Luangphor Viriyang Sirintharo Foundation v. Willpower Institute USA, Inc.
Luangphor Viriyang Sirintharo Foundation v. Willpower Institute USA, Inc.
Trial Court Opinion
1 Alison M. Bernal (SBN 264629) [email protected] 2 NYE, STIRLING, HALE, MILLER & SWEET, LLP 33 West Mission Street, Suite 201 3 Santa Barbara, California 93101 Telephone: (805) 963-2345 4 Facsimile: (805) 284-9590
5 Attorney for Plaintiff Luangphor Viriyang Sirintharo Foundation 6 Additional Counsel Listed on Signature Page 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 WESTERN DIVISION
11 LUANGPHOR VIRIYANG 12 SIRINTHARO FOUNDATION, CASE NO.: 2:24-CV-00976-CBM-AJR Assigned to Hon. Consuelo B. Marshall 13 Plaintiff,
14 v. [PROPOSED] STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER1 15 WILLPOWER INSTITUTE USA
16 Defendant. Complaint Filed: July 31, 2023 17 SAC Filed: March 29, 2024
18 TAC Filed: July 8, 2024
19 20 21 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 22 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary 23 or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for 24 any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the 25 parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective 26 Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all 27 1 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public 2 disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to 3 confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. 4 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 5 This action is likely to involve confidential and sensitive information for which 6 special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 7 prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and 8 information may consist of, among other things, non-public, confidential, and private 9 agreements concerning the actual and/or alleged ownership, licensing, and transfer of 10 trademark, copyright, and/or other intellectual property rights, communications concerning 11 these agreements, financial records, marketing/promotion strategy, records concerning 12 medical and health information, information implicating privacy rights of third parties, 13 personal information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, and other private and 14 confidential materials for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for 15 any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. 16 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution 17 of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information 18 the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted 19 reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to 20 address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective 21 order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that 22 information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be 23 so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non- 24 public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of 25 this case. 26 / / / 27 / / / 1 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER 2 SEAL 3 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 4 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under 5 seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the 6 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material 7 under seal. 8 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 9 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, good 10 cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and County of 11 Honolulu,
447 F.3d 1172, 1176(9th Cir. 2006); Phillips v. Gen. MotorsCorp.,
307 F.3d 121206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002); Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc.,
187 F.R.D. 576, 577 13 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a 14 specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and 15 legal justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to 16 file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as 17 CONFIDENTIAL does not— without the submission of competent evidence by 18 declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as 19 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause. 20 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 21 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief 22 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See Pintos 23 v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n,
605 F.3d 665, 677-79(9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type of 24 information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal in connection 25 with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling 26 reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. 27 Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal must 1 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its 2 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 the 4 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document shall be filed. 5 Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should include an 6 explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 7 2. DEFINITIONS 8 2.1 Action: Luangphor Viriyang Sirintharo Foundation v. Willpower Institute 9 USA, Inc., Case No.: 2:24-cv-00976-CBM-AJR. 10 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of 11 information or items under this Order. 12 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it 13 is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under 14 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement. 15 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 16 support staff). 17 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 18 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 19 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the 20 medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other 21 things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things) that are produced or generated in 22 disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 23 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 24 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an 25 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 26 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. House 27 Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel. 1 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or other 2 legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 3 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this 4 Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have appeared in 5 this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that has appeared on 6 behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 7 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 8 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support 9 staffs). 10 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery 11 Material in this Action. 12 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 13 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 14 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and 15 their employees and subcontractors. 16 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated 17 as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 18 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from 19 a Producing Party. 20 3. SCOPE 21 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected 22 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from 23 Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected 24 Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel 25 that might reveal Protected Material. 26 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial 27 judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 1 4. DURATION 2 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as CONFIDENTIAL 3 or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced as an exhibit at trial 4 becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the public, including 5 the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed 6 otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana,
447 F.3d at 71180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in 8 discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of 9 court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the 10 commencement of the trial. 11 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 12 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each 13 Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order 14 must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the 15 appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts 16 of material, documents, items or oral or written communications that qualify so that other 17 portions of the material, documents, items or communications for which protection is not 18 warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 19 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are 20 shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to 21 unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses 22 and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions. 23 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 24 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 25 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 26 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this 27 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or 1 ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order 2 must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced. 3 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 4 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 5 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 6 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 7 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page 8 that contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page 9 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the 10 protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 11 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for 12 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting 13 Party has indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. 14 During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material made 15 available for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the 16 inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, 17 the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof, 18 qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified 19 documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to 20 each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material 21 on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly 22 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the 23 margins). 24 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party 25 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the 26 close of the deposition all protected testimony. 27 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and 1 place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information 2 is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the 3 information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent 4 practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s). 5 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure 6 to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating 7 Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely 8 correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that 9 the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 10 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 11 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation 12 of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order. 13 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution 14 process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. 15 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the 16 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to 17 harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 18 Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the 19 confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the 20 level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the 21 Court rules on the challenge. 22 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 23 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 24 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action 25 only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material 26 may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions described in 27 this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the 1 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location 2 and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under 3 this Order. 4 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise 5 ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party 6 may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 7 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 8 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is 9 reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 10 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 11 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this 12 Action; 13 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 14 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 15 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 16 (d) the court and its personnel; 17 (e) court reporters and their staff; 18 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 19 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who 20 have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit 21 A); 22 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 23 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 24 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the 25 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing 26 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and 27 (2) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they 1 otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of 2 transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal 3 Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not 4 be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective 5 Order; and 6 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 7 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 8 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 9 IN OTHER LITIGATION 10 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 11 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 12 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 13 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall 14 include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 15 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue 16 in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is 17 subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated 18 Protective Order; and 19 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by 20 the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 21 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the 22 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as 23 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order 24 issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating 25 Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its 26 confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or 27 encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another 1 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 2 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 3 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party 4 in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Non- 5 Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided 6 by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party 7 from seeking additional protections. 8 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce 9 a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an 10 agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, 11 then the Party shall: 12 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 13 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 14 agreement with a Non-Party; 15 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 16 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 17 specific description of the information requested; and 18 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non- 19 Party, if requested. 20 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14 days 21 of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce 22 the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non- 23 Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any 24 information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with 25 the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, 26 the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its 27 Protected Material. 1 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 2 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 3 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 4 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the 5 Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all 6 unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom 7 unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request such 8 person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is 9 attached hereto as Exhibit A. 10 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 11 PROTECTED MATERIAL 12 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently 13 produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of 14 the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). 15 This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e- 16 discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to 17 Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the 18 effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client 19 privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the 20 stipulated protective order submitted to the court. 21 12. MISCELLANEOUS 22 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person 23 to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 24 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective 25 Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or 26 producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated 27 Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in 1 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected 2 Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed 3 under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected 4 Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the 5 court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless 6 otherwise instructed by the court. 7 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 8 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 days 9 of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all 10 Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this 11 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 12 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. 13 Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit 14 a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the 15 Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where 16 appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that 17 the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any 18 other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this 19 provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, 20 trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and 21 trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work 22 product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that 23 contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth 24 in Section 4 (DURATION). 25 14. VIOLATION 26 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including, 27 without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 1 NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between PLAINTIFF and 2 DEFENDANT, through their respective counsel, that: 3 The Court issue this Stipulated Protective Order. 4 Dated: February 21, 2025 Respectfully submitted, 5 6 NYE, STIRLING, HALE & MILLER, LLP By: /s/ Alison M. Bernal 7 Alison M. Bernal 8
9 CHAMBERLAIN, HRDLICKA, WHITE, 10 WILLIAMS & AUGHTRY, P.C.
11 By: /s/ C. Larry Carbo, III 12 C. Larry Carbo, III Attorney-in-Charge 13
14 ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF 15 COLEMAN FROST LLP 16
17 By: /s/ Derrick F. Coleman (w-permission) Derrick F. Coleman 18 19 ATTORNEY FOR DEFENDANT
20 Local Rule 5-4.3.4 Certification: I hereby attest that all other signatories listed, on 21 whose behalf this filing is submitted, concur in the filing’s content and have authorized this filing. 22
23 /s/ Alison M. Bernal 24 Alison Bernal FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 25
26 Dated: February 21, 2025 _____________________________________ 27 Hon. A. Joel Richlin 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, ________________________________________ [print or type full name], of 4 _______________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury 5 that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was 6 issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on 7 __________________[date] in the case of Luangphor Viriyang Sirintharo Foundation v. 8 Willpower Institute USA, Inc., Case No.: 2:24-cv-00976-CBM-AJR, I agree to comply 9 with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand 10 and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment 11 in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any 12 information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or 13 entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 15 for the Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated 16 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of 17 this action. I hereby appoint _________________________________ [print or type full 18 name] of ________________________________________________ [print or type full 19 address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in 20 connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated 21 Protective Order. 22 23 Date: ____________________________________________________________ 24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 25 Printed name: ______________________________________________________ 26 Signature: _________________________________________________________
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