# W.M. Jaqua, LLC v. Transamerica Life Insurance Company

> District Court, C.D. California · September 23, 2021

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10634012

## Case

- **Court:** District Court, C.D. California
- **Decided:** September 23, 2021
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA—WESTERN DIVISION
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11 | W.M. JAQUA, LLC; NNIN, LLC, Case No. 2:21-cv-00672-CAS-GJS
12 Plaintiffs, PROP OEREORDER GRANTING
TIPULATED PROTECTIVE
13 |] v. ORDER
14 | TRANSAMERICA LIFE
INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant.
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1 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS/GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
2 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential and
3 || proprietary actuarial, business, technical, and financial information as well as
4 || private information of Plaintiffs W.M. JAQUA, LLC and NNIN, LLC (“Plaintiffs’’)
5 || or the insured for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for
6 || any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly,
7 || Plaintiffs and Defendant Transamerica Life Insurance Company (“TLIC”) hereby
8 || stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order
9 || (“Order”). The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket
10 || protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it
11 || affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or
12 || items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal
13 || principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3 (Filing
14 || Protected Material), below, that this Protective Order does not entitle them to file
15 || confidential information under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 and the Court’s Guide to
16 || Electronically Filing Under Seal Documents in Civil Cases set forth the procedures
17 || that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks
18 || permission from the Court to file material under seal.
19 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial
20 || proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions,
21 || good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City
22 || and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen.
23 || Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony
24 || Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective
25 || orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or
26 || compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be
27 || made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The
28 || parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL
-2-

1 || or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY does not—without
2 || the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material
3 || sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise
4 || protectable—constitute good cause.
5 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial,
6 || then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and
7 || the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be
8 || protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir.
9 || 2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed
10 || or introduced under seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party
11 || seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts
12 || and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence
13 || supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by
14 || declaration.
15 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in
16 || its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted.
17 || If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting
18 || only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document,
19 || shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their
20 || entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
21 |] 2. DEFINITIONS
22 2.1 Acknowledgment: the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to be
23 || Bound” form attached as Exhibit A to this Order.
24 2.2 Action: W.M. JAQUA, LLC and NNIN, LLC v. Transamerica Life
25 || Insurance Company, Case No. 2:21-cv-00672-CAS-GJS.
26 2.3. Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the
27 || designation of information or items under this Order.
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1 2.4 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Confidential proprietary or
2 || commercially sensitive business and financial information, trade secrets, and
3 || personal information which is not generally known or publicly available and which
4 || the Designating Party would not normally reveal to third parties or information that
5 || otherwise meets the standard for protection set forth in Rule 26(c) of the Federal
6 || Rules of Civil Procedure. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be
7 || designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated
8 || without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential non-public
9 || manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of
10 || this Action.
11 2.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
12 || their support staff).
13 2.6 Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates information or
14 || items that it produces or that are produced in disclosures or in response to discovery
15 |) as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL- ATTORNEYS’ EYES
16 | ONLY.”
17 2.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless
18 || of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
19 || among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced
20 || or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
21 2.8 Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
22 || pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
23 || an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action and who is not a past or current
24 || employee of a Party or a current employee of a Party’s competitor and who, at the
25 || time of retention, is not anticipated to become an employee of a Party or a
26 || competitor of a Party. This definition includes a professional jury or trial
27 || consultant retained in connection with this litigation.
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l 2.9 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”
2 || Information or Items: Extremely sensitive “Confidential Information or Items,”
3 || disclosure of which to another Party or Non-Party would create a substantial risk of
4 || serious harm that could not be avoided by less restrictive means.
5 2.10 House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees for a Party or of an
6 || entity that owns an interest in a Party and is responsible for controlling or directing
7 || the litigation. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any
8 || other outside counsel.
9 2.11 Non-Party: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association,
10 || or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
11 2.12 Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a
12 || party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and
13 || have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm
14 || that has appeared on behalf of that party, including support staff.
15 2.13 Party: Any party to this Action, including its House Counsel, officers,
16 || directors, employees, consultants, and retained experts.
17 2.14 Parent: An entity that owns, or conducts the business affairs of, the
18 || Receiving Party and is responsible for controlling and directing the litigation.
19 2.15 Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
20 || Discovery Material in this Action.
21 2.16 Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation
22 || support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
23 || demonstrations, and organizing, storing or retrieving data in any form or medium)
24 || and their employees and subcontractors.
25 2.17 Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
26 || designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-
27 || ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
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1 2.18 Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
2 || Material from a Producing Party.
3 2.19 Related Actions: Feller v. Transamerica Life Insurance Co., No. 2:16-
4 || cv-01378-CAS-GJSx (C.D. Cal. filed Feb. 28, 2016) (“Feller”); EFG Bank AG
5 || Cayman Branch, et al. v. Transamerica Life Insurance Co., Case No. 2:16-cv-
6 || 08104-CAS-GJSx (C.D. Cal. filed Oct. 31, 2016) (“EFG’”).
7|3. SCOPE
8 The protections conferred by this Order cover not only Protected Material (as
9 || defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected
10 || Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material;
11 || and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel or
12 || their Experts that might reveal Protected Material. Any use of Protected Material at
13 || trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial judge. This Order does not govern
14 || the use of Protected Material at trial.
15 |] 4. DURATION
16 FINAL DISPOSITION of the action is defined as the conclusion of any
17 || appellate proceedings, or, if no appeal is taken, when the time for filing of an
18 || appeal has run. Except as set forth below, the terms of this Order apply through
19 || FINAL DISPOSITION. The parties stipulate that they will be contractually bound
20 || by the terms of this agreement beyond FINAL DISPOSITION, and that they will
21 || have to file a separate action for enforcement of the agreement once FINAL
22 || DISPOSITION of the action occurs.
23 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
24 || CONFIDENTIAL, HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY, or
25 || maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced as an exhibit at trial
26 || becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the public,
27 || including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual
28 || findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See

