distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing 13 documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits- 14 related documents are part of court record
How later courts described this case
- distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing 13 documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits- 14 related documents are part of court record
- even stipulated protective orders 19 require good cause showing
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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11 NANCY PALEY, an individual, Case No. 2:24-cv-00527 FLA (PVCx)
12 Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
ORDER
13 v.
14 SAKS & COMPANY LLC, a Delaware
limited liability company; and DOES 1
15 through 20, inclusive,
16 Defendants.
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1 In order to protect the confidentiality of confidential information obtained by the
2 parties in connection with the above-captioned litigation, Plaintiff NANCY PALEY
3 (“Plaintiff”) and Defendant SAKS & COMPANY LLC (“Defendant”) (collectively, the
4 “Parties”), by and through their respective counsel of record, hereby stipulate and agree
5 as follows:
6 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
7 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
8 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure
9 and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be warranted.
10 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following
11 Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer
12 blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection
13 it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items
14 that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles.
15 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
16 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists and other
17 valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary
18 information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any
19 purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and
20 proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, confidential
21 business or financial information, information regarding confidential business practices,
22 or other confidential research, development, or commercial information (including
23 information implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise generally
24 unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from
25 disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law.
26 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of
27 disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information
28 the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted
1 reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial,
2 to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a
3 protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the
4 parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and
5 that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in
6 a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of
7 the public record of this case.
8 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE
9 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this
10 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under
11 seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the
12 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file
13 material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access
14 to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive
15 motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v.
16 City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen.
17 Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony
18 Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders
19 require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling
20 reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with
21 respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere
22 designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—
23 without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the
24 material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise
25 protectable—constitute good cause. Further, if a party requests sealing related to a
26 dispositive motion or trial, then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing
27 must be shown, and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific
28 interest to be protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79
1 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be
2 filed or introduced under seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling
3 reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing
4 order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under
5 seal must be provided by declaration. Any document that is not confidential, privileged,
6 or otherwise protectable in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential
7 portions can be redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for
8 public viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable
9 portions of the document, shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents
10 under seal in their entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not
11 feasible.
12 4. DEFINITIONS
13 4.1. Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of
14 information or items under this Order.
15 4.2. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how
16 it is generated, stored, and/or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection
17 under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 26(c).
18 4.3. Counsel (without qualifier): Outside Counsel of Record and House
19 Counsel (as well as their support staff).
20 4.4. Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
21 items that she/he/it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
22 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
23 4.5. Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of
24 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, and/or maintained (including,
25 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), which are produced or
26 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
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1 4.6. 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 an
3 expert witness or as a consultant in this action.
4 4.7. 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 4.8. Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
8 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
9 4.9. Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a Party to
10 this action but are retained to represent or advise a Party to this action and have appeared
11 in this action on behalf of that Party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared
12 on behalf of that Party.
13 4.10. Party: any Party to this action, including but not limited to all of its officers,
14 directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, House Counsel and/or Outside
15 Counsel of Record (and their support staffs).
16 4.11. Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
17 Discovery Material in this action.
18 4.12. 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), and
21 their employees and subcontractors.
22 4.13. Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
23 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
24 4.14. Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
25 from a Producing Party.
26 5. SCOPE
27 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected
28 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from
1 Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected
2 Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their
3 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. Any use of Protected Material at trial
4 shall be governed by the orders of the trial judge and other applicable authorities. This
5 Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
6 6. DURATION
7 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
8 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced as
9 an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members
10 of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific
11 factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial.
12 See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing
13 documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-
14 related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective
15 order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
16 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
17 7.1. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
18 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this
19 ORDER must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies
20 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection
21 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that
22 qualify – so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications
23 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of
24 this Order.
25 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
26 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose
27 (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber or retard the case development process or to impose
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1 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party
2 to sanctions.
3 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
4 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
5 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the designation.
6 7.2. Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this
7 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a)), or as otherwise stipulated or
8 ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order
9 must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
10 Designation in conformity with this ORDER requires:
11 (a) For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,
12 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the
13 Producing Party affix the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains
14 protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for
15 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g.,
16 by making appropriate markings in the margins).
17 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or materials available for
18 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has
19 indicated which material it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
20 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed
21 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants
22 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions
23 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified
24 documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend to each page
25 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
26 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
27 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
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1 (b) For testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings,
2 that the Designating Party identify on the record, before the close of the deposition,
3 hearing, or other proceeding, all protected testimony.
