Carrie Pi v. Bank of America, N.A.
Carrie Pi v. Bank of America, N.A.
Trial Court Opinion
Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 1 of 20 Page ID #:125
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7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 SOUTHERN DIVISION 11 12 CARRIE PI, Case No. 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE
13 Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 14 v. ORDER
15 BANK OF AMERICA, N.A, and Complaint Filed: 02/24/2021 16 EXPERIAN INFORMATION SOLUTIONS, INC., 17
18 Defendants.
19 Based on the Stipulation by and between Plaintiff Carrie Pi (“Plaintiff”) and 20 Defendant Bank of America, N.A. (“Defendant”) (collectively, the “Parties”), in 21 22 order to facilitate the exchange of information and documents that may be subject to 23 confidentiality limitations on disclosure due to federal laws, state laws, and privacy 24 rights, and in order to secure the entry of a protective order limiting the review, 25 copying, dissemination and filing of confidential and/or proprietary documents and 26 information to be produced by the Parties and their respective counsel or by any 27 non-party in the course of discovery in this matter to the extent set forth below, and 28 for good cause shown, the Court finds and orders as follows: 1 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 2 of 20 Page ID #:126
1 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 2 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 3 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure 4 and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be warranted. 5 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the 6 following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does 7 not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that 8 the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited 9 information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable 10 legal principles. 11 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 12 This action is likely to involve Defendant’s confidential account records, which 13 include non-public information, proprietary business information, trade secrets, 14 competitively or commercially sensitive information, nonpublic personal information 15 within the meaning of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (
15 U.S.C. § 6801) or similar 16 applicable state or local consumer privacy protective laws and/or “consumer reports” 17 within the meaning of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. § 168la) (collectively, 18 the “Acts”), or other information, the disclosure of which would, in the good faith 19 judgment of the Producing Party (defined below) be detrimental to the conduct of that 20 Party’s business or the business of any of the Party’s customers or clients. Such 21 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, 22 confidential business or financial information, information regarding confidential 23 business practices or commercial information (including information implicating 24 privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the 25 public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state 26 or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to 27 expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over 28 confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties 2 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 3 of 20 Page ID #:127
1 are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable 2 necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address 3 their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective 4 order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that 5 information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing 6 be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a 7 confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of 8 the public record of this case. 9 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE 10 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this 11 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 12 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and 13 the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file 14 material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access 15 to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive 16 motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. 17 City and County of Honolulu,
447 F.3d 1172, 1176(9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. 18 Motors Corp.,
307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony 19 Electrics, Inc.,
187 F.R.D. 576, 577(E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective 20 orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or 21 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be 22 made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The 23 parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL 24 does not—without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing 25 that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or 26 otherwise protectable—constitute good cause. 27 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 28 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief 3 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 4 of 20 Page ID #:128
1 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See 2 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n.,
605 F.3d 665, 677-79(9th Cir. 2010). For each 3 item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under 4 seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by 5 specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent 6 evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by 7 declaration. 8 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 9 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 10 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only 11 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall 12 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety 13 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 14 4. DEFINITIONS 15 4.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit in the United States District Court 16 for the Central District of California titled Carrie Pi v. Bank of America, N.A., Case 17 No. 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE. 18 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation 19 of information or items under this Order. 20 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 21 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection 22 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good 23 Cause Statement. 24 4.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 25 support staff). 26 4.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 27 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 28 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 4 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 5 of 20 Page ID #:129
1 4.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of 2 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 3 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 4 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery. 5 4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 6 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 7 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 8 4.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 9 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 10 counsel. 11 4.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or 12 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 13 4.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party 14 to this Action but are retained to represent a party to this Action and have appeared in 15 this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that has appeared 16 on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 17 4.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 18 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 19 support staffs). 20 4.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 21 Discovery Material in this Action. 22 4.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 23 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 24 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 25 and their employees and subcontractors. 26 4.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 27 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 28 5 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 6 of 20 Page ID #:130
1 4.15 Receiving Party: a Party or Non-Party that receives Disclosure or 2 Discovery Material from a Producing Party. 3 5. SCOPE 4 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 5 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted 6 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of 7 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties 8 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 9 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 10 trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of 11 Protected Material at trial. 12 6. DURATION 13 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 14 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced 15 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all 16 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by 17 specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance 18 of the trial. See Kamakana,
