Keith Feder, M.D., Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc.
Keith Feder, M.D., Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc.
Trial Court Opinion
1 SHANNON L. ERNSTER (SBN: 264940) [email protected] 2 HELA VAKNIN (SBN: 342083) [email protected] 3 GORDON REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI, LLP 633 West Fifth Street, 52nd Floor 4 Los Angeles, California 90071 Telephone: (213) 576-5000 5 Facsimile: (213) 680-4470 6 Attorneys for Defendant AMAZON.COM, INC. 7
8 JONATHAN A. STIEGLITZ (SBN 278028) [email protected] 9 THE LAW OFFICES OF JONATHAN A. STIEGLITZ 10 11845 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 800 Los Angeles, California 90064 11 Telephone: (323) 979-2063 Facsimile: (323) 488-6748 12 Attorney for Plaintiff KEITH FEDER, M.D., INC. 13 14 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 15 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 16 17 KEITH FEDER, M.D., INC. Case No. 2:24-cv-07416-SRM-SSC
18 Plaintiff(s), STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 19 v. ORDER1 20 21 AMAZON.COM, INC. and DOES
22 1-10, 23 Defendant(s).
24 25 26 27 1 This Stipulated Protective Order is substantially based on the model protective order provided under Magistrate Judge Stephanie S. 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to 2 involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for 3 which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any 4 purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. 5 Accordingly, Plaintiff Keith Feder, M.D., Inc. (“Plaintiff”) and Defendant 6 Amazon.com, Inc. (“Defendant”) (Plaintiff and Defendant are collectively 7 referred to herein as the “Parties”) hereby stipulate to and petition the 8 court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. 9 This Protective Order shall govern any record of information 10 produced in this action and designated pursuant to this Protective Order, 11 including all designated deposition testimony, all designated testimony 12 taken at a hearing or other proceeding, all designated deposition 13 exhibits, interrogatory answers, admissions, documents and other 14 discovery materials, whether produced informally or in response to 15 interrogatories, requests for admissions, requests for production of 16 documents or other formal methods of discovery. 17 This Protective Order shall also govern any designated record of 18 information produced in this action pursuant to required disclosures 19 under any federal procedural rule or local rule of the Court and any 20 supplementary disclosures thereto. 21 This Protective Order shall apply to the Parties and to any 22 nonparty from whom discovery may be sought who desires the protection 23 of this Protective Order. 24 The Parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket 25 protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the 26 protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the 27 limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment 1 under the applicable legal principles. 2 1.2 Good Cause Statement. 3 This action arises out of a dispute between Plaintiff and Defendant 4 regarding payment for medical services rendered by Plaintiff to five 5 Patients (“Patients”) enrolled in a health benefit plan funded and 6 sponsored by Defendant. 7 In light of the nature of the claims and allegations in this case, this 8 action necessarily involves the production of confidential information for 9 which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any 10 purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such 11 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among 12 other things, the personal health information of the Patients and their 13 medical treatment, as well as confidential business information, 14 information regarding confidential business practices, or other 15 confidential information (including information implicating privacy 16 rights of third parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to 17 the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from 18 disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or 19 common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to 20 facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of 21 discovery materials, to adequately protect information the Parties are 22 required and/or entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the Parties 23 are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation 24 for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the 25 litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such 26 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the Parties that 27 and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has 1 been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good 2 cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 3 4 1.3 Acknowledgment of Procedure for Filing Under Seal. The Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 5 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential 6 information under seal; Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that 7 must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party 8 9 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access 10 to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with 11 non-dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing 12 under seal. See Kamakana v. City and Cnty. of Honolulu,
447 F.3d 13 1172, 1176(9th Cir. 2006), Phillips ex rel. Ests. of Byrd v. Gen. Motors 14 Corp.,
307 F.3d 1206, 1210–11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony 15 Elecs., Inc.,
187 F.R.D. 576, 577(E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated 16 protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of 17 good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and 18 legal justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that 19 a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of 20 Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not— 21 without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, 22 establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as 23 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause. 24 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion 25 or trial, then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing 26 must be shown, and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve 27
605 F.3d 665, 677–79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type of 1 information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under 2 seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking 3 protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific 4 facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, 5 competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under 6 seal must be provided by declaration. 7 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise 8 protectable in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential 9 portions can be redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted 10 version for public viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or 11 otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be filed. Any 12 application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety 13 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 14 2. DEFINITIONS 15 2.1 Action: Keith Feder, M.D., Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., United 16 States District Court, Central District of California, Case No. 2:24-cv- 17 07416-SRM-SSC 18 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 19 designation of information or items under this Order. 20 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information 21 (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible 22 things that qualify for protection under Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of 23 Civil Procedure, and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement and 24 below. 25 The term Confidential Information shall include confidential or 26 proprietary technical, scientific, financial, business, health, or medical 27 The term “Confidential Health Information” shall constitute a 1 subset of Confidential Information, and shall be designated as 2 “CONFIDENTIAL” and subject to all other terms and conditions 3 governing the treatment of Confidential Information. Confidential 4 Health Information shall mean information supplied in any form, or any 5 portion thereof, that identifies an individual or subscriber in any manner 6 and relates to the past, present, or future care, services, or supplies 7 relating to the physical or mental health or condition of such individual 8 or subscriber, the provision of health care to such individual or 9 subscriber, or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of 10 health care to such individual or subscriber. Confidential Health 11 Information shall include, but is not limited to, claim data, claim forms, 12 grievances, appeals, or other documents or records that contain any 13 patient health information required to be kept confidential under any 14 state or federal law, including 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and 164 promulgated 15 pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 16 1996 (see
