
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II.

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“CONFIDENTIAL” MATERIAL

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

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

Medical information;

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

Plaintiff’s financial information, including tax returns;

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

Sensitive employee information;

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

Confidential and/or proprietary employee and employer communications,

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including, but not limited to, business plans or strategies, employee handbooks,

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and training information.

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The parties recognize that the course of discovery may reveal additional categories of

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documents that should be identified as “Confidential” material. In such an event, the parties shall

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make reasonable and good faith efforts to agree to supplement the categories identified in this

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section by filing with the Court an appropriately tailored stipulation. In the event the parties are

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unable to reach agreement, nothing herein shall preclude a party from filing a motion for

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protective order pursuant to applicable rules.

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“Attorneys’ Eyes Only” material shall include the personally identifiable information of

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CPC employees other than the named plaintiff. In addition, the parties may agree to designate

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any other “Confidential” material as Attorney’s Eyes Only.
III.

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SCOPE

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The protections conferred by this agreement cover not only Confidential material (as

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defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from confidential material; (2)

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

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conversations, or presentations by parties or their counsel that might reveal confidential material,

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including deposition testimony. However, the protections conferred by this agreement do not

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

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or otherwise.

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IV.

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1.

ACCESS TO AND USE OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL

Basic Principles.

A receiving party may use Confidential material that is

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

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

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disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this agreement.

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Confidential material must be stored and maintained by a receiving party at a location and in a

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

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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 Confidential material only to:
(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;
(b)

the officers, directors, and employees (including in house counsel) of the

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receiving party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation, unless a document

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is designated as Attorney’s Eyes Only;

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(c)

experts and consultants (including, but not limited to, mock jurors, focus group

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members, independent auditors, accountants, statisticians, and economists) to whom disclosure

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is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and

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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 reasonably

necessary, and their counsel, and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be

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Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the designating party or ordered by the Court.

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Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal confidential

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material must be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone

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except as permitted under this agreement;
(g)

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the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or

other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; and

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(h)

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discussion.
3.

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any mediator or other person jointly enlisted by the parties to negotiate settlement

Filing Confidential Material. Before filing Confidential material or discussing

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

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

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

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order is 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.
V.

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1.

DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each

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party or non-party that designates information or items for protection under this agreement must

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take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate

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standards. The designating party must designate for protection only those parts of material,

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

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material, documents, items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not

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swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this agreement.

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Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are

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shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to

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unnecessarily encumber or delay the case development process or to impose unnecessary

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expenses and burdens on other parties) expose the designating party to sanctions.

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

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for protection do not qualify for protection, the designating party must promptly notify all other

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parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.

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2.

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

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

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ordered, disclosure of discovery material that qualifies for protection under this agreement must

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

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(a)

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

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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 making

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appropriate markings in the margins). If a CD or other disk, or an electronic file or database,

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contains documents designated as “CONFIDENTIAL,” the producing party at the time of

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production shall affix the word “CONFIDENTIAL” to the label of such CD or other disk, or the

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name of the electronic file.

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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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3.

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

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

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right to 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 treated

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in accordance with the provisions of this agreement, including by endeavoring to retrieve

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documents distributed to persons not identified in paragraph 4.2, and, upon receipt of the

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substitute documents, promptly returning or destroying the improperly-designated document(s)

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and/or the electronic media on which such document(s) reside.
VI.

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1.

CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

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.

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2.

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

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regarding Confidential designations without court involvement.

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

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

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

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

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

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3.

Any motion regarding

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

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intervention, the designating party may file and serve a motion to retain confidentiality under

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

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persuasion in any such motion shall be on the designating party. Frivolous challenges, and those

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PROTECTIVE ORDER - 6
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made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on

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other parties) may expose the challenging party to sanctions. All parties shall continue to

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maintain the material in question as Confidential until the court rules on the challenge.

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VII.

PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN
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 party

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must:

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(a)

promptly notify the designating party in writing and 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

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

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this 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.

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VIII. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

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If a receiving party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Confidential

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

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

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

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(c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of

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this agreement, and (d) request that such person or persons execute the “Acknowledgment and

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

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IX.

INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
PROTECTED MATERIAL

Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d), the production of privileged or work-

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PROTECTIVE ORDER - 7
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product protected documents, electronically stored information (“ESI”) or information, whether

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inadvertent or otherwise, is not a waiver of the privilege or protection from discovery in this case

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or in any other federal or state proceeding. This Order shall be interpreted to provide the

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maximum protection allowed by Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d).

