Daniel Moizel v. Ironshore Specialty Insurance Company

United States District Court for the Central District of California

Daniel Moizel v. Ironshore Specialty Insurance Company

Trial Court Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATE DISTRICT COURT

9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

10 DANIEL MOIZEL, Case No. 2:19-cv-8527-DSF-JEM 11 Plaintiff, PROTECTIVE ORDER 12 GOVERNING CONFIDENTIAL v. INFORMATION 13 IRONSHORE SPECIALTY [Discovery Document: Referred to 14 INSURANCE COMPANY, an Arizona Magistrate Judge John E. McDermott] corporation; and DOES 1 through 10, 15 Defendants. 16

17 18 IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 19 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 20 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 21 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure 22 and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be warranted. 23 Accordingly, the Parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the 24 following Stipulated Protective Order. The Parties acknowledge that this Order does 25 not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that 26 the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited 27 information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable 28 legal principles. 1 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 2 This action is likely to involve trade secrets and other valuable research, 3 development, commercial, financial, technical, and/or proprietary information for 4 which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other 5 than litigation of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials 6 and information consist of, among other things, (i) insurance underwriting documents, 7 procedures, and policies, (ii) insurance claims handling documents, procedures, and 8 policies, and (iii) other confidential business or financial information, information 9 regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential research, 10 development, or commercial information (including information implicating privacy 11 rights of third parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or 12 which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal 13 statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Public disclosure of such 14 information, documents, and materials would result in prejudice or harm to Ironshore 15 Specialty Insurance Company by providing its competitors with an unfair business 16 advantage. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 17 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 18 protect information the Parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 19 Parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for 20 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and 21 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this 22 matter. It is the intent of the Parties that information will not be designated as 23 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith 24 belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is 25 good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 26 27 28 1 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING 2 PROCEDURE 3 The Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this 4 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 5 under seal. Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and 6 the standards that will be applied when a Party seeks permission from the Court to 7 file material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of 8 access to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non- 9 dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See 10 Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu,

447 F.3d 1172, 1176

(9th Cir. 2006); 11 Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp.,

307 F.3d 1206

, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002) (even 12 stipulated protective orders require good cause showing and a specific showing of 13 good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal 14 justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a Party seeks to file 15 under seal). The Parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as 16 CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the submission of competent evidence by 17 declaration establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as 18 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause. 19 Further, if a Party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 20 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief 21 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See 22 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n,

605 F.3d 665, 677-79

(9th Cir. 2010). For each item 23 or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal, 24 the Party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific 25 facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent 26 evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by 27 declaration. 28 1 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 2 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 3 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only 4 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall 5 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety 6 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 7 4. DEFINITIONS 8 4.1 Action: Moizel v. Ironshore Specialty Ins. Co., No. 2:19-cv-8527, U.S. 9 District Court for the Central District of California. 10 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 11 designation of information or items under this Order. 12 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 13 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection 14 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good 15 Cause Statement. 16 4.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 17 support staff). 18 4.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 19 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 20 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 21 4.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of 22 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 23 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 24 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery. 25 4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 26 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 27 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 28 1 4.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a Party to this Action. 2 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 3 counsel. 4 4.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 5 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 6 4.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a Party 7 but are retained to represent a Party and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that 8 Party or are affiliated with a law firm that has appeared on behalf of that Party, and 9 includes support staff. 10 4.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 11 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 12 support staff). 13 4.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 14 Discovery Material in this Action. 15 4.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 16 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 17 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 18 and their employees and subcontractors. 19 4.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 20 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 21 4.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 22 Material from a Producing Party. 23 5. SCOPE 24 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 25 Protected Material, but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected 26 Material, (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material, 27 and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that 28 might reveal Protected Material. 1 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 2 trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of 3 Protected Material at trial. 4 6. DURATION 5 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 6 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced 7 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all 8 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by 9 specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance 10 of the trial. See Kamakana,

