distinguishing “good cause” 10 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 11 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record
How later courts described this case
- distinguishing “good cause” 10 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 11 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record
- even stipulated protective orders 7 require good cause showing
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
1 DAVID G. HALM, SBN: 179957
david.halm@qpwblaw.com
2 SHEILA VAJDI, SBN: 345340
sheila.vajdi@qpwblaw.com
3 QUINTAIROS, PRIETO, WOOD & BOYER, P.A.
500 N. Brand Boulevard, Suite 1650
4 Glendale, CA 91203
Telephone: 213.486.0048
5 Facsimile: 213.486.0049
6 Attorneys for Defendant, TARGET CORPORATION
7
8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
11 WILSON RENAN CUEVA CASE NO. CV 24-07842-DMG (KSx)
RAPALO,
12
Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
13 ORDER
v.
14
TARGET CORPORATION; and
15 DOES 1 through 30, inclusive,
16 Defendants.
17
18 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
19 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
20 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public
21 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may
22 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to
23 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this
24 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
25 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends
26 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
27 under the applicable legal principles.
1 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
2 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, and other valuable commercial,
3 financial, personal and private health information and/or proprietary information for
4 which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other
5 than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary
6 materials and information consist of, among other things, confidential business or
7 financial information, information regarding confidential business practices,
8 policies, or procedures, or commercial information (including information
9 implicating privacy rights of third parties and/or individuals), information otherwise
10 generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise
11 protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions,
12 or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the
13 prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to
14 adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure
15 that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in
16 preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the
17 litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is
18 justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be
19 designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated
20 without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public
21 manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this
22 case.
23 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL
24 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this
25 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information
26 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed
27 and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court
1 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial
2 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions,
3 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and
4 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors
5 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics,
6 Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders
7 require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling
8 reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with
9 respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere
10 designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—
11 without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the
12 material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or
13 otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
14 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then
15 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the
16 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected.
17 See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For
18 each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced
19 under seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking
20 protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal
21 justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting
22 the application to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.
23 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in
24 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted.
25 If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting
26 only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document,
27 shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their
1 2. DEFINITIONS
2 2.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit, WILSON RENAN CUEVA
3 RAPALO v. TARGET CORPORATION, and DOES 1through 10, inclusive.
4 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
5 designation of information or items under this Order.
6 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
7 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
8 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
9 the Good Cause Statement.
10 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
11 their support staff).
12 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
13 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
14 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
15 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
16 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
17 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
18 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
19 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
20 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
21 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
22 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
23 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
24 counsel.
25 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or
26 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
27 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
1 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm
2 that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
3 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
4 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
5 support staffs).
6 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
7 Discovery Material in this Action.
8 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
9 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
10 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
11 and their employees and subcontractors.
12 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
13 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
14 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
15 Material from a Producing Party.
3. SCOPE
16
The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
17
Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
18
extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
19
compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
20
presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
21
Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
22
trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
23
4. DURATION
24
FINAL DISPOSITION of the action is defined as the conclusion of any
25
appellate proceedings, or, if no appeal is taken, when the time for filing of an appeal
26
has run. Except as set forth below, the terms of this protective order apply through
27
1 contractually bound by the terms of this agreement beyond FINAL DISPOSITION,
2 but will have to file a separate action for enforcement of the agreement once all
3 proceedings in this case are complete.
4 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
5 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced
6 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all
7 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by
8 specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance
9 of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause”
10 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”
11 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, for
12 such materials, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the
13 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
17 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
18 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
19 protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written
20 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items
21 or 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
27 Party to sanctions.
1 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
2 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
3 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
4 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
5 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
6 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
7 produced.
8 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
9 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
10 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
11 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
12 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
13 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for
14 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)
15 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
16 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
17 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
18 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
19 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
20 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the
21 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which
22 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then,
23 before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the
24 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a
25 portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also
26 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings
27 in the margins).
1 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the
2 deposition all protected testimony.
3 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and
4 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on
5 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the
6 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information
7 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the
8 protected portion(s).
9 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
10 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
11 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
12 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
13 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
14 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
23 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
24 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
25 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
26 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
27 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
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
7 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
8 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 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
13 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
14 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
15 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
16 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
17 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
18 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
19 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
20 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
21 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
22 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
23 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
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
27 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
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
4 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
5 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they will
6 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
7 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
8 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
9 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
10 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except
11 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
12 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
13 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
14 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
15 IN OTHER LITIGATION
16 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
17 that 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. Such notification
20 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
21 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
22 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
23 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include
24 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
25 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
26 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
27 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
1 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
2 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
3 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
4 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
5 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
6 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
7 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
8 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
9 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
10 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
11 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
12 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
13 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
14 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
15 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
16 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
17 confidential information, then the Party shall:
18 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
19 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
20 agreement with a Non-Party;
21 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
22 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
23 specific description of the information requested; and
24 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
25 Non-Party, if requested.
26 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within
27 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
1 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall
2 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
3 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
4 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and
5 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
6 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
7 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
8 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
9 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
10 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
11 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
12 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
13 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
14 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
15 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
16 PROTECTED MATERIAL
17 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
18 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
19 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
20 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever
21 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production
22 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and
23 (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a
24 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work
25 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated
26 protective order submitted to the court.
27 12. MISCELLANEOUS
1 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
2 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
3 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
4 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
5 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
6 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
7 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
8 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material
9 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
10 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material
11 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information
12 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
13 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
14 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60
15 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
16 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in
17 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
18 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
19 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving
20 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same
21 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies
22 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or
23 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,
24 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any
25 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to
26 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
27 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
1 || materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
2 || constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
3 |} Section 4 (DURATION).
4 || 14. VIOLATION
5 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
6 || including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
7
8 || ITIS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
9
10 |} DATED: January 27, 2025
1] CHAMPION LAW FIRM
12
13 /s/ Dulce Belloso
Dulce Belloso, Esq.
14 Attorneys for Plaintiff WILSON RENAN CUEVA
RAPALO
15
16 || DATED: January 27, 2025
17 QUINTAIROS, PRIETO, WOOD & BOYER, P.A.
18
19 /s/ David G. Halm
David G. Halm, Esq.
20 Attorneys for Defendant TARGET
71 CORPORATION
22 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
23
24 || DATED: January 31, 2025
25
26 7 Sanen L- Planensan
HON* KAREN L. STEVENSON
27 United States Magistrate Judge
28
1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3
4 I, _____________________________, of __________________
5 [COPMANY NAME], ______________________ [ADDRESS], declare under
6 penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated
7 Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central
8 District of California on _______________ [date] in the case of RAPALO v.
9 TARGET CORPORATION, et al, Case No.: 2:24-cv-07842-DMG-KS. I agree to
10 comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and
11 I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to
12 sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will
13 not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated
14 Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the
15 provisions of this Order.
16 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
17 for the Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated
18 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of
19 this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full
20 name] of _______________________________________ [print or type full address
21 and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection
22 with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated
23 Protective Order.
24 Date: ______________________________________
25 City and State where sworn and signed: ___________________
26 Printed name: _______________________________
27