distinguishing “good cause” showing for 9 sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when 10 merits-related documents are part of court record
How later courts described this case
- distinguishing “good cause” showing for 9 sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when 10 merits-related documents are part of court record
- even 14 stipulated protective orders require good cause showing
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10 SOUTHERN DIVISION
11 TOP INDUSTRIAL, INC., a Civil Action No. 19-cv-2444-JLS (JDEx)
corporation of California,
12
Plaintiff, Honorable Judge John D. Early
13
vs.
14 BUILDER’S NETWORK, INC., a STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
ORDER
15 corporation of California, doing
business as TLS LABORATORIES;
16 GENE SUMMY, an individual, and
17 DOES 1-10, Inclusive,
Defendants.
18
19 BUILDER’S NETWORK, INC., a
corporation of California, doing
20
business as TLS LABORATORIES;
21 GENE SUMMY, an individual,
22 Counterclaimants,
23 vs.
TOP INDUSTRIAL, INC., a
24
corporation of California,
25
Counterclaim Defendant.
26
Based on the parties’ Stipulation (Dkt. 38-1) and for good cause shown, the
27
Court finds and orders as follows.
1 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
2 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
3 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public
4 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be
5 warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to
enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this
6
Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
7
discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends
8
only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
9
under the applicable legal principles.
10
2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
11
This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists and
12
other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or
13
proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure and from
14
use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such
15
confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other
16
things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding
17
confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, or
18
commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third
19 parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be
20 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes,
21 court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of
22 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of
23 discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep
24 confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of
25 such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling
26 at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such
27 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information
will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so
1 designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential,
2 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public
3 record of this case.
4 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE
5 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
6
under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed
7
and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the Court
8
to file material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right
9
of access to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-
10
dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See
11
Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006),
12
Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-
13
Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even
14
stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of
15
good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal
16
justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to
17
file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material
18
as CONFIDENTIAL or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES
19 ONLY does not—without the submission of competent evidence by declaration,
20 establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential,
21 privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
22 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then
23 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the
24 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected.
25 See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For
26 each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced
27 under seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons,
supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order.
1 Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal
2 must be provided by declaration.
3 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in
4 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted.
5 If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting
only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document,
6
shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their
7
entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
8
4. DEFINITIONS
9
4.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit.
10
4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
11
designation of information or items under this Order.
12
4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
13
how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
14
protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
15
the Good Cause Statement.
16
4.4 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”
17
Information or Items: extremely confidential and/or sensitive “Confidential
18
Information or Items,” disclosure of which to another Party or Non-Party is likely to
19 cause harm or significant competitive disadvantage to the Producing Party.
20 4.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
21 their support staff).
22 4.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
23 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
24 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES
25 ONLY.”
26 4.7 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 or
2 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.
3 4.8 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.
4.9 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
6
House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
7
counsel.
8
4.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or
9
other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
10
4.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party
11
to this Action but are retained to represent a party to this Action and have appeared
12
in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that has
13
appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
14
4.12 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
15
employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
16
support staffs).
17
4.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
18
Discovery Material in this Action.
19 4.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
20 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
21 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
22 and their employees and subcontractors.
23 4.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
24 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –
25 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
26 4.16 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
27 Material from a Producing Party.
/ / /
1 5. SCOPE
2 5.1 All Protected Material shall be used solely for this case and any related
3 appellate proceeding, and not for any other purpose whatsoever, including without
4 limitation any other litigation, patent prosecution or acquisition, patent
5 reexamination or reissue proceedings, or any business or competitive purpose or
function. Protected Material shall not be distributed, disclosed, or made available to
6
anyone except as expressly provided in this Order.
7
5.2 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
8
Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
9
extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
10
compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
11
presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
12
5.3 Nothing in this Protective Order shall prevent or restrict a Producing
13
Party’s own disclosure or use of its own Protected Material to any person for any
14
purpose.
