Opinion

Scottsdale Indemnity Company v. Sun Coast General Insurance Agency, Inc.

Court: District Court, C.D. California
Filed: Jun 11, 2020
Cited by: 0 cases
Authority: More cited than 17.9%

distinguishing “good cause” 20 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 21 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record

How later courts described this case

distinguishing “good cause” 20 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 21 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record
even stipulated protective 5 orders require good cause showing

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SCOTTSDALE INDEMNITY

11 COMPANY, an Ohio corporation, Case No. 8:19-cv-01947-JLS-DFM

12 Plaintiff,

X[PXroXpXosXedX] STIPULATED

13 PROTECTIVE ORDER

SUN COAST GENERAL

15 INSURANCE AGENCY, INC., a

California corporation,

Defendant.

1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,

proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure

and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted.

Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the

following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does

not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that

the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited

information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable

1 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

2 This action is likely to involve documentation and information relating to

3 confidential and proprietary business practices or commercial information, including

4 but not limited to confidential and proprietary reserve information, underwriting

5 information and financial information, for which special protection from public

6 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is

7 warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information may be

8 otherwise unavailable to the public, or may be privileged or otherwise protected from

9 disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions or common law.

11 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt

12 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately

13 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the

14 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and

15 in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve

16 the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter.

17 It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for

18 tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it

19 has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause

20 why it should not be part of the public record of this case.

3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE

The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this

Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information

under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and

the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file

material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access

1 motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v.

2 City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen.

3 Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony

4 Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective

5 orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or

6 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be

7 made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The

8 parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL

9 does not – without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing

10 that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or

11 otherwise protectable – constitute good cause.

13 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then

14 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief

15 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See

16 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item

17 or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal

18 in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must

19 articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for

20 the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to

21 file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.

Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in

its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If

documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only

the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall

be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety

1 4. DEFINITIONS

2 4.1 Action: the above-captioned action pending in the United States District

3 Court for the Central District of California and styled as Scottsdale Indemnity

4 Company v. Sun Coast General Insurance Agency, Inc., Case No. 8:19-cv-01947-

5 JLS-DFM.

7 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation

8 of information or items under this Order.

10 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of

11 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection

12 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good

13 Cause Statement.

15 4.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their

16 support staff).

18 4.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or

19 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as

20 “CONFIDENTIAL.”

4.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of

the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,

among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or

generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.

4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter

1 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.

3 4.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.

4 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside

5 counsel.

7 4.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or

8 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.

10 4.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party

11 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have

12 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that

13 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.

15 4.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,

16 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their

17 support staffs).

19 4.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

20 Discovery Material in this Action.

4.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support

services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or

demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)

and their employees and subcontractors.

4.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

1 4.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material

2 from a Producing Party.

4 5. SCOPE

5 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only

6 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted

7 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of

8 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties

9 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.

11 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the

12 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.

6. DURATION

Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as

CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced

as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all

members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by

specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance

of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause”

showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”

standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the

terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.

7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this

1 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection

2 only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written communications that

3 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items or communications

4 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of

5 this Order.

7 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations

8 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper

9 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose

10 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party

11 to sanctions.

13 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it

14 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must

15 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.

7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in

this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material

that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the

material is disclosed or produced. Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

(a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic

documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial

proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend

“CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that

contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for

protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)

1 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection

2 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated

3 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before

4 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed

5 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants

6 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or

7 portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the

8 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend”

9 to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a

10 page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the

11 protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).

13 (b) for testimony given in depositions, either that the Designating Party

14 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the

15 deposition all protected testimony, or within two (2) business days of receipt of the

16 deposition transcript, whichever is later. During the first two (2) business days after

17 receipt of the deposition transcript, the deposition transcript shall be deemed

18 “CONFIDENTIAL.”

any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the

exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend

“CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants

protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected

portion(s).

7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

1 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.

2 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable

3 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this

4 Order.

6 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

7 8.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

8 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s

9 Scheduling Order.

11 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute

12 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.