45 C.F.R. §§ 164.501& 160.103), and the following subscriber, 17 patient, or member identifiers: 18 a. names; 19 b. all geographic subdivisions smaller than a State, including 20 street address, city, county, precinct, and zip code; 21 c. all elements of dates (except year) for dates directly related to 22 an individual, including birth date, admission date, discharge date, 23 age, and date of death; 24 d. telephone numbers; 25 e. fax numbers; 26 f. electronic mail addresses; 27 h. medical record numbers; 1 i. health plan beneficiary numbers; 2 j. account numbers; 3 k. certificate/license numbers; 4 l. vehicle identifiers and serial numbers, including license plate 5 numbers; 6 m. device identifiers and serial numbers; 7 n. web universal resource locators (“URLs”); 8 o. internet protocol (“IP”) address numbers; 9 p. biometric identifiers, including finger and voice prints; 10 q. full face photographic images and any comparable images; 11 and/or 12 r. any other unique identifying number, characteristic, or code. 13 2.4 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 14 Information or Items: extremely sensitive “CONFIDENTIAL” 15 Information or Items, the disclosure of which to another Party or Non- 16 Party would create a substantial risk of serious harm that could not be 17 avoided by less restrictive means. 18 2.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as 19 well as their support staff). 20 2.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates 21 information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to 22 discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 23 2.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, 24 regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or 25 maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and 26 tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or 27 2.8 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in 1 a matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or 2 its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 3 2.9 Final Disposition: the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and 4 defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment 5 herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, 6 remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits for 7 filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to 8 applicable law. 9 2.10 In-House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a Party to 10 this Action. In-House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of 11 Record or any other outside counsel. 12 2.11 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, 13 association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 14 2.12 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees 15 of a party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a Party to 16 this Action and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that Party or 17 are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that Party, 18 and includes support staff. 19 2.13 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, 20 directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel 21 of Record (and their support staffs). 22 2.14 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces 23 Disclosure or Discovery Material in this Action. 24 2.15 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide 25 litigation- support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, 26 preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or 27 subcontractors. 1 2.16 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that 2 is designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – 3 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 4 2.17 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 5 Material from a Producing Party. 6 3. SCOPE 7 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not 8 only Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information 9 copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, 10 summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any 11 testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel 12 that might reveal Protected Material. 13 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the 14 orders of the trial judge. This Stipulated Protective Order does not 15 govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 16 4. TRIAL AND DURATION 17 The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order apply through Final 18 Disposition of the Action. 19 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 20 CONFIDENTIAL or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 21 ONLY or maintained pursuant to this Stipulated Protective Order and 22 used or introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be 23 presumptively available to all members of the public, including the 24 press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings 25 to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. 26 See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180–81 (distinguishing “good cause” 27 reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of court 1 record). Accordingly, for such materials, the terms of this Stipulated 2 Protective Order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial. 3 Even after Final Disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality 4 obligations imposed by this Stipulated Protective Order shall remain in 5 effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court 6 order otherwise directs. 7 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 8 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for 9 Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or 10 items for protection under this Order must take care to limit any such 11 designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate 12 standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only 13 those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written 14 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, 15 documents, items, or communications for which protection is not 16 warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 17 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. 18 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been 19 made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case 20 development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on 21 other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions. 22 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or 23 items that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that 24 Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is 25 withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 26 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise 27 of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure 1 or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Stipulated 2 Protective Order must be clearly so designated before the material is 3 disclosed or produced. 4 Designation in conformity with this Stipulated Protective Order 5 requires: 6 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 7 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or 8 trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the 9 legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – 10 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” to each page that contains protected 11 material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 12 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify 13 the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the 14 margins). 15 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for 16 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the 17 inspecting Party has indicated which documents it would like copied 18 and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of 19 the material made available for inspection shall be deemed 20 CONFIDENTIAL or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 21 ONLY. After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it 22 wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which 23 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this 24 Stipulated Protective Order. Then, before producing the specified 25 documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” or 26 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” legend to 27 of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party 1 also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making 2 appropriate markings in the margins). 