even stipulated protective orders 19 require good cause showing
How later courts described this case
- even stipulated protective orders 19 require good cause showing
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
1 TROUTMAN SANDERS LLP
Chad R. Fuller, Bar No. 190830
2 chad.fuller@troutman.com
Patrick J. Kane, Bar No. 273103
3 patrick.kane@troutman.com
11682 El Camino Real, Suite 400
4 San Diego, California 92130-2092
Telephone: 858-509-6000
5 Facsimile: 858-509-6040
6 Attorneys for Defendant,
SANTANDER CONSUMER USA INC.
7
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
BILLY CHARLES LOVELY JR., ) Case No.: 2:20-cv-00507
11 )
) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
12 Plaintiff, )
) ORDER
13 )
v. )
14 )
SANTANDER CONSUMER USA )
15 )
INC., an Illinois Corporation, )
16 PARAMOUNT RECOVERY )
SERVICE, a California Corporation, )
17 )
and DOES 1 through 10, inclusive, )
18 )
Defendants. )
19 )
20
21 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS.
22 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
23 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
24 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may
25 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to
26 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this
27 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
1 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
2 under the applicable legal principles.
3 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT.
4 This action is likely to involve the disclosure of personal (including but not
5 limited to social security numbers, credit reports and related scores, employment
6 history, etc.), confidential, trade secret, proprietary, technical, business and/or
7 financial information, for which special protection from public disclosure and from
8 use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such
9 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other
10 things, confidential business or financial information, personal financial
11 information as described above, information regarding confidential business
12 practices, commercial information (including information implicating privacy
13 rights of third parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public,
14 or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or
15 federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. SC contends that
16 disclosure of this information will likely result in harm to: (1) the consumer whose
17 confidential financial information would be disclosed without a protective order and
18 could be wrongly used by third parties with access to said information; and (2) SC,
19 because its confidential business practices would become known to the greater
20 public if said information is not subject to a protective order.
21 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt
22 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately
23 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the
24 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for
25 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and
26 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this
27 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as
1 faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and
2 there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
3 2. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE
4 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this
5 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file Protected Material under
6 seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the
7 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file
8 material under seal. Additionally, this Stipulated Protective Order does not purport
9 to allow the filing of Protected Material under seal without fur-ther order of Judge
10 Fischer, the filing under seal of pleadings or documents filed in connection with a
11 dispositive motion (including a class certification motion) or trial before Judge
12 Fischer.
13 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial
14 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions,
15 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and
16 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors
17 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics,
18 Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders
19 require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling
20 reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with
21 respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere
22 designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not –
23 without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the
24 material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or
25 otherwise protectable – constitute good cause. Further, if a party re-quests sealing
26 related to a dispositive motion or trial, then compelling reasons, not only good
27 cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored
1 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type of information,
2 document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal, the party seeking
3 protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal
4 justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting
5 the application to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.
6 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in
7 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted.
8 If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting
9 only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document,
10 shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their
11 entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
12 3. DEFINITIONS.
13 3.1 Action: The instant pending federal litigation captioned as Lovely v.
14 Santander Consumer USA Inc., et. al., Case No. 2:20-cv-00507.
15 3.2 Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the
16 designation of information or items under this Order.
17 3.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information (regardless of
18 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
19 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
20 the Good Cause Statement.
21 3.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
22 their support staff).
23 3.5 Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates information
24 or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
25 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
26 3.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless
27 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
1 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced
2 or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
3 3.7 Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
4 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
5 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
6 3.8 House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
7 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
8 counsel.
9 3.9 Non-Party: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association,
10 or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
11 3.10 Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a
12 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and
13 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm
14 which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
15 3.11 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).
18 3.12 Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
19 Discovery Material in this Action.
20 3.13 Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation
21 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
22 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
23 and their employees and subcontractors.
24 3.14 Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
25 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
26 3.15 Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
27 Material from a Producing Party.
1 4. SCOPE.
2 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
3 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
4 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
5 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
6 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
7 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
8 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
9 5. DURATION.
10 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations
11 imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees
12 otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be
13 deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action,
14 with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and
15 exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action,
16 including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time
17 pursuant to applicable law.
18 6. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL.
