# Daniel Thomas v. State Farm General Insurance Company > District Court, C.D. California · May 13, 2021 URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10040891 ## Case - **Court:** District Court, C.D. California - **Decided:** May 13, 2021 - **Opinion:** 100trialcourt - **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library ## Citator (automated) - No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases. - Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10040891 ## Opinion text 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 DANIEL THOMAS, an individual, Case No. 2:20-cv-10967-GW-AFM 11 Plaintiff, [State Court Case No.: 12 v. 56-2020-00546397-CU-IC-VTA] 13 STATE FARM GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, a California [PROPOSED] PROTECTIVE 14 Corporation; ORDER1 15 Defendant. 16 17 18 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 19 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 20 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure 21 and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. 22 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the 23 following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does 24 not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that 25 the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited 26 27 28 1 This Stipulated Protective Order is based substantially on the model protective order 1 information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable 2 legal principles. 3 4 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 5 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, and other valuable research, 6 development, commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary information, as well 7 as private personal information, for which special protection from public disclosure 8 and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. More 9 specifically, this action may involve the production of State Farm’s electronic claim 10 file system, which was created with considerable time and expense. Further, such 11 materials were created and maintained for a business purpose, and contain unique 12 information to State Farm. Additionally, such confidential and proprietary materials 13 and information consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial 14 information, information regarding confidential business practices, or other 15 confidential research, development, or commercial information (including 16 information implicating privacy rights of third parties), private personal information, 17 information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged 18 or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case 19 decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to 20 facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, 21 to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to 22 ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in 23 preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the 24 litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is 25 justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be 26 designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated 27 without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public 28 1 manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this 2 case. 3 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER 4 SEAL 5 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 6 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 7 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and 8 the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file 9 material under seal. 10 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 11 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 12 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and 13 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors 14 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 15 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good 16 cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with 17 proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to 18 Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation 19 of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the 20 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material 21 sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise 22 protectable—constitute good cause. 23 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 24 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief 25 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See 26 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each 27 item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under 28 seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must 1 articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for 2 the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to 3 file documents under seal must be provided by declaration. 4 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 5 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 6 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only 7 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall 8 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety 9 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 10 11 2. DEFINITIONS 12 A. Action: this pending federal lawsuit, entitled Daniel Thomas v. State 13 Farm General Insurance Company, Case No. 2:20-cv-10967-GW-AFM. 14 B. Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation 15 of information or items under this Order. 16 C. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 17 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection 18 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good 19 Cause Statement. 20 D. Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 21 support staff). 22 E. 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.” 25 F. Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of 26 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 27 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 28 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 1 G. Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 2 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 3 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 4 H. House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 5 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 6 counsel. 7 I. Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or 8 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 9 J. Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party 10 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have 11 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that 12 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 13 K. Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 14 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 15 support staffs). 16 L. Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 17 Discovery Material in this Action. 18 M. Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 19 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 20 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 21 and their employees and subcontractors. 22 N. Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 23 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 24 O. Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 25 from a Producing Party. 26 27 3. SCOPE 28 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 1 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted 2 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of 3 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties 4 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 5 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 6 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 7 8 4. DURATION 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). Even after final 17 disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by this Order 18 shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court 19 order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) 20 dismissal of all claims and defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) 21 final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, 22 remands, trials, or reviews of this action, including the time limits for filing any 23 motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law. 24 25 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 26 A. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 27 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this 28 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies 1 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection 2 only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written communications that 3 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items or communications 4 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of 5 this Order. 6 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 7 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 8 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 9 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party 10 to sanctions. 11 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 12 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 13 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 14 B. Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 15 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 16 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 17 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 18 produced. 19 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 20 1. for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 21 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 22 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 23 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 24 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for 25 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) 26 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 27 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 28 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 1 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before 2 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed 3 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants 4 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or 5 portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the 6 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” 7 to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a 8 page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the 9 protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 10 2. for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party 11 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the 12 deposition all protected material. 13 3. for information produced in some form other than documentary 14 and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place 15 on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the 16 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 17 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 18 portion(s). 19 C. Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 20 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the 21 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 22 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 23 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 24 Order. 25 26 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 27 A. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 28 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 1 Scheduling Order. 2 B. Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 3 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq. 4 C. Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a 5 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2. 6 D. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 7 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose 8 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may 9 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived 10 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the 11 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing 12 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 13 14 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 15 A. Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 16 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 17 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such 18 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 19 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving 20 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 21 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 22 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 23 authorized under this Order. 24 B. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 25 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 26 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 27 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 28 1 1. the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, 2 as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 3 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 4 2. the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) 5 of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 6 3. Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 7 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 8 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 9 4. the court and its personnel; 10 5. court reporters and their staff; 11 6. professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and 12 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and 13 who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 14 7. the author or recipient of a document containing the information 15 or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 16 8. during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in 17 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing 18 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they 19 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 20 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 21 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 22 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be 23 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as 24 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; 25 9. any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 26 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 27 28 1 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN 2 OTHER LITIGATION 3 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 4 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 5 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 6 1. promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such 7 notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 8 2. promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or 9 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 10 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include 11 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 12 3. cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 13 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 14 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 15 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action 16 as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena 17 or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 18 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court 19 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as 20 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful 21 directive from another court. 22 23 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED 24 IN THIS LITIGATION 25 1. The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by 26 a Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information 27 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 28 1 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 2 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 3 2. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, 4 to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 5 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 6 confidential information, then the Party shall: 7 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the 8 Non-Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 9 agreement with a Non-Party; 10 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the 11 Stipulated Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a 12 reasonably specific description of the information requested; and 13 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by 14 the Non-Party, if requested. 15 3. If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court 16 within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving 17 Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the 18 discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving 19 Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to 20 the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 21 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense 22 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 23 24 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 25 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 26 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 27 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 28 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 1 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 2 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 3 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 4 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 5 6 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 7 PROTECTED MATERIAL 8 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 9 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 10 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 11 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure 12 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior 13 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the 14 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or 15 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the 16 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted 17 to the court. 18 19 12. MISCELLANEOUS 20 A. Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 21 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 22 B. Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 23 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 24 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 25 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 26 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 27 C. Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 28 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 1 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific 2 Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is 3 denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public 4 record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 5 6 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 7 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 8 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return 9 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material, except in order 10 to comply with laws or regulations concerning disclosure, or in the conduct of the 11 Parties’ communications with attorneys, financial advisors or auditors or insurers, or 12 in the conduct of the Parties’ business including without limitation disclosure by State 13 Farm to its reinsurers, counsel, and auditors. As used in this subdivision, “all 14 Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any 15 other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the 16 Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written 17 certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the 18 Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where 19 appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms 20 that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, 21 summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. 22 Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all 23 pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, 24 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, 25 and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected 26 Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material 27 remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). 28 Moreover, nothing in this Protective Order disallows State Farm from l (a) complying with any state or federal law or regulation, including reporting of information to a regulator or government entity as permitted and/or required by 3|| applicable state and federal law; 4 (b) adding information discovered that it is relevant to a claim to the relevant 5|| electronic record in its electronic claim system; 6 (c) disclosing evidence of a crime or fraud; retaining information necessary to meet mandated retention requirements; or 8 (d) retaining copies of Protected Information that may exist on back-up media or other computer archive storage not regularly access by business users in the ordinary course provided that should a copy of the Confidential Information can be accessed it will not be used for a purpose inconsistent with this Order. 12,14. VIOLATION 13 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures i i 14] including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 16|| FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. Cty Mo