3 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party 4 identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the 5 close of the deposition all protected testimony. 6 (c) for information produced in some form other than 7 documentary and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party 8 affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers 9 in which the information is stored the “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 10 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” legend. If only a 11 portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing 12 Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s). 13 (d) for information disclosed at a hearing or trial that the 14 Designating Party requests the Judge, at the time the information is 15 proffered or adduced, to receive the information only in the presence of 16 those persons designated to receive such information and Court 17 personnel, and to designate the transcript appropriately. 18 (e) Confidential Information marked as “CONFIDENTIAL - 19 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” may be used solely for the purpose of 20 21 conducting this Litigation and not for any other purpose whatsoever. 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an 22 inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items does not, 23 standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection 24 under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a 25 designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure 26 that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 27 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 1 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may 2 challenge a designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent 3 with the court’s Scheduling Order. 4 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the 5 dispute resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. and with 6 Section 2 of Judge Christensen’s Civil Procedures titled “Brief Pre- 7 Discovery Motion Conference.”2 8 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding 9 shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those 10 made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary 11 expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging 12 Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or 13 withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all Parties shall continue to 14 afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 15 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the court rules on 16 17 the challenge. 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 18 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected 19 Material that is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non- 20 Party in connection with this Action only for prosecuting, defending, or 21 attempting to settle this Action and for no other action. A Receiving 22 Party shall hold such information received from the disclosing Party in 23 confidence, shall not use it for any business or other commercial 24 purpose, shall not use it for filing or prosecuting any patent application 25 26
27 2 Judge Christensen’s Procedures are available at (of any type) or patent reissue or reexamination request, and shall not 1 disclose it to any person, except as hereinafter provided. Such Protected 2 Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under 3 the conditions described in this Order. When the Action reaches a Final 4 Disposition, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of 5 section 13 below. 6 All documents, including attorney notes and abstracts, which 7 contain another Party’s Confidential Information, shall be handled as if 8 they were designated pursuant to Paragraph 5. 9 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving 10 Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is 11 limited to the persons authorized under this Stipulated Protective 12 Order. 13 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. 14 Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the 15 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or 16 item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only: 17 (a) to the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this 18 Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record 19 (excluding experts and investigators) to whom it is reasonably necessary 20 to disclose the information for this Action; 21 (b) to the officers, directors, and employees (including House 22 Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably 23 necessary for this Action; 24 (c) to Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to 25 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 26 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 27 (e) private court reporters and their staff to whom disclosure is 1 reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 2 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 3 (f) to professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and 4 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for 5 this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement 6 to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 7 (g) to the author or recipient of a document containing the 8 information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or 9 knew the information; 10 (h) during their depositions, to witnesses, and attorneys for 11 witnesses, in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary, 12 provided: (1) the deposing party requests that the witness sign the 13 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); and (2) the 14 witness will not be permitted to keep any confidential information 15 unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 16 (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or 17 ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or 18 exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately 19 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except 20 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; 21 (i) Stenographers and videographers engaged to transcribe or 22 record depositions conducted in this action provided that such 23 individuals agree in writing, in the form attached at Appendix A, to be 24 bound by the terms of this Order; and 25 (j) to any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting 26 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in 27 7.3 Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ 1 EYES ONLY” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the 2 court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving 3 Party may disclose any information or item designated “HIGHLY 4 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” only to: 5 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, 6 as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record (excluding 7 experts and investigators) to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose 8 the information for this Action; 9 (b) House Counsel; 10 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to 11 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 12 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 13 (d) the court and its personnel; 14 (e) private court reporters and their staff to whom disclosure is 15 reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 16 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 17 (f) the author or recipient of a document containing the 18 information; and 19 (g) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting 20 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the Parties engaged in 21 settlement discussions. 22 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED 23 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 24 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in 25 other litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items 26 designated in this Action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 27 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such 1 notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 2 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the 3 subpoena or order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the 4 material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective 5 Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated 6 Protective Order; and 7 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to 8 be pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be 9 affected. 