# Hartford Underwriters Insurance Company v. Scotsman Group, LLC

> District Court, C.D. California · August 30, 2021

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10041740

## Case

- **Court:** District Court, C.D. California
- **Decided:** August 30, 2021
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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SOUTHERN DIVISION
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HARTFORD UNDERWRITERS ) CASE NO. 8:21-CV-00029-DOC-JDE
13 INSURANCE COMPANY, a foreign )
corporation individually and as ) PROTECTIVE ORDER
14 subrogee of its insured, Air Treatment )
15 Corporation ) )
Plaintiffs, )
16 )
v. )
17 )
SCOTSMAN GROUP, LLC, a )
18 Delaware limited liability company; )
INGERSOLL RAND, INC., a )
19 Delaware corporation; REGAL )
BELOIT COPRORATION, a )
20 Wisconsin corporation; KATOM )
RESTAURANT SUPPLY, INC. a )
21 Tennessee corporation; and DOES 1 to )
10, inclusive, )
22 )
Defendants. )
23 )
24

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26 Based on the parties’ Stipulation (Dkt. 33), and for good cause shown, the Court
27 hereby finds and orders as follows.
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2 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
3 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure
4 and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be warranted.
5 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the
6 following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does
7 not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that
8 the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited
9 information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable
10 legal principles.
11 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
12 This action involves proprietary information regarding the Ice Machine described in
13 Plaintiffs’ complaint (and its component parts), including trade secrets, customer and
14 pricing lists, sourcing information, suppliers, product specifications, proprietary product
15 and component drawings, product bills of material, and other valuable research,
16 development, commercial, technical, and other proprietary information for which special
17 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of
18 this action is warranted. Certain of the components of the Ice Machine are manufactured
19 and assembled by defendants as Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), such that those
20 items are made exclusively for a single customer and the underlying product specifications,
21 design information, and engineering drawings, all of which have significant economic
22 value, are not available to the public. Without protections against making that information
23 available in the pre-trial and discovery phase to the public, which would include
24 defendants’ respective industry competitors, defendants are likely to suffer economic harm.
25 Such confidential and proprietary materials and information also consists of, among other
26 things, confidential business information, information regarding confidential business
27 practices, or other confidential research, development, or commercial information, which
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2 facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to
3 adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that
4 the parties are permitted reasonably necessary uses of such material in preparation for trial,
5 to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a
6 protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties
7 that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing
8 so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-
9 public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of
10 this case in the pre-trial phase.
11 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE
12 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this
13 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information
14 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and
15 the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file
16 material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of
17 access to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-
18 dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See
19 Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006),
20 Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-
21 Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even
22 stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of
23 good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal
24 justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to
25 file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as
26 CONFIDENTIAL does not— without the submission of competent evidence by
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2 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
3 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then
4 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the
5 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected.
6 See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each
7 item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced
8 under seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons,
9 supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order.
10 Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal
11 must be provided by declaration.
12 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in
13 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If
14 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only
15 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall
16 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety
17 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
18 4. DEFINITIONS
19 4.1 Action: Hartford Underwriters Insurance Company v. Scotsman Group,
20 et al. United States District Court Case No. 8:21-cv-00029-DOC-JDE.
21 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
22 of information or items under this Order.
23 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
24 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
25 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the
26 Good Cause Statement.
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2 their support staff).
3 4.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
4 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
5 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
6 4.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
7 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
8 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
9 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.
10 4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
11 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
12 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
13 4.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
14 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
15 counsel.
16 4.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or
17 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
18 4.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party
19 to this Action but are retained to represent a party to this Action and have appeared
20 in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that has
21 appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
22 4.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
23 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
24 support staffs).
25 4.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
26 Discovery Material in this Action.
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2 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
3 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
4 and their employees and subcontractors.
5 4.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
6 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
7 4.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
8 from a Producing Party.
9 5. SCOPE
10 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
11 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
12 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
13 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
14 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
15 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
16 trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of
17 Protected Material at trial.
18 6. DURATION
19 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
20 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or
21 introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available
22 to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons
23 supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge
24 in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good
25 cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling
26 reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of court record).
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2 commencement of the trial.
3 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
4 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
5 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
6 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
7 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
8 protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written
9 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items
10 or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably
11 within the ambit of this Order.
12 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
13 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
14 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
15 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating
16 Party to sanctions.
17 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
18 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
19 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
20 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
21 this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material
22 that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the
23 material is disclosed or produced.
24 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
25 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
26 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
27 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
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2 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for
3 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)
4 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
5 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
6 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
7 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
8 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
9 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the
10 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine
11 which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then,
12 before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the
13 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a
14 portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also
15 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings
16 in the margins).
17 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party