447 F.3d at 1180-81(distinguishing “good cause” 19 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 20 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the 21 terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial. 22 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 23 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 24 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this 25 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies 26 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection 27 only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written communications that 28 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items or communications 6 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 7 of 20 Page ID #:131
1 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of 2 this Order. 3 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 4 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 5 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 6 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party 7 to sanctions. 8 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 9 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 10 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 11 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 12 this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material 13 that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the 14 material is disclosed or produced. 15 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 16 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 17 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 18 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 19 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 20 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for 21 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) 22 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 23 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 24 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 25 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before 26 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed 27 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants 28 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or 7 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 8 of 20 Page ID #:132
1 portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the 2 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” 3 to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a 4 page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the 5 protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 6 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party 7 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the 8 deposition all protected testimony. 9 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and 10 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on 11 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 12 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 13 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 14 portion(s). 15 A Receiving Party who seeks to file with the Court any Discovery Material that 16 has previously been designated as comprising or containing Confidential Information, 17 and any pleading, brief or memorandum which contains Confidential Information, 18 shall do so in one of the following three ways: 19 (i) the Receiving Party shall make a good faith effort to provide the 20 Producing Party with reasonable notice under the circumstances (where possible, the 21 notice shall be given at least seven days in advance, and in writing), of its intent to 22 file such material with the Court. The Producing Party must then provide a prompt 23 response and either consent to filing the information without filing it under seal, or 24 must file a motion to seal the Confidential Information. If the Producing Party files a 25 motion to seal the information, the Confidential Information shall not be filed until 26 the Court renders a decision on the motion to seal; or 27 (ii) Alternatively, the Receiving Party may itself file a Motion to seal 28 such Confidential Information. If the Receiving Party files a Motion to Seal the 8 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 9 of 20 Page ID #:133
1 Confidential Information, the Confidential Information shall not be filed until the 2 Court renders a decision on the motion to seal; or 3 (iii) The Receiving Party shall seek consent from the Producing Party to 4 declassify Discovery Material on the terms set forth in paragraph 8 above (in order to 5 permit its inclusion in any pleading, brief or memorandum). 6 All pleadings, briefs or memoranda which reproduces, paraphrases or discloses 7 any documents which have previously been designated by a Party as comprising or 8 containing Confidential Information, shall identify such documents by the production 9 number ascribed to them at the time of production. 10 In the event a motion to seal is denied, the Receiving Party shall take reasonable 11 steps to minimize the disclosure of Confidential Information. The Receiving Party 12 shall only disclose or file Confidential Information to the extent necessary and to the 13 extent Discovery Materials contain Confidential Information not necessary for the 14 purpose to which the Discovery Materials or brief have been filed, the Receiving Party 15 shall redact such Confidential Information before filing. 16 Nothing herein shall prevent the Parties from providing courtesy copies of 17 pleadings, briefs or memoranda to the Court. Such courtesy copies shall note in the 18 caption that they contain or disclose information that has been designated as 19 Confidential Information under this Stipulation and Order. 20 7.3 Highly Confidential Information. A Producing Party may also designate 21 Discovery Material as “Highly Confidential Information.” This designation shall 22 signify that (i) at the time of the designation the Discovery Material contains or 23 constitutes trade secrets or confidential business or financial information, (ii) there is 24 a substantial and imminent risk that absent such designation, its receipt by the 25 Receiving Party could cause competitive and/or economic harm to the Producing 26 Party, and (iii) such Discovery Material would not otherwise be adequately protected 27 under the procedures set forth herein for “Confidential Information.” The provisions 28 of this Stipulation and Order, including all usage, dissemination, and disclosure 9 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 10 of 20 Page ID #:134
1 limitations, shall be applicable to “Highly Confidential Information” in the same 2 manner as “Confidential Information,” except that notwithstanding any other 3 provision of this Stipulation and Order, no disclosure of Highly Confidential 4 Information may be made to any persons other than (1) a Party’s in-house and external 5 counsel and the paralegals and support personnel working for such counsel and (2) 6 the Court and Court personnel, if filed in accordance with paragraph 7.2 hereof. 7 Disclosure to in-house counsel shall be limited to in-house counsel providing legal 8 advice in connection with this Litigation, and Highly Confidential Information may 9 not be disclosed to any other officers, directors, employees, or agents of a Party, 10 including other in-house counsel. Nothing in this Paragraph shall preclude counsel 11 from giving advice to his or her client in this Litigation that includes a general 12 evaluation of Highly Confidential Information, provided that counsel shall not 13 disclose the contents of any Highly Confidential Information contrary to the terms of 14 this Stipulation and Order. 15 7.4 Depositions. All depositions and transcripts of any testimony given at a 16 deposition shall presumptively be treated as Confidential Information and subject to 17 this Stipulation and Order during the deposition and for a period of thirty (30) days 18 after a transcript of said deposition is received by counsel for each of the parties. At 19 or before the end of such thirty-day period, the deposition, or pages thereof, may be 20 designated as Confidential Information by any Party. If any deposition or pretrial 21 testimony is designated as Confidential Information, the Producing Party shall direct 22 the court reporter to affix an appropriate confidentiality legend to the deposition 23 transcript’s first page and all portions of the transcript containing Confidential 24 Information. Any Party may challenge the designation by following the procedure 25 set forth in Paragraph 8. 26 7.5 Discovery. A Party may designate as Confidential Information subject 27 to this Stipulation and Order any Discovery Material produced or given by any non- 28 party to this Litigation, or any portion thereof that qualifies as Confidential pursuant 10 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 11 of 20 Page ID #:135