447 F.3d at 1180-81

(distinguishing “good cause” 11 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 12 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Any such 13 information that becomes public will no longer be subject to the terms of this 14 Protective Order. 15 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 16 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 17 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this 18 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies 19 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection 20 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that 21 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications 22 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of 23 this Order. 24 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 25 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 26 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 27 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other Parties) may expose the Designating Party 28 to sanctions. 1 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 2 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 3 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 4 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 5 this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material 6 that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the 7 material is disclosed or produced. 8 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 9 (a) For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 10 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or 11 trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the 12 legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to 13 each page that contains protected material. If only a portion of the 14 material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must 15 clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate 16 markings in the margins). A Party or Non-Party that makes original 17 documents available for inspection need not designate them for 18 protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which documents 19 it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the 20 designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 21 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified 22 the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must 23 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection 24 under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the 25 Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend to each page 26 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a 27 page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly 28 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings 1 in the margins). 2 (b) For testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies 3 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of 4 the deposition all protected testimony. 5 (c) For information produced in some form other than documentary and for 6 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent 7 place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the 8 information is stored the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend. If only a portion 9 or portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, 10 to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s). 11 7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 12 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the 13 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 14 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 15 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 16 Order. 17 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 18 8.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 19 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 20 Scheduling Order. 21 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 22 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1, et seq. 23 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a 24 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2. 25 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 26 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose 27 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other Parties) may 28 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived 1 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all Parties shall continue to afford the 2 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing 3 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 4 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 5 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 6 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 7 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such 8 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 9 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving 10 Party must comply with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 11 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 12 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 13 authorized under this Order. 14 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 15 otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 16 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 17 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 18 (a) The Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well 19 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 20 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 21 (b) The officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the 22 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this 23 Action; 24 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 25 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed 26 the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 27 (d) The Court and its personnel; 28 (e) Court reporters and their staff; 1 (f) Professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 2 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and 3 who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 4 (Exhibit A); 5 (g) The author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 6 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the 7 information; 8 (h) During their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the 9 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the 10 deposing Party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 11 A hereto; and (2) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential 12 information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to 13 Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating 14 Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony 15 or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be 16 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to 17 anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; 18 (i) Any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel, 19 mutually agreed upon by any of the Parties engaged in settlement 20 discussions; and 21 (j) auditors, regulators, and other such entities as is reasonably necessary in 22 the ordinary course of business and who have signed the 23 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 24 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED 25 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 26 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 27 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 28 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 1 (a) Promptly notify in writing the Designating Party, and such notification 2 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 3 (b) Promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 4 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by 5 the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order, and such 6 notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 7 (c) Cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued 8 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If 9 the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served 10 with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information 11 designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination 12 by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party 13 has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party 14 shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of 15 its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be 16 construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action 17 to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 18 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO 19 BE PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 20 The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party 21 in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by 22 Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief 23 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting 24 a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 25 In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce a 26 Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an 27 agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential 28 information, then the Party shall: 1 (a) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that 2 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 3 agreement with a Non-Party; 4 (b) Promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective 5 Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 6 specific description of the information requested; and 7 (c) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non- 8 Party, if requested. 9 If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within 14 days 10 of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may 11 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. 12 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce 13 any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality 14 agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court. Absent a court 15 order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 16 protection in this court of its Protected Material. 17 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED 18 MATERIAL 19 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 20 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 21 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 22 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 23 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 24 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 25 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment an 26 Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A. 27 28 1 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR 2 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL 3 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 4 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 5 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 6 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure 7 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior 8 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the 9 Parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or 10 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the 11 Parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted 12 to the Court. 13 14. MISCELLANEOUS 14 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 15 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 16 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 17 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 18 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 19 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 20 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 21 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 22 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 23 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific 24 Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied 25 by the Court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record 26 unless otherwise instructed by the Court. 27 15. FINAL DISPOSITION 28 After the final disposition of this Action and exhaustion of any related appeals, within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party 2|| 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, 4|| compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 5|| Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the 6|| Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not 7|| the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) 8|| identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned 9|| 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 are 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 15|| materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or 16|| constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order. 17 16. VIOLATION 18 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 20 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 22 33 DATED: May 22, 2020

25 nited States Magistrate Judge 26 27 28

1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of 4 _____________________________________________ [print or type full address], 5 declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the 6 Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the 7 Central District of California on [date] in the case of Moizel v. Ironshore Specialty 8 Ins. Co., No. 2:19-cv-8527-DSF-JEM. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all 9 the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that 10 failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of 11 contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information 12 or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except 13 in strict compliance with the provisions of the Order. 14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 15 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 16 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 17 termination of this action. 18 I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of 19 ________________________________________________________ [print or type 20 full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in 21 connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this 22 Stipulated Protective Order. 23 Date: 24 City and State where sworn and signed: 25 Printed name: 26 Signature: 27

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