18 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the
19 deposition all protected testimony.
20 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary
21 and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place
22 on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the
23 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
24 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
25 portion(s).
26 7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an
27 inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing
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2 such material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must
3 make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the
4 provisions of this Order.
5 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
6 8.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
7 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
8 Scheduling Order.
9 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
10 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
11 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a
12 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
13 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
14 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
15 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
16 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party
17 has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to
18 afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the
19 Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
20 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
21 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
22 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
23 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such
24 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
25 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
26 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of Section 15 below (FINAL
27 DISPOSITION).
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2 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
3 authorized under this Order.
4 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
5 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
6 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
7 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
8 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
9 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
10 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
11 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
12 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
13 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
14 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
15 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A)
16 (d) the court and its personnel;
17 (e) court reporters and their staff;
18 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
19 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
20 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A)
21 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
22 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
23 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the
24 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
25 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will
26 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
27 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
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2 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be
3 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as
4 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
5 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel,
6 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
7 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
8 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
9 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
10 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
11 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
12 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
13 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
14 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or
15 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
16 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include
17 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
18 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
19 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the
20 Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena
21 or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as
22 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena
23 or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission.
24 The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in
25 that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be
26 construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey
27 a lawful directive from another court.
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2 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
3 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
4 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
5 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
6 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
7 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
8 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
9 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
10 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
11 confidential information, then the Party shall:
12 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
13 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
14 with a Non-Party;
15 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
16 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
17 specific description of the information requested; and
18 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
19 Non-Party, if requested.
20 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14
21 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may
22 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
23 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall
24 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
25 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
26 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and
27 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
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2 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
3 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
4 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
5 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
6 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
7 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
8 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment an
9 Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.
10 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
11 PROTECTED MATERIAL
12 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
13 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
14 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil\
15 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
16 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
17 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
18 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
19 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
20 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted
21 to the court.
22 14. MISCELLANEOUS
23 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
24 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
25 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
26 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
27 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
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2 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
3 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
4 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
5 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
6 specific Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal
7 is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the
8 public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
9 15. FINAL DISPOSITION
10 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6, within 60
11 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
12 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in
13 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
14 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
15 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving
16 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same
17 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies
18 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or
19 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,
20 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any
21 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to
22 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
23 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
24 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
25 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
26 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
27 Section 6 (DURATION).
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VIOLATION
2 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
3 || including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
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5 ||FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN IT IS ORDERED.
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7||DATED: August 30, 2021 if de
8 Lie AG
9 J D. EARLY
nited States Magistrate Judge
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STIPULATED PROTECTIVEORDER-— si iss—<‘i—‘—sSOSCS™
Case No. 8:21-CV-00029-DOC-JDE

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 I
5 have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by
6 the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on _________ [date]
7 in the case of Hartford Underwriters Insurance Company v. Scotsman Group, LLC, et al.,
8 No. 8:21-cv-00029-DOC-JDE (C.D. Cal.). I agree to comply with and to be bound by all
9 the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure
10 to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I
11 solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is
12 subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict
13 compliance with the provisions of this Order.
14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the
15 Northern District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated
16 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this
17 action.
18 I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of
19 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and telephone
20 number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any
21 proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
22
23 Date: _________________________________
24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
25 Printed name: ______________________________
26
27 Signature: _________________________________
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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10041740. Public record. Not legal advice.