19 6.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
20 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
21 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
22 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
23 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
24 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,
25 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
26 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
27 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
1 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
2 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating
3 Party to sanctions.
4 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
5 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
6 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
7 6.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
8 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 7.2(a) below), or as otherwise
9 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
10 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
11 produced.
12 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
13 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,
14 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that
15 the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL”
16 (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected
17 material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for
18 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)
19 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
20 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
21 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
22 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
23 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
24 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the
25 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine
26 which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then,
27 before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the
1 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
2 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
3 markings in the margins).
4 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the
5 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition
6 all protected testimony.
7 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for
8 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
9 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
10 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
11 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
12 portion(s).
13 6.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
14 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone,
15 waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such
16 material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make
17 reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the
18 provisions of this Order.
19 7. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS.
20 7.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
21 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
22 Scheduling Order.
23 7.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
24 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
25 7.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a
26 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
27 7.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
1 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
2 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
3 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
4 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
5 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
6 challenge.
7 8. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL.
8 8.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
9 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
10 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
11 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
12 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
13 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 14 below (FINAL
14 DISPOSITION).
15 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
16 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
17 authorized under this Order.
18 8.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
19 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
20 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
21 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
22 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well
23 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary
24 to disclose the information for this Action;
25 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
26 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
27
1 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
2 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
3 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
4 (d) the court and its personnel;
5 (e) court reporters and their staff;
6 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
7 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
8 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
9 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
10 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
11 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the
12 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
13 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they
14 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
15 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
16 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
17 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
18 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except
19 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
20 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
21 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
22 9. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
23 IN OTHER LITIGATION.
24 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
25 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
26 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
27 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
1 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
2 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena
3 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of
4 this Stipulated Protective Order; and
5 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
6 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
7 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
8 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this
9 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
10 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
11 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
12 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
13 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
14 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
15 10. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
16 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION.
17 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
18 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
19 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
20 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
21 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
22 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
23 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
24 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
25 confidential information, then the Party shall:
26 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
27 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
1 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
2 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
3 specific description of the information requested; and
4 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
5 Non-Party, if requested.
6 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14
7 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
8 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
9 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall
10 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
11 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
12 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and
13 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
14 11. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL.
15 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
16 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
17 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
18 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
19 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person
20 or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this
21 Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
22 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
23 12. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
24 PROTECTED MATERIAL.
25 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
26 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
27 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
1 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without
2 prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar
3 as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
4 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
5 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted
6 to the court.
7 13. MISCELLANEOUS.
8 13.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
9 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
10 13.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
11 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
12 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
13 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
14 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
15 13.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
16 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
17 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
18 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material
19 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information
20 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
21 14. FINAL DISPOSITION.
22 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6, within 60
23 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
24 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in
25 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts,
26 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
27 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the
1 not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that:
2 (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was
3 returned or destroyed; and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any
4 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or
5 capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel
6 are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial,
7 deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition
8 and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert
9 work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival
10 copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective
11 Order as set forth in Section 6 (DURATION).
12 15. FINAL VIOLATION.Any violation of this Order may be punished by
13 any and all appropriate measures including, without limitation, contempt
14 proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
15 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
16 Dated: June 17, 2020 TROUTMAN SANDERS LLP
17
By: /s/ Patrick J. Kane, Esq.
18
Patrick J. Kane
19
Attorneys for Defendant,
20 SANTANDER CONSUMER USA INC.
21
Dated: June 17, 2020 LAW OFFICES OF BRANDON BLOCK
22 A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION
23
24 By: /s/ Brandon A. Block
Brandon A. Block
25
Attorneys for Plaintiff,
26 BILLY CHARLES LOVELY JR.
27
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
—SGeer
3 Dated: June 17.2070 Honorable Steve Kim
4 United States Magistrate Judge
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Ondo DE Ad TE 7 RTD AAA NENA
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
6 was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California
7 on [date] in the case of Lovely v. Santander Consumer USA Inc., et al., Case No.
8 2:20-cv-00507. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this
9 Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so
10 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I
11 solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item
12 that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in
13 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 the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
16 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
17 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print
18 or type full name] of _______________________________________ [print or type
19 full address and telephone number] as my California agent or service of process in
20 connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this
21 Stipulated Protective Order.
22 Date: _________________________________
23
24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
25
26 Printed name: _______________________________
27