4 (c) For information produced in some form other than documentary and for
5 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
6 exterior of the container or containers in which the information or item is stored the
7 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information or item
8 warrant protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the
9 protected portion(s).
10 7.3. Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
11 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
12 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon
13 timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to
14 assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
15 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
16 8.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
17 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling
18 Order.
19 8.2. Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
20 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
21 8.3. Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a joint
22 stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
23 8.4. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the
24 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g.,
25 to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the
26 Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn
27 the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the material in
28 question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s
1 designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
2 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
3 9.1. Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
4 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action
5 only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected
6 Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions
7 described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must
8 comply with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
9 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
10 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
11 authorized under this Order.
12 9.2. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise
13 ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party
14 may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
15 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well as
16 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to
17 disclose the information for this Action;
18 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
19 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
20 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure
21 is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and
22 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A) [TO BE NEGOTIATED AND PREPARED BY
23 PARTIES AND ATTACHED TO STIPULATION AND PROPOSED ORDER];
24 (d) the court and its personnel;
25 (e) court reporters and their staff;
26 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional Vendors
27 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
28 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
1 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
2 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.
3 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the Action
4 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party requests
5 that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will not be
6 permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment
7 and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating
8 Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to
9 depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter
10 and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective
11 Order; and
12 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel, mutually
13 agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
14 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN
15 OTHER LITIGATION
16 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that
17 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as
18 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
19 (a) Promptly notify in writing the Designating Party, within two calendar days
20 of receipt of the subpoena or court order. Such notification shall include a copy of the
21 subpoena or court order;
22 (b) Promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
23 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or
24 order is subject to this ORDER. Such notification shall include a copy of this Order;
25 and
26 (c) Cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
27 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the Designating
28 Party timely objects to the subpoena or seeks a protective order, the Party served with
1 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action
2 as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena
3 or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
4 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court
5 of its confidential material. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as
6 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive
7 from another court.
8 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED
9 IN THIS LITIGATION
10 (a) The terms of this ORDER are applicable to information produced by a
11 Non-Party in this action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
12 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies
13 and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as
14 prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
15 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
16 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
17 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential
18 information, then the Party shall:
19 (1) Promptly notify in both the Requesting Party and the Non-Party in
20 writing that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
21 agreement with a Non-Party;
22 (2) Promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Order in this
23 litigation, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the
24 information requested; and
25 (3) Make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-
26 Party.
27 (c) If the Non-Party fails to object or seek a protective order from this court
28 within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving
1 Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
2 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not
3 produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality
4 agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order
5 to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection
6 in this court of its Protected Material.
7 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
8 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
9 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Order,
10 the Receiving Party must immediately: (a) notify the Designating Party in writing of
11 the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies
12 of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized
13 disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request such person or
14 persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached
15 hereto as Exhibit A.
16 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
17 PROTECTED MATERIAL
18 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
19 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
20 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rules of Civil
21 Procedure Rule 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever
22 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production
23 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rules of Evidence Rule 502(d) and
24 (e), the parties agree, and the court orders, that privileged and otherwise protected
25 documents and electronically stored information are protected against claims of waiver
26 (including as against third parties and in other federal and state proceedings) in the event
27 they are produced during the course of this litigation, whether pursuant to a court order,
28 a parties’ discovery request or informal production, as follows:
1 (a) The disclosure or production of documents, data or information (including,
2 without limitation, metadata) by a Producing Party subject to a legally recognized claim
3 of privilege, including without limitation the attorney-client privilege and work-product
4 doctrine, to a Receiving Party, shall in no way constitute the voluntary disclosure of
5 such document, data or information;
6 (b) The inadvertent disclosure or production of documents, data, or
7 information (including, without limitation, metadata) by a Producing Party, shall not
8 result in the waiver of any privilege, evidentiary protection or other protection
9 associated with such document, data or information as to the Receiving Party, or any
10 third parties, and shall not result in any waiver, including subject matter waiver, of any
11 kind;
12 (c) If, during the course of this litigation, a party determines that any
13 document, data or information (including, without limitation, metadata) produced by a
14 party is on its face subject to a legally recognizable privilege or protected work product
15 (“Protected Document”), the Receiving Party shall refrain from reading the Protected
16 Document any more closely than is necessary to ascertain that it is privileged or
17 otherwise protected from disclosure, immediately notify the Producing Party in writing
18 that it has discovered documents, data and/or information believed to be privileged,
19 identify the Protected Documents by bates number range or hash value range, and
20 return, sequester, or destroy all copies of such Protected Documents, along with any
21 notes, abstracts or compilations of the content thereof, within 5 court days of discovery
22 by the Receiving Party. To the extent that a Protected Document has been loaded into a
23 litigation review database under the control of the Receiving Party, the Receiving Party
24 shall have all electronic copies of the Protected Document extracted from the database.
