even stipulated 9 || protective orders require good cause showing
How later courts described this case
- even stipulated 9 || 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 | SHEA PROPERTIES MANAGEMENT | CASE NO.: 8:21-cv-00514-DOC-JDE
COMPANY, INC. a Delaware
11 corporation; DYER BUSINESS PARK,
LLC, a California corporation, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
12 ORDER
Plaintiffs,
13
| YS:
THE CONTINENTAL INSURANCE
15 COMPANY, a Pennsylvania corporation;
PACIFIC CONSTRUCTION GROUP, a
16 || California corporation; and DOES 1
7 through 50, inclusive,
D .
18 efendants
19 Based on the parties’ Stipulation (Dkt. 24), and for good cause shown,
20 || the Court finds and orders as follows.
21 || 1. 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 pursuing this litigation may
25 || be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the
26 | Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties
27 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all
28 || disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from
-1- STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDE
1 || public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that
2 || are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles.
; 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
4 This action 1s likely to involve documents and information containing
° commercial, financial and/or proprietary information for which special
6 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than
prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary
8 materials and information consist of, among other things, confidential business
? or financial information, information regarding confidential business practices,
10 information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be
i privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes,
2 court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow
3 of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over
4 confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the
1S parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted
reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the
conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve
the ends of justice, a protective order for such information 1s justified in this
9 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as
20 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a
good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public
22 manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record
°3 of this case.
“a 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING
PROCEDURE
26 This Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential
information under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that
-2- STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDE
1 || must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks
2 || permission from the court to file material under seal. There is a strong
3 || presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial proceedings and
4 || records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, good cause
5 || 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.
7 || Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony
8 || Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated
9 || protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good
10 || cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal
11 || justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks
12 || to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery
13 | Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not— without the submission of
14 || competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought to be
15 |) filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—
16 || constitute good cause.
17 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial,
18 || then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown,
19 || and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to
20 || be protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th
21 | Cir. 2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to
22 || be filed or introduced under seal, the party seeking protection must articulate
23 || compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the
24 || requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application
25 || to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.
26 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise
27 || protectable in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions
28 || can be redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for
-3- STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDE
1 || public viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise
2 || protectable portions of the document, shall be filed. Any application that seeks
3 || to file documents under seal in their entirety should include an explanation of
4 || why redaction is not feasible.
5 The parties agree that, as a supplement to the requirements set forth in
6 || Local Civil Rule 79-5.2.2, subsection (b), any party wishing to file any
7 || document(s) containing information previously designated in this action as
8 || confidential pursuant to this Order must meet and confer with the designating
9 || party at least seven (7) days before seeking to file an Application for Leave to
10 || File Under Seal in accordance with Local Civil Rule 79-5.2.2, subsection (b).
11 4. DEFINITIONS
12 4.1 Action: this pending federal action.
13 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
14 || designation of information or items under this Order.
15 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information
16 || (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that
17 || qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as
18 || specified above in the Good Cause Statement.
19 4.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as
20 || well as their support staff).
21 4.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates
22 || information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery
23 || as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
24 4.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information,
25 || regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or
26 || maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible
27 || things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.
28
-4- STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDE
1 4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in
2 || a matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its
3 || counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
4 4.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to
5 || this Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or
6 || any other outside counsel.
7 4.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation,
8 || association or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
9 4.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees
10 || of a party to this Action but are retained to represent a party to this Action and
11 || have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law
12 || firm that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
13 4.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers,
14 || directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of
15 || Record (and their support staffs).
16 4.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces
17 || Disclosure or Discovery Material in this Action.
18 4.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide
19 |) litigation support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating,
20 || preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data
21 || in any form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors.
22 4.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material
23 || that is designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
24 4.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or
25 || Discovery Material from a Producing Party.
26 5. SCOPE
27 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
28 || Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
-5- STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDE
1 || extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
2 || compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
3 || presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
4 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of
5 || the trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the
6 || use of Protected Material at trial.
7 6. DURATION
8 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
9 | CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or
10 |) introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively
11 || available to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling
12 || reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to
13 || the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81
14 || (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in
15 || discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents
16 || are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not
17 || extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
18 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
19 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for
20 || Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for
21 || protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to
22 || specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating
23 || Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents,
24 || items or oral or written communications that qualify so that other portions of
25 || the material, documents, items or communications for which protection is not
26 || warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
27 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited.
28 || Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made
-6- STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDE
1 || for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development
2 || process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
3 || expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
4 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items
5 || that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating
6 || Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the
7 || inapplicable designation.
8 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise
9 || provided in this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of
10 |) Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be
11 || clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced. Designation
12 || in conformity with this Order requires:
13 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
14 || documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
15 || proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
16 | “CONFIDENTIAL?” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page
17 || that contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page
18 || qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the
19 || protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
20 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for
21 || inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting
22 || Party has indicated which documents it would like copied and produced.
