distinguishing “good cause” 11 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 12 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record
How later courts described this case
- distinguishing “good cause” 11 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 12 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record
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 NICHOLAS TOMASZEWSKI, Case No. 2:24-cv-04661-JFW-AGR
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Plaintiff, The Hon. Alicia G. Rosenberg
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v. [DISCOVERY MATTER]
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15 AIG PROPERTY CASUALTY STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
COMPANY; and DOES 1 through 50, ORDER
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inclusive,
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Defendants.
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1 1.A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
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 prosecuting this litigation may be warranted.
5 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following
6 Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer
7 blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection
8 it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or
9 items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles.
10 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated
11 Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil
12 Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that
13 will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
14 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
15 This action is likely to involve trade secrets and other valuable research,
16 development, commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary information for
17 which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other
18 than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials
19 and information consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial
20 information, information regarding confidential business practices, or other
21 confidential research, development, or commercial information (including information
22 implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise generally unavailable
23 to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under
24 state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. This action will
25 also involve the confidential health information and records of one or more parties
26 protected under California common law and United States statutory law. Accordingly,
27 to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over
28 confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are
1 entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable
2 necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address
3 their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective
4 order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that
5 information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing
6 be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a
7 confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of
8 the public record of this case.
9 2. DEFINITIONS
10 2.1 Action: This litigation, captioned Tomaszewski v. AIG Property
11 Casualty Co., Case No. 2:24-cv-04661-JFW-AGR (C.D. Cal. 2024).
12 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
13 designation of information or items under this Order.
14 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
15 how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection
16 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good
17 Cause Statement.
18 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
19 support staff).
20 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
21 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
22 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
23 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of
24 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
25 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
26 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
27 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
28 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
1 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
2 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
3 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
4 counsel.
5 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
6 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
7 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party
8 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have
9 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which
10 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
11 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
12 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
13 support staffs).
14 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
15 Discovery Material in this Action.
16 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
17 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
18 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
19 and their employees and subcontractors.
20 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
21 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
22 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
23 from a Producing Party.
24 3. SCOPE
25 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
26 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted
27 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of
28 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties
1 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
2 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial judge.
3 This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
4 4. DURATION
5 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as
6 confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will
7 be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless
8 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are
9 made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of
10 Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause”
11 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”
12 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the
13 terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
14 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
15 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
16 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this
17 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies
18 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection
19 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that
20 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or
21 communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably
22 within the ambit of this Order.
23 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
24 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
25 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
26 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party
27 to sanctions.
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1 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
2 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
3 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
4 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
5 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
6 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
7 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
8 produced.
9 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
10 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
11 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
12 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
13 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
14 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
15 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
16 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
17 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
18 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
19 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before
20 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed
21 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it
22 wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or
23 portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the
24 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend”
25 to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the
26 material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
27 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
28 margins).
1 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the
2 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all
3 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 is stored the legend
7 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
8 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
9 portion(s).
10 5.3 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
14 to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
15 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
16 6.1 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
18 Scheduling Order.
19 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
20 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
21 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
22 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
23 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
24 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived
25 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the
26 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing
27 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
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1 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
2 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
3 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
4 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
5 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
6 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving
7 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
8 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
9 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
10 authorized under this Order.
11 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
12 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
13 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
14 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
15 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well
16 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary
17 to 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
21 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
22 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
23 (d) the court and its personnel;
24 (e) court reporters and their staff;
25 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
26 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
27 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
28 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
1 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
2 (h) during their depositions, witnesses ,and attorneys for witnesses, in the
3 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
4 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they will
5 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
6 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed
7 by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition
8 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately
9 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted
10 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
11 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
12 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
13 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
14 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
15 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
16 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
17 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
18 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
19 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
20 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
21 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena
22 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of
23 this Stipulated Protective Order; and
24 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
25 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
26 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
27 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action
28 as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena
1 or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
2 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court
3 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
4 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful
5 directive from another court.
6 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
7 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
8 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
9 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
10 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies
11 and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as
12 prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
13 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
14 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
15 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
16 confidential information, then the Party shall:
17 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
18 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
19 with a Non-Party;
20 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
21 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
22 specific description of the information requested; and
23 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
24 Non-Party, if requested.
25 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14
26 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may
27 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request.