25 Where such Protected Documents cannot be destroyed or separated, they shall not be
26 reviewed, disclosed, or otherwise used by the Receiving Party. Notwithstanding, the
27 Receiving Party is under no obligation to search or review the Producing Party’s
28 documents, data or information to identify potentially privileged or work product
1 Protected Document;
2 (d) If the Producing Party intends to assert a claim of privilege or other
3 protection over documents, data or information identified by the Receiving Party as
4 Protected Documents, the Producing Party will, within 5 court days of receiving the
5 Producing Party’s written notification, inform the Receiving Party of such intention in
6 writing and shall provide the Receiving Party with a log for such Protected Documents
7 that is consistent with the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, setting
8 forth the basis for the claim of privilege, immunity or basis for non-disclosure, and in
9 the event that any portion of a Protected Document does not contain privileged or
10 protected information, the Producing Party shall also provide to the Receiving Party a
11 redacted copy of the document, data or information that omits the information that the
12 Producing Party believes is subject to a claim of privilege, immunity or other protection;
13 (e) If, during the course of this litigation, a party determines it has produced a
14 Protected Document, the Producing Party may notify the Receiving Party of such
15 inadvertent production in writing. Such notice shall be in writing, however, it may be
16 delivered orally on the record at a deposition, promptly followed up in writing. The
17 Producing Party’s written notice will identify the Protected Document inadvertently
18 produced by bates number range or hash value range, the privilege or protection
19 claimed, and the basis for the assertion of the privilege and shall provide the Receiving
20 Party with a log for such Protected Document that is consistent with the requirements
21 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, setting forth the basis for the claim of privilege,
22 immunity or basis for non-disclosure, and in the event any portion of the Protected
23 Document does not contain privileged or protected information, the Producing Party
24 shall also provide to the Receiving Party a redacted copy of the document, data or
25 information that omits the information that the Producing Party believes is subject to a
26 claim of privilege, immunity or other protection. The Producing Party will also demand
27 the return of the inadvertently produced Protected Document. After receiving such
28 written notification, the Receiving Party must, within 5 court-days of receiving the
1 written notification, return, sequester, or destroy the specified Protected Document and
2 any copies, along with any notes, abstracts or compilations of the content thereof, and
3 to the extent that a Protected Document has been loaded into a litigation review database
4 under the control of the Receiving Party, the Receiving Party shall have all electronic
5 copies of the Protected Document extracted from the database; and
6 (f) To the extent that the information contained in a Protected Document has
7 already been used in or described in other documents generated or maintained by the
8 Receiving Party prior to the date of receipt of the written notice by the Producing Party
9 as set forth in paragraphs (c) and (e), then the Receiving Party shall sequester such
10 documents until the claim has been resolved. If the Receiving Party disclosed the
11 Protected Document before being notified of its inadvertent production, it must take
12 reasonable steps to retrieve it.
13 (g) A Receiving Party’s return, sequestering or destruction of such Protected
14 Documents as provided herein will not act as a waiver of the Receiving Party’s right to
15 move for the production of the returned, sequestered or destroyed documents, data
16 and/or information on grounds the documents, data and/or information are not in fact
17 subject to a viable claim of privilege or other protection. However, the Receiving Party
18 is prohibited and estopped from arguing that the Producing Party’s production of the
19 Protected Documents in this matter acts as a waiver of applicable privileges or
20 protections, that the disclosure of the Protected Documents by the Producing Party was
21 not inadvertent, that the Producing Party did not take reasonable steps to prevent the
22 disclosure of the Protected Documents, and/or that the Producing Party did not take
23 reasonable steps to rectify such disclosure pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
24 26(b)(5)(B), or otherwise.