1 to paragraph 4.3. In the case of such Discovery Material, the designation shall be 2 made by stamping the documents CONFIDENTIAL in the lower left portion of each 3 page of the designated document, or where documents are provided in native format, 4 by designating them as CONFIDENTIAL in a field or on the face of the media on 5 which the data is delivered. In the case of testimony, designation shall be made by 6 notifying all counsel in writing of those portions which are to be stamped or otherwise 7 treated as Confidential Information at any time up to thirty (30) days after the 8 transcript is received by the counsel designating the testimony as Confidential 9 Information. Prior to the expiration of such thirty (30) day period (or until a 10 designation is made by counsel, if such a designation is made in a shorter period of 11 time), all such documents shall be treated as Confidential Information. Any Party 12 may challenge the designation by following the procedure set forth in Paragraph 8. 13 7.6 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 14 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the 15 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 16 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 17 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 18 Order. 19 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 20 8.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 21 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 22 Scheduling Order. 23 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 24 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq. 25 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a 26 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2. 27 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 28 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose 11 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 12 of 20 Page ID #:136
1 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may 2 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived 3 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the 4 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing 5 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 6 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 7 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 8 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 9 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such 10 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 11 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving 12 Party must comply with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 13 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 14 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 15 authorized under this Order. 16 Any person receiving Confidential Information shall not reveal or discuss such 17 information to or with any person except as expressly permitted by the terms of this 18 Stipulation and Order. 19 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 20 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 21 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 22 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 23 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 24 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 25 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 26 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 27 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 28 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 12 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 13 of 20 Page ID #:137
1 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 2 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 3 (d) the court and its personnel; 4 (e) court reporters and their staff; 5 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 6 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 7 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 8 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 9 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 10 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in 11 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing 12 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they 13 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 14 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 15 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 16 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be 17 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as 18 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 19 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel, 20 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 21 (j) any other person agreed to by the Parties. 22 9.3 Use in Court. In the event that a Party seeks to use Confidential 23 Information during any hearing or trial before the Court, including through argument 24 or the presentation of evidence, such information shall not lose its status as 25 Confidential Information through such use. Counsel shall confer on such procedures 26 that are necessary to protect the confidentiality of any documents, information, and 27 transcripts used in the course of any court proceedings. The Receiving Party may use 28 such Confidential Information only after taking such steps as agreed to by the Parties 13 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 14 of 20 Page ID #:138
1 or as the Court, upon motion of the Producing Party, shall deem necessary to preserve 2 the confidentiality of such Confidential Information. 3 This Stipulation and Order shall not preclude counsel for the Parties from using 4 Confidential Information during any deposition in this Litigation, provided that any 5 court reporter and deposition witness who is given access to Confidential Information 6 shall, prior thereto, be provided with a copy of this Stipulation and Order and shall 7 execute the Confidentiality Undertaking annexed hereto. Counsel for the Party 8 obtaining the Confidentiality Undertaking shall supply a copy to counsel for all the 9 other parties. 10 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 11 IN OTHER LITIGATION 12 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 13 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 14 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 15 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 16 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 17 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 18 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena 19 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of 20 this Stipulated Protective Order; and 21 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 22 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the 23 Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena 24 or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as 25 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or 26 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 27 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court 28 14 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 15 of 20 Page ID #:139
1 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as 2 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful 3 directive from another court. 4 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 5 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 6 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 7 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information 8 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 9 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 10 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 11 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 12 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 13 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 14 confidential information, then the Party shall: 15 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non- 16 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 17 agreement with a Non-Party; 18 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 19 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 20 specific description of the information requested; and 21 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 22 Non-Party, if requested. 23 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 24 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 25 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery 26 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall 27 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 28 15 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 16 of 20 Page ID #:140
