Ricardo Rubio v. CSC ServiceWorks, Inc.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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11 RICARDO RUBIO, an individual, on Case No. 2:20-cv-02873-JAK-GJS

behalf of himself and all others similarly

12 situated and aggrieved,

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE

13 Plaintiff, ORDER1

14 v.

Complaint Filed: 2/7/2020

15 CSC SERVICEWORKS, INC., a (Los Angeles County Superior Court,

16 Florida Corporation; and DOES 1 to Case No. 20STCV05131)

100, inclusive,

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Defendants.

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1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

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

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proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 legal principles.

3 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

4 This wage and hour class action is likely to involve private employee data, trade

5 secrets, valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or

6 proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure and from

7 use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such

8 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things,

9 confidential employee information, confidential business or financial information,

10 information regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential research,

11 development, or commercial information (including information implicating privacy

12 rights of third parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or

13 which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal

14 statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the

15 flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality

16 of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to

17 keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses

18 of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling

19 at the end of the litigation, and to serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such

20 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information

21 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so

22 designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential,

23 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public

24 record of this case.

25 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL

26 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this

27 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information

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

2 material under seal.

3 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial

4 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions,

5 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and

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

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

8 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good

9 cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with

10 proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to

11 Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation

12 of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the

13 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material

14 sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise

15 protectable—constitute good cause.

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

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

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

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

20 item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under

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

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

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

24 file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.

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

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

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

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

2 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.

3 2. DEFINITIONS

4 2.1 Action: Ricardo Rubio v. CSC Serviceworks, Inc., et al., pending in

5 the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Case No.

6 2:20-cv-02873-JAK-GJS, originally filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court,

7 Case No. 20STCV05131.

8 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation

9 of information or items under this Order.

10 2.3 “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.

14 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their

15 support staff).

16 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or

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

18 “CONFIDENTIAL.”

19 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless

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

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

22 generated in 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

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

26 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.

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

1 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or

2 other 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

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

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

6 has appeared on 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

9 support staffs).

10 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

11 Discovery 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)

15 and their employees and subcontractors.

16 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

17 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

18 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material

19 from a Producing Party.

20 3. SCOPE

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

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

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

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

25 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.

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

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

1 4. DURATION

2 FINAL DISPOSITION of the action is defined as the conclusion of any

3 appellate proceedings, or, if no appeal is taken, when the time for filing of an appeal

4 has run. Except as set forth below, the terms of this protective order apply through

5 FINAL DISPOSITION of the action. The parties may stipulate that the they will be

6 contractually bound by the terms of this agreement beyond FINAL DISPOSITION,

7 but will have to file a separate action for enforcement of the agreement once all

8 proceedings in this case are complete.

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

10 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced

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

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

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

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

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

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

17 such materials, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the

18 commencement of the trial.

19 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

20 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

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

22 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies

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

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

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

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

27 this Order.

1 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations

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

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

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

5 to sanctions.

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

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

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

9 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in

10 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise

11 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection

12 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or

13 produced.

14 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

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

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

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

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

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

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

21 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).

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

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

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

25 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be

26 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents

27 it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents,

1 the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL

2 legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material

3 on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the

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

5 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies

6 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition

7 all protected testimony.

8 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for

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

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

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

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

13 portion(s).

14 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

15 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the

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

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

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

19 Order.

20 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

21 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

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

23 Scheduling Order.

24 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute

25 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.

26 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on

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

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

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

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

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

5 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

6 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is

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

8 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such

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

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

11 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).

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

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

14 authorized under this Order.

15 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

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

17 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated

18 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

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

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

21 to disclose the information for this Action;

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

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

24 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom

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

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

27 (d) the court and its personnel;

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);

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

14 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and

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

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

17 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN

18 OTHER LITIGATION

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

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

21 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:

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

23 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

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

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

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

27 this Stipulated Protective Order; and

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9 directive from another court.

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

11 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION

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

13 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information

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

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

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

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

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

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

20 confidential information, then the Party shall:

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

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

23 with a Non-Party;

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

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

26 specific description of the information requested; and

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

1 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within

2 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party

3 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery

4 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall

5 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the

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

7 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense

8 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.

9 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

10 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed

11 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this

12 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in

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

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

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

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

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

18 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

19 PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1 to the court.

2 12. MISCELLANEOUS

3 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any

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

5 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this

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

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

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

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

10 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any

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

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

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

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

15 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.

16 13. FINAL DISPOSITION

17 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60

18 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return

19 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this

20 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,

21 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected

22 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving

23 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same

24 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies

25 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or

26 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,

27 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any

1 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing

2 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert

3 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such

4 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or

5 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in

6 Section 4 (DURATION).

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1 || 14. VIOLATION

2 || Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including,

3 |} without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.

4 || ITIS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

5 || Dated: July 20, 2020

6 /s/_ Cheryl A. Kenner

CARNEY R. SHEGERIAN

7 ANTHONY NGUYEN

CHERYL A. KENNER

g SHEGERIAN & ASSOCIATES, INC.

Attorneys for Plaintiff Ricardo Rubio and

9 all others similarly situated and aggrieved

10 || The below signatory attests that all other signatories listed, and on whose behalf the

11 filing is submitted, concur in the filing’s content and have authorized the filing.

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13 || Dated: July 20, 2020 frie fry Va yout! □

14 SHIVA SHIRAZI DAVOUDIAN

EVERETT C. MARTIN

IS LITTLER MENDELSON, P.C.

Attorneys for Defendant

16 CSC ServiceWorks, Inc.

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

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21 || DATED: July 23, 2020

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GAIL J. STANDISH

|| UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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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 that

5 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 Ricardo Rubio v. CSC Serviceworks, Inc.,

8 et al., United States District Court for the Central District of California, Case No.

9 2:20-cv-02873-JAK-GJS (originally filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court,

10 Case No. 20STCV05131). I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of

11 this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so

12 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I

13 solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that

14 is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict

15 compliance with the provisions of this Order.

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

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

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

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

20 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and

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

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

23 Order.

24 Date: ______________________________________

25 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________

26 Printed name: _______________________________

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