15
5.4 This Order does not preclude any Party or Non-Party from using
16
Protected Material with the consent of the Producing Party or by order of the Court
17
or independently obtained through lawful means.
18
5.5 This Order does not preclude any Party or Non-Party from moving the
19 Court for additional protection of any Discovery Material or modification of this
20 Order, including, without limitation, moving for an order that certain matter not be
21 produced at all.
22 5.6 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders
23 of the trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the
24 use of Protected Material at trial.
25 6. DURATION
26 Even after Final Disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations
27 imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees
otherwise in writing, a court order otherwise directs, or the information was made
1 public during trial. For purposes of this Order, “Final Disposition” occurs after an
2 order, mandate, or dismissal finally terminating the above-captioned action with
3 prejudice, including all appeals. Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was
4 designated as CONFIDENTIAL, HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’
5 EYES ONLY, 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
6
of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific
7
factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the
8
trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for
9
sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when
10
merits-related documents are part of court record).
11
7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
12
7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
13
Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
14
this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
15
qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
16
protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written
17
communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items
18
or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably
19 within the ambit of this Order.
20 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
21 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
22 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
23 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating
24 Party to sanctions.
25 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
26 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
27 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
/ / /
1 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
2 this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material
3 that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before
4 the material is disclosed or produced.
5 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
(a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
6
documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
7
proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
8
“CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES
9
ONLY” (hereinafter “Confidentiality Legend”), to each page that contains protected
10
material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the
11
Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
12
appropriate markings in the margins).
13
A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
14
need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
15
which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
16
before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
17
deemed “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” After the
18
inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the
19 Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for
20 protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the
21 Producing Party must affix the appropriate Confidentiality Legend to each page that
22 contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for
23 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)
24 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
25 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party
26 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the
27 deposition all protected testimony, or by sending written notice of which portions of
the transcript of the testimony are designated within 14 days of receipt of the
1 transcript of the testimony. During the 14-day period, the entire transcript will be
2 treated as “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
3 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and
4 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on
5 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the
appropriate Confidentiality Legend. If only a portion or portions of the information
6
warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the
7
protected portion(s).
8
7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
9
failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
10
the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
11
Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
12
efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
13
Order.
14
Once a Receiving Party has received notification of the correct confidentiality
15
designation for the Protected Material, the Receiving Party shall treat such
16
Discovery Material (subject to the exception in the following Paragraph below) at
17
the appropriately designated level pursuant to the terms of this Order.
18
A subsequent designation of “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
19 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” shall apply on a going forward
20 basis and shall not disqualify anyone who reviewed “CONFIDENTIAL” or
21 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” materials while the
22 materials were not marked “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES
23 ONLY” or from engaging in the activities set forth in Section 9.
24 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
25 8.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
26 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
27 Scheduling Order.
/ / /
1 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
2 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
3 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a
4 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
5 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
6
purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
7
parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
8
Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
9
continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
10
entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
11
challenge.
12
9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
13
9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
14
disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in accordance with Section
15
5. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and
16
under the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated,
17
a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of Section 15 below (FINAL
18
DISPOSITION).
19 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
20 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
21 authorized under this Order.
22 Nothing in this Protective Order shall be construed to prevent counsel from
23 advising their clients with respect to this case based in whole or in part upon
24 Protected Materials, provided counsel does not disclose the Protected Material itself
25 except as provided in this Order.
26 Nothing in this Protective Order shall preclude a party from using material
27 obtained lawfully from a source other than the Producing Party, even if the
Producing Party also designated the material pursuant to this Protective Order.
1 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
2 otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
3 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
4 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
5 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
6
necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
7
(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
8
the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
9
(c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
10
disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action, including the Expert’s support
11
staff, and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
12
(Exhibit A);
13
(d) the Court and its personnel;
14
(e) court reporters and their staff;
15
(f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
16
Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
17
signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
18
(g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or
19 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
20 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in
21 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing
22 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2)
23 they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
24 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
25 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed
26 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
27 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except
as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order;
1 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel,
2 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions; and
3 (j) any other person with the prior written consent of the Producing
4 Party.
5 9.3 Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES
ONLY” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted
6
in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information
7
or item designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”
8
to only the individuals identified in Paragraphs 9.2 (a), (c)-(g), (i), and (j) who are
9
not competitive decision-makers of a Party.