1 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 2 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense 3 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 4 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 5 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 6 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 7 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 8 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 9 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 10 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 11 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment an 12 Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A. 13 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 14 PROTECTED MATERIAL 15 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 16 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 17 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 18 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure 19 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior 20 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the 21 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or 22 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the 23 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted 24 to the court. 25 If a Receiving Party receives Discovery Material that, on its face, appears to be 26 a Privileged Document, and does not know to have been intentionally produced or 27 made available, the Receiving Party must refrain from examining the materials any 28 more than is essential to ascertain if the materials are privileged. The Receiving Party 16 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 17 of 20 Page ID #:141
1 shall immediately notify the Producing Party in writing that the Receiving Party 2 possesses material that appears to be privileged or otherwise protected from 3 disclosure. In the event alleged Privileged Documents were unintentionally disclosed, 4 the Producing Party may provide notice to the other parties advising of the disclosure 5 and requesting return or destruction of the Privileged Documents pursuant to this 6 paragraph. The party returning the Identified Materials may move the Court for an 7 order compelling production of some or all of the material returned or destroyed, but 8 the basis for such a motion may not be the fact or circumstances of the production. 9 This stipulated agreement set forth in this paragraph does not constitute a concession 10 by any party that any documents are subject to protection by the attorney-client 11 privilege, the work product doctrine or any other potentially applicable privilege or 12 doctrine. This agreement also is not intended to waive or limit in any way either 13 party’s right to contest any privilege claims that may be asserted with respect to any 14 of the documents produced except to the extent stated in the agreement. 15 14. MISCELLANEOUS 16 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 17 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 18 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 19 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 20 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 21 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 22 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 23 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 24 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 25 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific 26 Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied 27 by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record 28 unless otherwise instructed by the court. 17 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 18 of 20 Page ID #:142
1 14.4 Breach. The Parties agree that they would not have an adequate remedy 2 at law in the event that a court of competent jurisdiction determines that there is an 3 actual or threatened breach of this Stipulation and Order by either Party and agrees 4 that under such circumstances the Parties may be entitled to specific performance, 5 and/or injunctive relief, in addition to any remedy to which they may be entitled at 6 law or in equity. The Court is not bound by the foregoing agreement. 7 14.5 Use of Own Confidential Information. This Stipulation and Order has 8 no effect upon, and shall not apply to, the Parties’ use of their own Confidential 9 Information for any purpose. Nothing herein shall impose any restrictions on the use 10 or disclosure by a Party of documents, materials or information designated as 11 Confidential Information that has been obtained lawfully by such Party independently 12 of the proceedings in this Litigation. 13 14.6 New Parties. In the event that additional parties join or are joined in this 14 Litigation, they shall not have access to Confidential Information until the newly 15 joined party, by its counsel, has executed and filed with the Court its agreement to be 16 fully bound by this Stipulation and order. 17 14.7 No Waiver or Admission. Nothing herein shall be deemed to waive any 18 privilege recognized by law, or shall be deemed an admission as to the admissibility 19 in evidence of any facts or documents revealed in the course of disclosure. 20 14.8 Delivery of Confidential Information. When any receiving party ships 21 any Discovery Material marked Confidential to others designated in this Order as 22 authorized to receive Discovery Material, the Receiving Party will encrypt any 23 electronic data (if the Discovery Material is in that format) and supply the password 24 in separate correspondence to the recipient. If the Discovery Material is in hard 25 copy/paper form, the Receiving Party will ship the Discovery Material using secure 26 packaging tape via Federal Express or UPS and retain a tracking number for the 27 materials. If the Receiving party learns at any time that Discovery Material may have 28 been retrieved or viewed by unauthorized parties during shipment, it will immediately 18 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case □□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□ Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page of20 Page ID#:143
1 || notify the Producing Party and take all reasonable measures to retrieve the improperly 2 || disclosed Discovery Material. 3}/15. FINAL DISPOSITION 4 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6, within 60 5 || days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must retu 6 || all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this 7 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 8||/summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protecte 9 || Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Part 10 |) must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same perso 11 |/or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies (by 12 || category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroye 13 |)and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, 14 || compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 15 || Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain a 16 |/archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing 17 || transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expe 18 || reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if suc 19|)materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain o 20 || constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in 21 || Section 6 (DURATION). 221116. VIOLATION 23 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures 24 || including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 25 IT IS SO ORDERED. □□□ DATED: January 13, 2022 hi. a6 27 D. EARLY 3g United States Magistrate Judge 19 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
Case 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE Document 28 Filed 01/13/22 Page 20 of 20 Page ID #:144
1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 4 I, ______________________ [print or type full name], of 5 _______________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of 6 perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order 7 that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of 8 California on January 13, 2022, in the case of Carrie Pi v. Bank of America, N.A., 9 Case No. 8:21-cv-00363-CJC-JDE. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the 10 terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that 11 failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of 12 contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information 13 or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except 14 in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 16 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 17 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 18 termination of this action. I hereby appoint ___________________________ [print 19 or type full name] of _________________ [print or type full address and telephone 20 number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action 21 or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. 22 23 Date: ______________________________________ 24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 25 Printed name: _______________________________ 26 Signature: __________________________________ 27
28 20 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
Reference
- Status
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