1 || Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing
2 || documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-
3 || related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this
4 || protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
5} 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
6 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
7 || Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
8 || this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
9 || qualifies under the appropriate standards. To the extent it is practical to do so, the
10 || Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material,
11 || documents, items or oral or written communications that qualify so that other
12 || portions of the material, documents, items or communications for which protection
13 || is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
14 While mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited, the
15 || Parties recognize that manually analyzing and designating large numbers of
16 || documents one-by-one for confidentiality can be an unduly burdensome task. The
17 || Parties agree that each Party may reasonably rely on metadata information and
18 || good-faith searches to designate documents for protection. Designations that are
19 || shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose
20 || (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
21 || unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating
22 || Party to sanctions.
23 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
24 || designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
25 || promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
26 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
27 || this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
28 || stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection

1 || under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
2 || produced. Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
3 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
4 || documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
5 || proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
6 || “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL- ATTORNEYS’ EYES
7 || ONLY”, to each page that contains protected material. If only a portion of the
8 || material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
9 || identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
10 || margins).
11 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
12 || need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
13 || which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
14 || before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
15 || deemed “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” After the
16 || inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the
17 || Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for
18 || protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the
19 || Producing Party must affix the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
20 || CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” to each page that contains
21 || Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for
22 || protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)
23 || (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
24 (b) any Party may designate as Protected Material testimony given in a
25 || deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings by informing the reporter during
26 || the deposition or by sending a letter to all Outside Counsel of Record and to the
27 || deposition reporter designating by page and line any portions of the transcript to be
28 || so restricted, or the entire transcript if applicable, within thirty (30) days after

1 || receiving the deposition transcript and specifying the level of protection being
2 || asserted.
3 During this 30-day period, a transcript will be treated as if it had been
4 || designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” in its
5 || entirety unless otherwise agreed. After the expiration of that period, the transcript
6 || shall be treated only as actually designated.
7 When deposition testimony is designated Protected Material by informing the
8 || reporter during the deposition, the transcript containing Protected Material shall
9 || have an obvious legend on the title page that the transcript contains Protected
10 || Material, and the title page shall be followed by a list of all pages (including line
11 || numbers-as appropriate) that have been designated as Protected Material and the
12 || level of protection being asserted by the Designating Party. The Designating Party
13 || shall inform the court reporter of these requirements.
14 Parties shall give the other parties notice if they reasonably expect a
15 || deposition, hearing, or other proceeding to include Protected Material so that the
16 || other parties can ensure that only authorized individuals who have signed the
17 || Acknowledgment are present at those proceedings. The use of a document as an
18 || exhibit at a deposition shall not in any way affects its designation as
19 | “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL- ATTORNEYS’ EYES
20 |} ONLY.”
21 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and
22 || for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on
23 || the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the
24 || legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL- ATTORNEYS’
25 || EYES ONLY.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants protection,
26 || the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
27 5.3. Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
28 || failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive

1 || the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such
2 || material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make
3 || reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the
4 || provisions of this Order.
5 5.4 Protected Health Information. Additionally, certain Confidential
6 || Information or Items may be Protected Health Information (“PHI”) as defined by
7 || the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) and the
8 || regulations promulgated thereunder at 45 CFR 160.103. Without limiting the
9 || generality of the foregoing, “PHI” includes, but is not limited to, health
10 || information, including demographic information, relating to either, (a) the past,
11 || present or future physical or mental condition of an individual, (b) the provision of
12 || care to an individual, or (c) the payment for care provided to an individual, which
13 || identifies the individual or which reasonably could be expected to identify an
14 || individual. All “covered entities” (as defined by 45 CFR 160.103) are hereby
15 || authorized to disclose PHI to all attorneys now of record in this Action or who may
16 || become of record in the future in this Action. Subject to the Federal Rules of Civil
17 || Procedure, and without prejudice to any Party’s objection except as otherwise
18 || provided herein, the Parties are authorized to receive, subpoena, transmit, or
19 || disclose PHI relevant to the claims at issue in this Action, subject to all terms of
20 || this Order. All PHI disclosed under this Order must be designated as Confidential
21 || Information pursuant to this Order. A Receiving Party which recetves PHI in
22 || discovery shall not use or disclose such PHI for any purpose other than this Action.
23 || To the extent documents or information produced in this Action have already been
24 || exchanged or will again be exchanged between the Parties in the normal course of
25 || business, treatment of such documents prior to or after the conclusion of this Action
26 || shall be governed by this Order.
27 5.5 Specific Provisions Concerning the Disclosure of Personally
28 || Identifiable Information (“PII”). When PII (e.g., names, addresses, Social Security

1 || numbers, phone numbers, etc.) is disclosed between the Parties as authorized by
2 || this Order, the PII of any individuals whose claims are not at issue in this lawsuit
3 || and who are otherwise identified in the Discovery Material may either be redacted
4 || to protect the identity of such individuals, or produced without redactions. Upon
5 || receipt of any PII, a Receiving Party shall take all reasonable measures necessary
6 || for protecting the PII from unauthorized disclosure as required under both state and
7 || federal law.
8 || 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS.
9 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
10 || designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
11 || Scheduling Order. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s
12 || confidentiality designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial unfairness,
13 || unnecessary economic burdens, or a significant disruption or delay of the litigation,
14 || a Party does not waive its right to challenge a confidentiality designation by
15 || electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the original designation is
16 || disclosed.
17 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
18 || resolution process under Local Rule 37-1. In conferring, the Challenging Party
19 || must explain the basis for its belief that the confidentiality designation was not
20 || proper and must give the Designating Party an opportunity to review the designated
21 || material, to reconsider the circumstances, and, if no change in designation is
22 || offered, to explain the basis for the chosen designation.
23 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
24 || the Designating Party. Frivolous designations or challenges, and those designations
25 || or challenges made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary
26 || expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the respective Designating
27 || Party or Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived
28 || or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the