10 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the 11 Party served with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any 12 information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 13 CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” before a determination by 14 the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has 15 obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party 16 shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of 17 its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be 18 construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this 19 Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 20 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 21 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 22 9.1 Application. The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order 23 are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in this Action and 24 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- 25 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by Non-Parties 26 in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief 27 as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 1 9.2 Notification. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid 2 discovery request, to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in 3 its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the Non- 4 Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then the 5 Party shall: 6 (a) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the 7 Non-Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a 8 confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party; 9 (b) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 10 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a 11 reasonably specific description of the information requested; and 12 (c) make the information requested available for inspection by 13 the Non-Party, if requested. 14 15 9.3 Conditions of Production. If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14 days of receiving the notice 16 and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce the 17 Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. 18 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party 19 shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is 20 subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a 21 determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the 22 Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in 23 24 this court of its Protected Material. 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED 25 MATERIAL 26 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it 27 not authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving 1 Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of 2 the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all 3 unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 4 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of 5 this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the 6 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A). 7 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR 8 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL 9 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that 10 certain inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege 11 or other protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set 12 forth in Rule 26(b)(5)(B) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This 13 provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be 14 established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without 15 prior privilege review. Pursuant to Rules 502(d) and (e) of the Federal 16 Rules of Evidence, insofar as the Parties reach an agreement on the 17 effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the 18 attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the Parties may 19 incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order 20 submitted to the court. 21 12. MISCELLANEOUS 22 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Stipulated 23 Protective Order abridges the right of any person to seek its 24 modification by the court in the future. 25 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry 26 of this Stipulated Protective Order, no Party waives any right it 27 information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated 1 Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 2 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this 3 Stipulated Protective Order. 4 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under 5 seal any Protected Material must comply with Local Rule 79-5. 6 Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court 7 order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. 8 If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the 9 court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public 10 record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 11 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 12 After the Final Disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 13 4, within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each 14 Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing 15 Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all 16 Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 17 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 18 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or 19 destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to 20 the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the 21 Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by 22 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was 23 returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not 24 retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other 25 format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. 26 Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel is entitled to retain an archival 27 1 || transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial 4 || exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and 3 || expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. 4 || Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material 5 || remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4. 6 || 14. MIOLATION 7 Any violation of this Stipulated Protective Order may be punished g || by any and all appropriate measures including, without limitation, g || contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions at the discretion of the 19 || Court. 11 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 13 14 DATED: March 6, 2025 /s/ Jonathan A. Stieglitz 15 Attorney(s) for Plaintiff(s) 16 17 DATED:_March 6, 2025 /s/_ Shannon L. Ernster 18 Attorney(s) for Defendant(s) 19 20 21 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. ZA — || DATED: March 10, 2025 24 STEPHANIE S. CHRISTENSEN 25 United States Magistrate Judge 26 27 28
1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, ________________________ [print or type full name], of 4 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under 5 penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the 6 Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States 7 District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the 8 case of __________ [insert formal name of the case and the 9 number and initials assigned to it by the court]. I agree to 10 comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated 11 12 Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so 13 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of 14 contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner 15 any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective 16 Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the 17 provisions of this Order. 18 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States 19 District Court for the Central District of California for the purpose of 20 enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such 21 enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I 22 hereby appoint ________________________ [print or type full name] 23 of _________ [print or type full address and telephone number] as 24 25 26 27 1 my California agent for service of process in connection with this action 2 or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective 3 Order. 4 5 Date: ___________________________ 6 City and State where sworn and 7 ___________________________ signed: 8 Printed name: ___________________________ 9 Signature: ___________________________ 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Reference
- Status
- Unknown