23 || During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material made
24 || available for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the
25 || inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced,
26 || the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof,
27 || qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified
28 || documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to
-7- STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDE
1 || each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on
2 || a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify
3 || the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
4 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party
5 || identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close
6 || of the deposition all protected testimony.
7 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary
8 || and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent
9 || place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is
10 || stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the
11 || information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable,
12 || shall identify the protected portion(s).
13 7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an
14 || inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items does not,
15 || standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under
16 || this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the
17 || Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is
18 || treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
19 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
20 8.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may
21 || challenge a designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the
22 || Court’s Scheduling Order.
23 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the
24 || dispute resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
25 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be
26 || via a joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
27 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding
28 || shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an
-8- STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDE
1 || improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens
2 || on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the
3 || Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all
4 || parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to
5 || which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court
6 || rules on the challenge.
7 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
8 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected
9 || Material that is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in
10 || connection with this Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to
11 |) settle this Action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the
12 || categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When
13 || the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the
14 || provisions of section 15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
15 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving
16 || Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to
17 || the persons authorized under this Order.
18 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items.
19 || Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the
20 || Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item
21 || designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
22 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action,
23 || as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is
24 || reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
25 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House
26 || Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure 1s reasonably necessary for
27 || this Action;
28
-9- STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDE
1 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to
2 || whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed
3 || the “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
7 || Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this
8 || Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
9 || Bound” (Exhibit A);
10 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the
11 || information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew
12 || the information;
13 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses,
14 || in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the
15 || deposing party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A
16 || hereto; and (2) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information
17 || unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit
18 || A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court.
19 || Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal
20 || Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not
21 || be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective
22 || Order; and
23 (1) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting
24 || personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement
25 || discussions.
26 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
27 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
28 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other
-10- STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDE
1 || litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this
2 || Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
3 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such
4 || notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
5 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena
6 || or order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered
7 || by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification
8 || shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
9 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
10 || pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If
11 || the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the
12 || subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this
13 || action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which
14 || the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating
15 || Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of
16 || seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these
17 || provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party
18 |) in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
19 11. ANON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO
20 BE PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
21 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced
22 || by a Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such
23 || information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation 1s
24 || protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these
25 || provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking
26 || additional protections.
27 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery
28 || request, to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession,
-11- STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDE
1 || and the Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the
2 || Non-Party’s confidential information, then the Party shall:
3 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-
4 || Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
5 || agreement with a Non-Party;
6 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
7 || Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a
8 || reasonably specific description of the information requested; and
9 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
10 || Non-Party, if requested.
11 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court
12 || within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the
13 |) Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information
14 || responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective
15 || order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession
16 || or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party
17 || before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the
18 || Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court
19 || of its Protected Material.
20 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED
21 MATERIAL
22 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has
23 || disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not
24 || authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must
25 || immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized
26 || disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the
27 || Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized
28 || disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request such
-12- STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDE
1 || person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment an Agreement to Be
2 || Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.
3 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
4 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL
5 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
6 || inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
7 || protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal
8 || Rule of Civil\ Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify
9 || whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides
10 | for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of
11 || Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect
12 || of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client
13 || privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their
14 || agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
15 14. MISCELLANEOUS
16 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of
17 || any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
18 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
19 || Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
20 || disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed
21 || in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to
22 || object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this
23 || Protective Order.
24 14.3. Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
25 || Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material
26 || may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of
27 || the specific Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material
28 || under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the
-13- STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDE
1 || information in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
2 15. FINAL DISPOSITION
3 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6,
4 || within 60 days ofa written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving
5 || Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such
6 material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all
7 || copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing
g || or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is
g || returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification
10 || to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating
11 || Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where
12 || appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2)
13 || affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
14 || compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of
15 || the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to
16 || retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and
17 || hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial
18 || exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work
19 || product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival
20 || copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this
21 || Protective Order as set forth in Section 6 (DURATION).
22 16. VIOLATION
23 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
24 || including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions
25 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
26 hye J! fe Zo
DATED: May 7, 2021 □
27 N D. EARLY
28 nited States Magistrate Judge
-14- STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDE
1 EXHIBIT A
2 Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound
3 || I, , acknowledge that I have received a copy of the
4 || Stipulation and Protective Order entered in Shea Properties Management Company,
5 || et al. v The Continental Insurance Company, Central District of California Case
6 || No. 8:21-cv-00514-DOC-JDE, that I have read the stipulation regarding treatment
7 || of Protected Material, that I understand the terms and restrictions on one who is
8 || given access to Protected Material, and that I agree to be bound thereby.
9
10 |) Dated:
11
12 || Name:
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
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-15- STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDE.