Cao Group, Inc. v. The Procter & Gamble Company
Cao Group, Inc. v. The Procter & Gamble Company
Trial Court Opinion
Case 5:2 2-cv-00142-JWH-PVC Document 50 Filed 08/10/22 Page 1 of 20 Page ID #:458
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8 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 EASTERN DIVISION – RIVERSIDE
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11 CAO GROUP, INC., Case No.: 5:22-cv-00142-JWH-PVC
12 Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
13 v. ORDER
14 THE PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY, and THE PROCTER &
15 GAMBLE DISTRIBUTING L LC,
16 Defendant.
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 5t22-cv-00142-JWH-PVC Document 50 Filed 08/10/22 Page 2of20 Page ID #:459
; | 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 3 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 3 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public 4 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 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 Stipulated 4 Protective Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses g to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use 9 extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential 10 treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties also acknowledge, as set 11 forth in Section 13.3 below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle 2 them to file confidential information under seal; rather, Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets 3 forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied 14 when a party seeks permission from the Court to file material under seal. 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 15 This action is likely to involve proprietary chemical formulas, trade secrets, 16 customer and pricing lists, sales information, customer surveys, and other valuable M7 research, development, commercial, financial, technical, and/or proprietary 18 information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for 19 any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential 20 and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, 71 confidential business or financial information, information regarding confidential 22 business practices, or other confidential research, development, or commercial 23 information (including information implicating privacy rights of third parties), 24 information generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or 25 otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case 26 decisions, or common law. The parties stipulate that disclosure of this information 27 would cause competitive harm to the parties. For example, the parties believe that 28 □□ SROTECTIVEORDER
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1 | competitors will gain an unfair advantage if they learn the parties’ Protected 2 | Material, such as financial information, accounting information, customer lists, 3 | vendor lists, costs or profit structure, sales information, product lines, business and 4 | marketing strategy or information about operations. Accordingly, to expedite the 5 | flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over 6 | confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties 7 | are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable 8 || necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to 9 | address their handling at the end of the litigation, and to serve the ends of justice, a 10 | protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the 11 | parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons 12 | and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been 13 | maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it 14 | should not be part of the public record of this case. 15 | 3. DEFINITIONS 16 3.1 Action: CAO Group, Inc. v. The Procter & Gamble Company et 7 al., Case No. 5:22-cv-00142-JWH-PVC. 18 3.2 Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the 19 designation of information or items under this Stipulated Protective Order. 0 3.3. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information 71 (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things 2 that qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and 3 as specified above in the Good Cause Statement. 4 3.4 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 5 Information or Items: Extremely sensitive “CONFIDENTIAL” Information %6 or Items, disclosure of which to another Party or Non-Party would create a 17 substantial risk of serious harm that could not be avoided by less restrictive 28 means. □□ SROTECTIVEORDER
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1 3.5. Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and In-House Counsel (as 2 well as their support staff). 3 3.6 Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates 4 information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to 5 discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — 6 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 7 3.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, 8 regardless of the medium or manner in which they are generated, stored, or 9 maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and 10 tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to 11 discovery in this matter. 12 3.8 Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a 13 matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its 14 counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a non-testifying consultant in this 15 action. 16 3.9 In-House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a party to 17 this Action. In-House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record 18 or any other outside counsel. 19 3.10 Non-Party: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, 20 association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 21 3.11 Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees 22 of a party to this action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this 23 action and have appeared in this action on behalf of that party, and includes 24 support staff. 25 3.12 Party: Any party to this action, including all of its officers, 26 directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of 27 Record (and their support staffs). 28 PROTECTIVE ORDER
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1 3.13 Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure 2 or Discovery Material in this Action. 3 3.14 Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation 4 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing 5 exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any 6 form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors. 7 3.15 Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 8 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL,” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — 9 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 10 3.16 Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 11 Material from a Producing Party. 12 | 4 SCOPE B The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 14 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 15 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 16 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 7 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. Any ig | Use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial judge. 19 This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 5. DURATION 20 Once a case proceeds to trial, absent a contrary order by the trial judge, 71 Protected Material that was used or introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public 22 and will be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the 23 press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed 24 otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City 25 and County of Honolulu,
447 F.3d 1172, 1180(9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good 26 cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling 27 reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). 28 PROTECTIVE ORDER
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1 For Protected Material not used at trial, after final disposition of this 2 | litigation, subject to Section 14 below, the confidentiality obligations imposed by 3 | this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in 4 | writing or a court order otherwise directs. Even after final disposition of this 5 | litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by this Order shall remain in 6 | effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order 7 | otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of: (1) dismissal 8 || of all claims and defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final 9 | judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, 10 | remands, trials, or reviews of this action, including the time limits for filing any 11 | motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law. 12 6. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIALS B 6.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for 14 Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for 15 protection under this Stipulated Protective Order must take care to limit any 16 such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate 7 standards. The Designating party must designate for protection only those 18 parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that 19 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or 0 communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept 71 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Stipulated Protective Order. Mass, 2 indiscriminate, or routinized designations of large swaths of documents are 73 prohibited. Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified and not A inadvertent, or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to 5 unnecessarily encumber or slow the case development process or to impose 2% unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) expose the Designating 17 Party to sanctions. 28 PROTECTIVE ORDER
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1 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items 2 that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection at all or do not 3 qualify for the level of protection initially asserted, that Designating Party 4 must promptly notify all other parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken 5 designation. 6 6.2 | Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise 7 provided in this Stipulated Protective Order (see, e.g., Section 6.3 below), or 8 as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that 9 qualifies for protection under this Stipulated Protective Order must be clearly 10 so designated before the material is disclosed or produced. 1] Designation in conformity with this Stipulated Protective Order requires: 12 a. For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 13 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 14 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” 15 or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” to each 16 page of a document that contains protected material. 17 b. — A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or 18 materials available for inspection need not designate them for protection until 19 after the inspecting Party has indicated which material it would like copied 20 and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the 21 material made available for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL” 22 or, by notice given before the inspection, “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — 23 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” After the inspecting Party has identified the 24 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must within 7 25 calendar days (a) determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for 26 protection under this Stipulated Protective Order, and (b) produce the 27 specified documents with the appropriate legend (“CONFIDENTIAL” or 28 PROTECTIVE ORDER
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1 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY’) affixed to 2 each document that contains Protected Material. 3 Cc. For testimony given in depositions, that the Designating Party 4 identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record before the close 5 of the deposition all protected testimony or within 7 calendar days thereafter. 6 d. For information produced in some form other than a document 7 and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a 8 prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the 9 information or item is stored the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend or “HIGHLY 10 CONFIDENTIAL” legend. If only a portion or portions of the information 11 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall 12 identify the protected portion(s) and specify the level of protection being 13 asserted. 14 6.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an 15 inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items does not, 16 standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection 17 under this Stipulated Protective Order for such material. Upon timely 18 correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts 19 to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 20 Stipulated Protective Order. 2, | 7. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 2 7.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 3 designation of confidentiality at any time. A Party does not waive its right to A challenge a confidentiality designation by electing not to mount a challenge 5 promptly after the original designation is disclosed. %6 □□□ Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the 17 dispute resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. 28 □□ SROTECTIVEORDER
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1 7.3. Judicial Intervention. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall 2 be via a joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2. The burden of 3 persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating 4 Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to 5 harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may 6 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has 7 waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall 8 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it 9 is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on 10 the challenge. 11 | 8) ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 12 8.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material 3 that is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in 14 connection with this case only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to 15 settle this litigation. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the 16 categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Stipulated 7 Protective Order. When the litigation has been terminated, a Receiving Party 18 must comply with the provisions of Section 14 below. Protected Material 19 must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and in a 0 secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized 71 under this Stipulated Protective Order. 2 8.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 3 otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating A Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 5 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 6 a. the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this action, 17 as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is 28 reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this litigation; SROTECIIVEORDER
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1 b. one designated In-House Counsel or other party representative 2 of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this 3 litigation; 4 Cc. Experts (as defined in this Stipulated Protective Order) of the 5 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation 6 and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 7 (attached as Exhibit A hereto) and employees and staff of said Experts to 8 whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this 9 litigation; 10 d. the Court and its personnel; 11 e. court reporters and their staff; 12 f. professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and 13 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this 14 Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to be 15 Bound”; 16 g. during their depositions, any witness employed by the 17 Designating Party, or designated by the Designating Party under Fed. R. Civ.
18 P. 30(b)(6); 19 h. the author or recipient of a document containing the information 20 or a custodian or other person who otherwise previously had access to the 21 information. 22 1. during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, 23 in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary, provided: (1) the 24 deposing party requests that the witness sign the “Acknowledgment and 25 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); and (2) they will not be permitted to 26 keep any confidential information unless otherwise agreed by the 27 Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed deposition 28 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be □□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□
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1 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone 2 except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 3 j. any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting 4 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement 5 discussions. 6 8.3. Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS’ 7 EYES ONLY” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the court 8 or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may 9 disclose any information or item designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — 10 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” only to: 1] a. the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this action, 12 as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is 13 reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 14 b. one designated In-House Counsel of the Receiving Party to 15 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation; 16 C. Experts (as defined in this Stipulated Protective Order) of the 17 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation 18 and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 19 and employees and staff of said Experts to whom it is reasonably necessary 20 to disclose the information for this litigation; 21 d. the Court and its personnel; 22 e. court reporters and their staff; 23 f. professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and 24 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this 25 Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to be 26 Bound” attached as Exhibit A hereto; 27 28
10 PROTECTIVE ORDER
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1 g. during their depositions, any witness employed by the 2 Designating Party, or designated by the Designating Party under Fed. R. Civ.
3 P. 30(b)(6); 4 h. the author or recipient of a document containing the information 5 or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the 6 information; and 7 1. any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting 8 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement 9 discussions. 10 Any and all persons, including outside trial counsel for the parties to 11 this litigation, given access to information designated HIGHLY 12 CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY, the information 13 contained therein, or any summaries, copies, abstract, or other documents 14 derived in whole or in part from the material so designated, shall not 15 participate in the patent prosecution of any patent application relating to the 16 subject matter of this litigation during this litigation and for at least one year 17 after the completion of this litigation (including all appeals). For purposes of 18 this paragraph, “patent prosecution” includes, but is not limited to, drafting 19 responses to office actions or other papers issued by the United States Patent 20 and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) and/or any foreign patent office. This 21 paragraph shall not prohibit the merely administrative aspect of being a 22 manager or supervisor of other attorneys who are engaged in patent 23 prosecution. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this paragraph, if 24 an inter partes review or other administrative review at the USPTO is 25 instituted regarding any of the patents-in-suit, such persons may participate 26 in the review proceedings, despite the fact that they have received HIGHLY 27 CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY material. 28
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1 | 9: PROCEDURES FOR APPROVING OR OBJECTING TO DISCLOSURE OF “CONFIDENTIAL” OR “HIGHLY 2 CONFIDENTIAL —- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” INFORMATION 3 OR ITEMS TO EXPERTS AND DESIGNATED IN-HOUSE COUNSEL. 4 a. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or agreed to in writing by ° the Designating Party, a Receiving Party that seeks to disclose to an Expert 6 (as defined in this Order) or a designated In-House Counsel or party representative any information or item that has been designated 8 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” first must make a written request via e-mail to the 10 Designating Party’s Outside Counsel of Record. In the case of an Expert, the uM written request must: (1) set forth the full name of the Expert and the city and 12 state of his or her primary residence, (2) attach a copy of the Expert’s current 13 resume or curriculum vitae, (3) identify, for the past 5 years, any 14 employment or consulting engagements with competitors in the relevant 15 technology, and (4) identify (by name and number of the case and location of 16 court) any litigation in connection with which the Expert has offered expert iM testimony, including through a declaration, report, or testimony at a 18 deposition or trial, during the preceding four years. In the case of a 19 designated In-House Counsel or party representative, the written request shall 20 include: (1) the full name of the designated In-House Counsel and the city 71 and state of his or her primary residence, (2) identify their title or position at 22 the Receiving Party, and (3) provide a brief, non-privileged description of 23 their regular duties at the Receiving Party. The Designating Party shall have 24 ten (10) business days after confirmed receipt of such notice to object in 29 writing via email to the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record that 26 made the written e-mail request disclosing the Expert or designated In-House . Counsel. A Designating Party shall not object or otherwise refuse to approve