1 || material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the
2 || Designating Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
3/7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
4 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
5 || disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
6 || Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such
7 || Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
8 || conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
9 || Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
10 || DISPOSITION). Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving
11 || Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the
12 || persons authorized under this Order.
13 Notwithstanding anything in this Order, to the extent documents produced by
14 || TLIC in this Action were originally produced in Feller using the Feller Bates
15 || numbers or EFG using the EFG Bates numbers, and depositions taken against
16 || TLIC or TLIC-affiliated witnesses in the Related Actions, such documents and
17 || depositions will be produced in this Action in accordance with the procedures
18 || agreed to by the parties in the Stipulated Order Regarding Electronically Stored
19 || Information and Document Production where applicable, as well as the Federal
20 || Rules of Civil Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence as to admissibility. The
21 || treatment of Confidential Material in those documents and depositions in this
22 || Action will be governed by this Order. The Parties further stipulate that
23 || Confidential Information produced by TLIC in the Related Actions only but
24 || excluded from this Action (1.e., Owner Specific Documents) may be disclosed to
25 || Outside Counsel of Record for Plaintiffs subject to the terms of this Agreement for
26 || the sole purpose of reviewing transcripts from depositions taken in the Related
27 || Actions and reducing litigation costs incurred through document hosting platforms.
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1 7.2 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
6 || well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
7 || necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
8 (b) the Receiving Party, including officers, directors, and employees
9 || (including House Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably
10 || necessary for this Action;
11 (c) the Receiving Party’s Parents’ officers, directors, employees, or
12 || consultants, advisors, insurers and/or reinsurers (1) to whom disclosure is
13 || reasonably necessary for this Action, and (2) who have signed the
14 || Acknowledgment;
15 (d) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
16 || disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
17 || Acknowledgment;
18 (e) the Related Actions plaintiffs’ counsel only as to Protected
19 || Material in or deriving from documents with a Feller or EFG Bates number if such
20 || Protected Material already has been disclosed to such counsel;
21 (f) the Court and its personnel;
22 (g) court reporters and their staff;
23 (h) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
24 || Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
25 || signed the Acknowledgment;
26 (1) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or
27 || a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
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1 (j) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in
2 || the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing
3 || party requests that the witness sign the Acknowledgment; and (2) they will not be
4 || permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
5 || Acknowledgment, unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by
6 || the Court; and
7 (k) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
8 || mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions and
9 || who have signed the Acknowledgment.
10 7.3. Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL- ATTORNEYS’ EYES
11 || ONLY Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted
12 || in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any
13 || information or item designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL- ATTORNEYS’
14 || EYES ONLY” only to:
15 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
16 || well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
17 || necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
18 (b) House Counsel and up to five additional officers, directors,
19 || employees, consultants, advisors, insurers and/or reinsurers of TLIC if it is a
20 || Receiving Party, or Plaintiffs, combined, if they are a receiving party, to whom
21 || disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
22 || “Acknowledgment and Agreement to be Bound” (Exhibit A). A House Counsel
23 || who is a member of the Bar of any state in the United States need not sign the
24 || Acknowledgment.
25 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
26 || disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
27 || Acknowledgment;
28 (d) the Related Actions plaintiffs’ counsel only as to Protected

1 || Material in or deriving from documents with a Feller, or EFG Bates number if such
2 || Protected Material already has been disclosed to such counsel;
3 (e) the Court and its personnel;
4 (f) court reporters and their staff;
5 (g) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
6 || Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
7 || signed the Acknowledgment;
8 (h) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or
9 || a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
10 (i) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in
11 || the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided the witness signs
12 || the Acknowledgment; and
13 (j) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
14 || mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions and
15 || who have signed the Acknowledgment.
16 |] 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
17 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
18 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
19 || that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
20 || “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL- ATTORNEYS’ EYES
21 || ONLY” that Party must:
22 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
23 || include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
24 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
25 || issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena
26 || or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of
27 || this Order;
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1 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
2 || by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected; and
3 (d) otherwise comply with any applicable HIPAA rules or regulations with
4 || respect to any response or production in connection with a discovery request or
5 || subpoena.
6 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
7 || the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this
8 || action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL- ATTORNEYS’
9 || EYES ONLY” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or
10 || order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
11 || Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that
12 || court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be
13 || construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey
14 || a lawful directive from another court.
15 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
16 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
17 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
18 || Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
19 | CONFIDENTIAL- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by
20 || Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief
21 || provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as
22 || prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
23 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
24 || produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
25 || subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
26 || confidential information, then the Party shall:
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1 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
2 || that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
3 || agreement with a Non-Party;
4 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Order in this
5 || Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of
6 || the information requested; and
7 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
8 || Non-Party, if requested.
9 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 21
10 || days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
11 || may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
12 || request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall
13 || not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
14 || confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
15 || Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and
16 || expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
17 | 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
18 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
19 || Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
20 || Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating
21 || Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all
22 || unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to
23 || whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d)
24 || request such person or persons to execute the Acknowledgment.
25 □□ □□□ INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
26 PROTECTED MATERIAL
27 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
28 || inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection

1 || (e.g., work product immunity), the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set
2 || forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended
3 || to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that
4 || provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of
5 || Evidence 502(d) and (e), the parties agree that the inadvertent or unintentional
6 || disclosure by the Producing Party of material that is privileged or subject to other
7 || protection shall not be deemed a waiver in whole or in part of the claim of privilege
8 || or other protection, either as to the specific information disclosed or as to any other
9 || information relating thereto on the same or related subject matter.
10 Upon learning of an inadvertent or unintentional disclosure of privileged
11 || information, the Producing Party shall provide written notice to the parties who
12 || have received such information. If the Receiving Party does not timely challenge
13 || the assertion of privilege, then within ten business days of the date of that written
14 || notice, the documents or materials described in that notice (“Privileged
15 || Documents”) shall be returned to counsel for the Producing Party or destroyed by
16 || the Receiving Party, and in the same time frame, any notes or other writing or
17 || recordings that copy, summarize, reflect, or discuss the content of the Privileged
18 || Documents (‘Privileged Notes’’) shall be destroyed by the Receiving Party. No use
19 || shall be made of such documents or materials from such inadvertent production
20 || during deposition or at trial, nor shall such documents or materials be provided to
21 || anyone who did not already have access to them prior to the request by the
22 || Producing Party that they be returned.
23 If the Receiving Party intends to challenge the assertion of privilege, □□ must
24 || provide written notice within this ten-day period explaining the grounds for its
25 || challenge, initiate the dispute resolution process under Local Rule 37.1, and
26 || sequester the Privileged Documents and Privileged Notes.
27 If the Parties cannot resolve a challenge without court intervention, the
28 || Receiving Party may move the Court for an order compelling production of any

1 || Privileged Documents in compliance with Local Rule 37, but the motion shall not
2 || assert as a ground for production the fact of the inadvertent production or
3 || disclosure. Pending the Court’s ruling, the party challenging the assertion of
4 || privilege shall sequester the Privileged Documents and Privileged Notes and shall
5 |} not make any use of such information.
6 || 12. MISCELLANEOUS
7 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
8 || person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
9 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
10 || Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or
11 || producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this Order.
12 || Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of
13 || any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
14 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
15 || Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material
16 || may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
17 || specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material
18 || under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information
19 || in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
20 || 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
21 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section 4
22 || (DURATION), within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each
23 || Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy
24 || such material, except such material that exists on back-up tapes or similar storage
25 || and systems, in which case such material need not be immediately deleted or
26 || destroyed, and instead, should be overwritten and destroyed in the normal course of
27 || business. Until that material is overwritten and destroyed in the normal course of
28 || business, the Receiving Party will take reasonable steps to limit access, if any, to

1 || the persons necessary to conduct routine IT and cybersecurity functions. As used in
2 || this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts,
3 || compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
4 || Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the
5 || Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if
6 || not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that
7 || (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was
8 || returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any
9 || copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or
10 || capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel
11 || are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial,
12 || deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition
13 || and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert
14 || work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival
15 || copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective
16 || Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).
17 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
18 || Dated: September 21, 2021 ARENT FOX LLP
19
20 By: /s/ Frantic M. Dolenac
21 Pray at Dalenac
22 Attorneys for Plaintiffs
74 W.M. JAQUA, LLC and NNIN, LLC
Dated: September 21, 2021 McDOWELL HETHERINGTON LLP

25
26 By: ison B-Sinclley
27 Attorneys for Defendant
28 TRANSAMERICA LIFE INSURANCE

1 I, Hutson B. Smelley, in accordance with Local Rule 5-4.3.4, attest that all
2 || other signatories listed, and on whose behalf this filing is submitted, concur in the
3 || filing’s content and have authorized the filing.
4
5 || Dated: September 21, 2021 /s/ Hutson B. Smelley
6 Hutson B. Smelley
7 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

9 || Dated: September 23, 2021
10 Unite d States Magistrate Sud ge
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l EXHIBIT A
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
5 || that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that
6 || was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California
7 || on [date] in the case of W.M. JAQUA, LLC and NNIN, LLC v.
8 || Transamerica Life Insurance Company, Case No. 2:21-cv-00672-CAS-GJS. I agree
9 || to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order
10 || and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to
|| sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will
12 || not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated
13 || Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the
14 |) provisions of this Stipulated Protective Order. I further agree to submit to the
15 || jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Central District of California
16 || for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such
17 || enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I hereby appoint
18 [print or type full name] of
19 [print or type full address and
20 || telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with
21 || this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective
22 || Order.
23
24 |) Date:
25 |) City and State where sworn and signed:
26 || Printed name:
27 || Signature:
28

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10634012. Public record. Not legal advice.