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Nothing in this order is intended to or shall serve to limit a party’s right to conduct a

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review of documents, ESI, or information (including metadata) for relevance, responsiveness,

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and/or segregation of privileged and/or protected information before production.
X.

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THIRD PARTY DISCOVERY

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To the extent that material is sought and obtained from a third party, such third-party shall

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have the right to designate any such material as “CONFIDENTIAL” as provided herein, and the

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use of such material by the parties shall be governed in all respects by the terms of this Stipulated

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Protective Order.

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Because third-parties may possess plaintiff’s or CPC’s Confidential and/or privileged

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documents, the parties agree that it may be necessary to review documents requested from third-

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parties before such documents are produced. Accordingly, the parties agree that within 5 days

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after a party receives notice that a discovery request has been served on a third party, a party

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wishing to review the requested documents prior to production will contact opposing counsel as

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well as the third-party on which the request was served and inform them of the party’s desire to

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review the requested documents before production. The parties agree that if one of the parties

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wishes to review documents being produced by a third party, counsel for plaintiff and CPC will

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meet and confer and agree upon a reasonable amount of time in which to conduct the review.

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The parties further agree that requests to review documents possessed by third-parties will only

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be made if the requesting party has a reasonable belief that the documents sought could contain

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Confidential and/or privileged material.

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XI.

RELIEF FROM PROTECTIVE ORDER

Any party may apply to the Court for a modification of the Protective Order, and nothing

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in this Protective Order shall be construed to prevent a party from seeking such further provisions

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enhancing or limiting confidentiality as may be appropriate.
XII.

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NON-TERMINATION AND RETURN OF DOCUMENTS

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

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

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

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destruction. When counsel for a party returns or destroys documents, that counsel shall certify

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in writing that to the best of his or her knowledge, all such documents have been returned or

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destroyed.

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

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

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

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work product, even if such materials contain confidential material. Nothing in this paragraph

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shall require the destruction of electronic copies created pursuant to standard archival and back-

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up procedures.

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The confidentiality obligations imposed by this agreement shall remain in effect

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(including after the conclusion of this action and any appeals) until a designating party agrees

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otherwise in writing or a court orders otherwise.

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STIPULATED this 5th day of September, 2018.

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ROCKE LAW GROUP, PLLC

DLA PIPER LLP (US)

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s/ Peter Montine
Aaron V. Rocke, WSBA #31525
Peter Montine, WSBA #49815
101 Yesler Way, Suite 603
Seattle, WA 98104
Tel: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
E-mail: [e-mail]

s/ Eric Franz
Anthony Todaro, WSBA No. 30391
Eric Franz, WSBA No. 52755
701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 6900
Seattle, WA 98104-7044
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
E-mail: [e-mail]

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Attorneys for Plaintiff

Attorneys for Defendants CPC Special
Logistics West, LLC and Larry Keller
STIPULATED MOTION AND
PROTECTIVE ORDER - 9
Case No. 2:18-cv-00446

ORDER

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IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated this 6th day of September, 2018.

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A

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BRIAN A. TSUCHIDA
Chief United States Magistrate Judge

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Presented By:
ROCKE LAW GROUP, PLLC
s/ Peter Montine
Aaron V. Rocke, WSBA #31525
Peter Montine, WSBA #49815
101 Yesler Way, Suite 603
Seattle, WA 98104
Tel: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Attorneys for Plaintiff
AND
DLA PIPER LLP (US)
s/ Eric Franz
Anthony Todaro, WSBA No. 30391
Eric Franz, WSBA No. 52755
DLA PIPER LLP (US)
701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 6900
Seattle, WA 98104-7044
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Attorneys for Defendants
CPC Special Logistics West, LLC and
Larry Keller

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PROTECTIVE ORDER - 10
Case No. 2:18-cv-00446

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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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_________________________________________________________________________

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[print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and

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understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for

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the Western District of Washington in the case of Sorensen v. CPC Special Logistics West, LLC,

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et al.., 18-cv-00446. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated

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Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me

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to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose

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in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any

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person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.

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

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Western District of Washington for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated

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

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Date: _____________________
City and State where sworn and signed: _____________________
Printed Name: _____________________
Signature: _____________________

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