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1 an Expert or designated In-House Counsel or party representative without 2 cause or for the purpose of delay. 3 b. A Receiving Party that makes a request and provides the 4 information specified in the preceding respective paragraphs shall not 5 disclose the subject Protected Material to the identified Expert or designated 6 In-House Counsel or party representative until expiration of the 10-day 7 notice period. Any such objection must set forth in detail the grounds on 8 which it is based. If during the notice period the Designating Party serves an 9 objection upon the Receiving Party desiring to disclose Protected Material to 10 the Expert or designated In-House Counsel or party representative, there 11 shall be no disclosure of Protected Material to such individual pending 12 resolution of the objection. A Receiving Party that receives a timely written 13 objection must meet and confer with the Designating Party (through direct 14 voice-to-voice dialogue) to try to resolve the matter by agreement within 15 seven (7) business days after the written objection is served. If the Parties are 16 unable to resolve any objection, the Producing Party may file a motion with 17 the Court within 15 days of the notice, or within such other time as the 18 parties may agree, secking a protective order with respect to the proposed 19 disclosure. No disclosure shall occur until all such objections are resolved by 20 agreement or court order. 21 C. No document designated by a Designating Party as Protected 22 Material shall be disclosed by a Receiving Party to an Expert or designated 23 In-House Counsel or party representative until after the individual has signed 24 the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A). Such 25 original written agreement shall be retained by the Outside Counsel of 26 Record for the party that has retained the Expert and/or that employs the 27 designated In-House Counsel or party representative, and a copy shall be 28 served on Outside Counsel of Record for the Designating Party. .
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1 d. In any such proceeding, the Designating Party opposing 2 disclosure to an Expert or designated In-House Counsel or party 3 representative shall bear the burden of proving that the risk of harm that the 4 disclosure would entail (under the safeguards proposed) outweighs the 5 Receiving Party’s need to disclose the Protected Material to a particular 6 Expert or designated In-House Counsel or party representative. 7 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 8 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation ? that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 10 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS’ EYES uM ONLY” that Party must: 12 a. Promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such I3 notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; i4 b. — Promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or 15 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered 16 by the subpoena or order is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order. Such iM notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 18 Cc. Cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought by 19 the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 20 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 71 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 22 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS’ 23 EYES ONLY” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or 24 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 29 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that 26 court of its confidential material — and nothing in these provisions should be 27 28
14 SROTECIIVEORDER
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1 | construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this action to disobey 2 | a lawful directive from another court. 3 | 11. ANON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 4 The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order are applicable to information ° produced by a Non-Party in this action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or 6 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 8 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be ? construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 10 In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce uM a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to 12 an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential I3 information, then the Party shall: a. Promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non- Id Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a 16 confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party; iM b. Promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of this Stipulated 18 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a 19 reasonably specific description of the information requested; and 20 Cc. Make the information requested available for inspection by the 71 Non-Party, if requested. 22 If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within 14 23 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 24 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery 29 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall 26 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 27 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court. 28
15 SROTECIIVEORDER