25 (h) Either party may submit Protected Documents to the court under seal for
26 a determination of the claim of privilege or other protection. The Producing Party shall
27 preserve the Protected Documents until such claim is resolved. The Receiving Party
28 may not use the Protected Documents for any purpose absent this court’s order.
1 (i) Upon a determination by the court that the Protected Documents are
2 protected by the applicable privilege or evidentiary protection, and if the Protected
3 Documents have been sequestered rather than returned or destroyed by the Receiving
4 Party, the Protected Documents shall be returned or destroyed within 5 court days of
5 the court’s order. The court may also order the identification by the Receiving Party of
6 Protected Documents by search terms or other means.
7 (j) Nothing contained herein is intended to, or shall serve to limit a party’s
8 right to conduct a review of documents, data (including electronically stored
9 information) and other information, including without limitation, metadata, for
10 relevance, responsiveness and/or the segregation of privileged and/or protected
11 information before such information is produced to another party.
12 (k) By operation of the parties’ agreement and this Order, the parties are
13 specifically afforded the protections of FRE 502(d) and (e).
14 14. DATA SECURITY PROVISION
15 Any person in possession of another party’s Confidential Materials shall maintain
16 reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect the
17 security and confidentiality of such Confidential Materials and protect against
18 unauthorized access to or use of such Confidential Materials. A person or party may
19 also comply with this provision by having the Confidential Materials managed by
20 and/or stored with eDiscovery vendors or claims administrators that maintain such an
21 information security program.
22 If the Receiving Party discovers a breach of security, including any actual or
23 suspected unauthorized access, relating to another party’s Confidential Materials, the
24 Receiving Party shall: (1) promptly provide written notice to Producing Party of such
25 breach; (2) investigate and take reasonable efforts to remediate the effects of the breach
26 and provide Producing Party with assurances that such breach shall not recur; and (3)
27 provide sufficient information about the breach that the Producing Party can reasonably
28 ascertain the size and scope of the breach. If required by any judicial or governmental
1 request, requirement, or order to disclose such information, the Receiving Party shall
2 take all reasonable steps to give the Producing Party sufficient prior notice in order to
3 contest such request, requirement, or order through legal means. The Receiving Party
4 agrees to cooperate with the Producing Party or law enforcement in investigating any
5 such security incident. In any event, the Receiving Party shall promptly take all
6 necessary and appropriate corrective action to terminate the unauthorized access.
7 15. MISCELLANEOUS
8 15.1. Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
9 person to seek its modification by the court in the future.
10 15.2. Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Order,
11 no Party waives any right she/he/it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or
12 producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this Order.
13 Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any
14 of the material covered by this Order.
15 15.3. Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
16 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
17 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
18 Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied
19 by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record
20 unless otherwise instructed by the court.
21 16. FINAL DISPOSITION
22 After the final disposition of this Action, within 60 days of a written request by
23 the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the
24 Producing Party or destroy such material. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the
25 later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this action, with or without prejudice;
26 and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals,
27 rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this action, including the time limits for filing
28 any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law. As used
1 | in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
2 || summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
3 | Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party
4 | must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person
5 | or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies (by
6 | category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed
7 | and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
8 | compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
9 || Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an
10 | archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts,
11 | legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney
12 | work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain
13 | Protected Material.
14] 17. VIOLATION
15 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including,
16 | without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
17
18
19 | GOOD CAUSE SHOWN BY THE PARTIES’ STIPULATION, IT IS SO
20 | ORDERED.
21
9) | DATED: June 24, 2024
23 fuk
24 >
Hon. Pedro V. Castillo
25 United States Magistrate Judge
26
27
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Road 17 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, _________________________________________ [print or type full name],
4 of ___________________________________________ [print or type full address],
5 declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the
6 Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the
7 Central District of California on ________________ [date] in the matter of NANCY
8 PALEY v. SAKS & COMPANY LLC, bearing United States District Court for the Central
9 District of California case number 2:24-cv-00527 FLA (PVCx). I agree to comply with
10 and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand
11 and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and
12 punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any
13 manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any
14 person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. I further
15 agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Central
16 District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective
17 Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action.
18 I hereby appoint ________________________________ [print or type full
19 name] of _________________________________________________ [print or type
20 full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in
21 connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated
22 Protective Order.
23 Date: ______________________________________
24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
25
26 Printed name: _______________________________
27 Signature: __________________________________
28