28 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce
1 any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality
2 agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court
3 order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
4 protection in this court of its Protected Material.
5 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
6 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
7 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
8 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
9 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
10 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
11 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
12 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
13 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
14 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
15 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL
16 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
17 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
18 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
19 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
20 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
21 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
22 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
23 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
24 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to
25 the court.
26 Per the preceding paragraph, the parties having agreed to a clawback
27 agreement, and good cause appearing therefore, the Court orders as follows:
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1 i. For purposes of this Clawback Agreement, an “Inadvertently
2 Produced Document” is a document produced to a party in this litigation that could
3 have been withheld, in whole or in part, based on a legitimate claim of attorney-client
4 privilege, work-product protection, or other applicable privilege.
5 ii. Inclusion of any Inadvertently Produced Document in a production
6 shall not result in the waiver of any privilege or protection associated with such
7 document, nor result in a subject matter waiver of any kind.
8 iii. A producing party may demand the return of any Inadvertently
9 Produced Document, which demand shall be made to the receiving party’s counsel
10 in writing and shall contain information sufficient to identify the Inadvertently
11 Produced Document. Within five (5) business days of the demand for the
12 Inadvertently Produced Document, the producing party shall provide the receiving
13 party with a privilege log for such document that is consistent with the requirements
14 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, setting forth the basis for the claim of
15 privilege for the Inadvertently Produced Document. In the event that any portion of
16 the Inadvertently Produced Document does not contain privileged information, the
17 producing party shall also provide a redacted copy of the Inadvertently Produced
18 Document that omits the information that the producing party believes is subject to a
19 claim of privilege.
20 iv. Upon receipt of a written demand for return of an Inadvertently
21 Produced Document, the receiving party shall immediately return the Inadvertently
22 Produced Document (and any copies thereof) to the producing party and shall
23 immediately delete all electronic versions of the document.
24 v. The receiving party may object to the producing party’s
25 designation of an Inadvertently Produced Document by providing written notice of
26 such objection within five (5) business days of its receipt of a written demand for the
27 return of an Inadvertently Produced Document. Any such objection shall be resolved
28 by the Court after an in camera review of the Inadvertently Produced Document.
1 Pending resolution of the matter by the Court, the parties shall not use any documents
2 that are claimed to be Inadvertently Produced Documents in this litigation.
3 12. MISCELLANEOUS
4 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
5 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
6 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
7 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
8 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
9 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
10 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
11 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
12 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
13 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
14 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal
15 is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public
16 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
17 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
18 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60
19 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
20 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
21 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
22 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
23 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party
24 must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person
25 or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by
26 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed
27 and (2)affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
28 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
1 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an
2 archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts,
3 legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports,
4 attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials
5 contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute
6 Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4
7 (DURATION).
8 14. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all
9 appropriate measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings
10 and/or monetary sanctions.
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12 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
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14 Dated: September 19, 2024 PARRIS LAW FIRM
15 By: /s/ Daniel Eli
16 Alexander R. Wheeler
Jason P. Fowler
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Daniel Eli
18 Attorneys for Plaintiff Nicholas Tomaszewski
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20 Dated: September 19, 2024 KELLER ANDERLE LLP
21 By: /s/ Benjamin R. Barron
22 Jennifer L. Keller
Benjamin R. Barron
23 Shaun Hoting
24 Attorneys Defendant for AIG Property
Casualty Company
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26 Local Rule 5-4.3.4 Certification
27 Per Local Rule 5-4.3.4, I, Benjamin R. Barron, attest that Plaintiff’s counsel
28 concurs in this filing’s content and has authorized this filing and the e-signature above.
1 |} FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
2
3 || DATED:_October 15, 2024
4
° libiar HA Koermlang,
Oy
7 || Hon. Alicia G. Rosenberg
United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, [print or type full name], of [print or type full address], declare under penalty
4 of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order
5 that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California
6 on [date] in the case of [insert formal name of the case and the number and initials
7 assigned to it by the court]. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of
8 this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so
9 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I
10 solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is
11 subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict
12 compliance with the provisions of this Order.
13 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
14 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
15 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
16 termination of this action. I hereby appoint [print or type full name] of [print or type
17 full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in
18 connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated
19 Protective Order.
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21 Date:
22 City and State where sworn and signed:
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24 Printed name:
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26 Signature:
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