10
10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
11
PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
12
If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
13
that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
14
Protected Material that Party must:
15
(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
16
shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
17
(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or
18
order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
19 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include
20 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
21 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
22 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the
23 Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the
24 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action
25 as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES
26 ONLY” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order
27 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
1 court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed
2 as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful
3 directive from another court.
4 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
5 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
(a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
6
Non-Party in this Action and designated as Protected Material. Such information
7
produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
8
remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
9
construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
10
(b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
11
produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
12
subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
13
confidential information, then the Party shall:
14
(1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-
15
Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a
16
confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
17
(2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
18
Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s),
19 and a reasonably specific description of the information
20 requested; and
21 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by
22 the Non-Party, if requested.
23 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court
24 within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving
25 Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the
26 discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving
27 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
1 Court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and
2 expense of seeking protection in this Court of its Protected Material.
3 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
4 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
5 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
6
writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
7
to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material and to ensure that no
8
further or greater unauthorized disclosure and/or use thereof is made, (c) inform the
9
person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of
10
this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment
11
an Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A. Unauthorized or
12
inadvertent disclosure does not change the status of Discovery Material or waive a
13
Producing Party’s right to designate the disclosed document or information as
14
Protected Material.
15
13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
16
OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL
17
(a) The inadvertent production by a Party of Discovery Material subject
18
to the attorney-client privilege, work-product protection, or any other applicable
19 privilege or protection, despite the Producing Party’s reasonable efforts to prescreen
20 such Discovery Material prior to production, will not waive the applicable privilege
21 and/or protection if a request for return of such inadvertently produced Discovery
22 Material is made promptly after the Producing Party learns of its inadvertent
23 production.
24 (b) Upon a request from any Producing Party who has inadvertently
25 produced Discovery Material that it believes is privileged and/or protected, each
26 Receiving Party shall immediately return such Protected Material or Discovery
27 Material and all copies to the Producing Party, except for any pages containing
/ / /
1 privileged markings by the Receiving Party which shall instead be destroyed and
2 certified as such by the Receiving Party to the Producing Party.
3 (c) Nothing herein shall prevent the Receiving Party from preparing a
4 record for its own use containing the date, author, addresses, and topic of the
5 inadvertently produced Discovery Material and such other information as is
reasonably necessary to identify the Discovery Material and describe its nature to
6
the Court in any motion to compel production of the Discovery Material.
7
14. MISCELLANEOUS
8
14.1 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
14.2 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
14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
16
Protected Material must comply with Local Civil 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. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal
19 is denied by the Court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the
20 public record unless otherwise instructed by the Court.
21 15. 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, compilations,
26 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
27 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving
Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same
1 | person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies
2 || (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or
3 || destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,
|| abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any
5 || of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to
6 || retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
7 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
g || reports, attorney work product, production documents, 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
1 Order as set forth in Section 6 (DURATION).
1D 16. VIOLATION
Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
15
16 | FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
17
181 Dated October 07, 2020 By: Lh Ke 24
19 J D. EARLY
ited States Magistrate Judge
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
1 EXHIBIT A
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
2
I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of
3
_________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury
4
that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that
5
was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California
6
in the case of Top Industrial, Inc. v. Builder’s Network, Inc. et al., No. 8:19-cv-2444.
7
I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective
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Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me
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to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I
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will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this
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Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with
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the provisions of this Order.
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I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
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for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
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Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
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termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print
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or type full name] of _______________________________________ [print or type
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full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in
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connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this
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Stipulated Protective Order.
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Date: ______________________________________
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City and State where sworn and signed: ________________________________
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Printed name: _______________________________
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Signature:
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