14 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a

15 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.

8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on

the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose

(e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may

expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived

or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the

material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing

Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.

9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is

disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this

1 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the

2 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving

3 Party must comply with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).

5 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a

6 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons

7 authorized under this Order.

9 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

10 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a

11 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated

12 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

14 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well

15 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary

16 to disclose the information for this Action;

18 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the

19 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;

disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the

“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);

(d) the court and its personnel;

(e) court reporters and their staff;

1 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional

2 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have

3 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);

5 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a

6 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;

8 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the

9 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party

10 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they will

11 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the

12 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise

13 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed

14 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be

15 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as

16 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order;

(i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,

mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions;

(j) the Receiving Party’s auditors, insurers, reinsurers, insurance

representatives, and regulators of the Parties to whom disclosure is reasonably

necessary for this Action; and

(k) any other person as to whom the Producing Party agrees in writing.

10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED

1 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation

2 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as

3 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:

5 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall

6 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

8 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order

9 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena

10 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of

11 this Stipulated Protective Order; and

13 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued

14 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.

If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with

the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action

as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena

or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The

Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court

of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as

authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful

directive from another court.

11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE

PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION

(a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-

1 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the

2 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be

3 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.

5 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to

6 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is

7 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s

8 confidential information, then the Party shall:

10 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party

11 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement

12 with a Non-Party;

14 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated

15 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably

16 specific description of the information requested; and

(3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-

Party, if requested.

days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may

produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request.

If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce

any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality

agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court

order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking

1 12. 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

5 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts

6 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or

7 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,

8 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and

9 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

11 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

12 PROTECTED MATERIAL

13 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain

14 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,

15 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil

16 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure

17 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior

18 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the

19 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or

20 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the

21 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted

22 to the Court.

14. MISCELLANEOUS

14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any

person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.

1 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to

2 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this

3 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any

4 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.

6 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any

7 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may

8 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific

9 Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is

10 denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public

11 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.

13 15. FINAL DISPOSITION

14 The obligations of the Parties under this Order shall survive the resolution of

15 this action such that the Parties agree to maintain all Confidential Material as

16 “CONFIDENTIAL” during the pendency of and after the conclusion of this action.

18 16. VIOLATION

19 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures

20 including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.

25 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

. . . . .

THOMPSON COE & O’MEARA,

| LLP

Dated: June 9, 2020 By: /s/ Robert A. Latham HI

3 Frances M. O’Meara

4 Robert A. Latham IT

Theodore A. Hammers

6 BAILEY CAVALIERI LLC

7 Dated: June 9, 2020 By: /s/ Sabrina Haurin

8 Sabrina Haurin, admitted pro hac vice

Jolene S. Griffith, admitted pro hac vic

10 Attorneys for Plaintiffs Scottsdale

Indemnity Company

HAIGHT BROWN & BONESTEEL

12 LLP

13 Dated: June 9, 2020 By: /s/ Bevin A. Berube

14 Denis J. Moriarty, Bar No. 106064

15 Bevin A. Berube, Bar No. 227965

16 Attorneys for Defendant Sun Coast

7 General Insurance Agency, Inc.

19 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

5, || DATED: _Iune 11, 2020 ¢ n_\)

HON. IOUGLAS F. MCCORMICK

22 United States Magistrate Judge

7 EXHIBIT A

28 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

1 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of

2 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that

3 I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was

4 issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on

5 [date] in the case of Scottsdale Indemnity Company v. Sun Coast General Insurance

6 Agency, Inc., Case No. 8:19-cv-01947-JLS-DFM.. I agree to comply with and to be

7 bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and

8 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment

9 in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner

10 any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any

11 person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.

12 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the

13 Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective

14 Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I

15 hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of

16 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and

17 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with

18 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective

19 Order.

21 Date: ______________________________________

22 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________

23 Printed name: _______________________________

25 Signature: __________________________________

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