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1 | Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and 2 || expense of seeking protection in this Court of its Protected Material. 3 | 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 4 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 5 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 6 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (1) notify in 7 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (2) use its best g efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (3) inform the g | Person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of 10 this Stipulated Protective Order, and (4) request such person or persons to execute 11 the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that 1s attached hereto as D2 Exhibit A. 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 13 PROTECTED MATERIAL 14 If any Receiving Party recognizes that any Producing Party (or Non-Party) 15 || may have inadvertently produced material that is subject to a claim of privilege or 16 | other protection, it shall notify the Producing Party promptly. When a Producing 17 | Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently produced material 18 | is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, either through discovery of the 19 | inadvertent production on its own or after being notified by a Receiving Party, the 20 || obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 21 || Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever 22 || procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production 23 || without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and 24 | (e), the production or disclosure of any document or thing (including information 25 | and Protected Material) otherwise protected by the attorney-client privilege, work 26 | product immunity, or other privilege or immunity shall not operate as a waiver of 27 || any such privilege or immunity. 9g | 14. MISCELLANEOUS
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1 13.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Stipulated Protective Order 2 | abridges the right of any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 3 13.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 4 | Stipulated Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to 5 | object to disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not 6 || addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right 7 | to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this 8 | Stipulated Protective Order. 9 13.3 Use of a Party’s Own Protected Material. Nothing in this Stipulated 10 | Protective Order restricts in any way a Party’s use or disclosure of its own 11 | Protected Material. 12 13.4 No Presumption as to Confidentiality. The fact that information is 13 | marked with a confidentiality designation under the Protective Order shall not be 14 | deemed to be determinative of what a trier of fact may determine to be confidential, 15 || proprietary, or a trade secret. The fact that any information is disclosed, used, or 16 | produced in this action with a confidentiality designation shall not be offered in any 17 || action or proceeding before any court, agency, or tribunal as evidence of or 18 || concerning whether or not such information is admissible, confidential, or 19 | proprietary. 20 13.5 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 21 | Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material 22 || may be filed only under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 23 | specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material 24 || under seal is denied by the Court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 25 || in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the Court. 26 | 15. HINAL DISPOSITION 17 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section 5, within sixty 28 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must
17 SROTECIIVEORDER
Case □□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□ Document 50 Filed 08/10/22 Page □□ □□ 20 Page ID #:476
1 | return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As 2 | used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, 3 | compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 4 | Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the 5 | Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if 6 | not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the sixty-day deadline 7 | that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that 8 || was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained 9 | any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or 10 | capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel 11 | are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, 12 | deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition 13 | and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert 14 | work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival 15 | copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective 16 | Order as set forth in Section 5. 17 Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate 18 || measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary 19 | sanctions. 20 21 | FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN BY THE PARTIES’ STIPULATION, IT IS SO 22 | ORDERED. 23 fuk MN DATED: August 10, 2022 24 Honorable Pedro V. Castillo 25 United States Magistrate Judge 26 27 28
18 □□ SROTECTIVEORDER
Case 5:2 2-cv-00142-JWH-PVC Document 50 Filed 08/10/22 Page 20 of 20 Page ID #:477
1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLED GEMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3
4 I, __________________________________ [full name],
5 of _____________________________________________________ [full address],
6 declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the
7 Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for
8 the Central District of California in the case of CAO Group, Inc. v. The Procter &
9 Gamble Company et al., Case No. 85:22-cv-00142-JWH-PVC. I agree to comply
10 with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I
11 understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions
12 and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not
13 disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated
14 Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the
15 provisions of this Order. 16 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 17 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 18 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 19 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [full 20 name] of _____________________________ [full address and telephone number] 21 as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any 22 proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. 23 Date: _________________________________ 24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 25 Printed name: ______________________________ 26 Signature: __________________________________ 27
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EXHIBIT A – PROTECTIVE ORDER
Reference
- Status
- Unknown