even stipulated protective orders 18 require good cause showing
How later courts described this case
- even stipulated protective orders 18 require good cause showing
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
1 CHRISTOPHER A. STECHER, CASB No. 215329
christopher.stecher@kyl.com
2 SIMON M. LEVY, CASB No. 305569
simon.levy@kyl.com
3
MICHELLE L. ABDOLHOSSEINI, CASB No. 318028
4 michelle.abdolhosseini@kyl.com
BAILEY MAHER, CASB No. 345659
5 bailey.maher@kyl.com
KEESAL, YOUNG & LOGAN
6
A Professional Corporation
7 578 Jackson Street
San Francisco, California 94133
8 Telephone: (415) 398-6000
Facsimile: (415) 981-0136
9 Attorneys for Defendants
10
CRAIG M. NICHOLAS, CASB No. 178444
11 cnicholas@nicholaslaw.org
SHAUN MARKLEY, CASB No. SBN 291785
12 smarkley@nicholaslaw.org
JORDAN BELCASTRO, CASB No. SBN 339570
13
jbelcastro@nicholaslaw.org
14 NICHOLAS & TOMASEVIC, LLP
225 Broadway, 19th Floor
15 San Diego, California 92101
Telephone: (619) 325-0492
16 Facsimile: (619) 325-0496
Attorneys for Plaintiff
17
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
18
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
19
20
MIGUEL NEGRETE, individually, and ) Case No. 2:25-cv-00555 AB (AGRx)
21
on behalf of himself and all others )
22 similarly situated, ) STIPULATION AND PROPOSED
) PROTECTIVE ORDER
23 Plaintiff, )
)
24 vs. )
THE CAMPBELL’S COMPANY, a New )
25 Jersey corporation; SNYDER’S-LANCE, )
26 INC., a North Carolina corporation; and )
DOES 1 through 100, inclusive, )
27 )
Defendants.
)
1 1. 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 pursuing this Action may be warranted.
5 Accordingly, Plaintiff MIGUEL NEGRETE (“Plaintiff”) and Defendants THE
6 CAMPBELL’S COMPANY and SNYDER’S-LANCE, INC. (collectively,
7 “Defendants”) (Plaintiff and Defendants, collectively, the “Parties”) hereby stipulate
8 and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The Parties
9 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or
10 responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use
11 extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential
12 treatment under the applicable legal principles.
13 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
14 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists and other
15 valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary
16 information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any
17 purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and
18 proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, confidential
19 business or financial information, information regarding confidential business practices,
20 or other confidential research, development, or commercial information (including
21 information implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise generally
22 unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from
23 disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law.
24 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of
25 disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information
26 the Parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the Parties are permitted
27 reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial,
1 to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a
2 protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the
3 Parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and
4 that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a
5 confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of
6 the public record of this case.
7 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE
8 The Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this
9 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under
10 seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the
11 standards that will be applied when a Party seeks permission from the court to file
12 material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access
13 to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive
14 motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v.
15 City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen.
16 Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210–11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony
17 Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders
18 require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling
19 reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with
20 respect to Protected Material that a Party seeks to file under seal. The Parties’ mere
21 designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—
22 without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the
23 material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise
24 protectable—constitute good cause.
25 Further, if a Party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then
26 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief
27 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See
1 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677–79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item
2 or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal,
3 the Party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific
4 facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence
5 supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by
6 declaration.
7 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its
8 entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If
9 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only
10 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be
11 filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should
12 include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
13 4. DEFINITIONS
14 4.1 Action: Negrete v. The Campbell’s Company and Snyder’s-Lance,
15 Inc., United States District Court Central District of California, Case No. 2:25-cv-
16 00555 AB.
17 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
18 designation of information or items under this Order.
19 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless
20 of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
21 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the
22 Good Cause Statement.
23 4.4 Counsel: counsel of record and In-House Counsel (as well as their
24 support staff and paralegals).
25 4.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information
26 or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
27 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
1 4.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information,
2 regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained
3 (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are
4 produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.
5 4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a
6 matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its Counsel to
7 serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
8 4.8 In-House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this
9 Action.
10 4.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association
11 or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
12 4.10 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
13 employees, consultants, retained experts, and counsel of record (and their support staff
14 and paralegals).
15 4.11 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
16 Discovery Material in this Action.
17 4.12 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
18 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
19 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and
20 their employees and subcontractors.
21 4.13 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
22 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
23 4.14 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
24 Material from a Producing Party.
25 5. SCOPE
26 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected
27 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.
4 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial
5 judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of Protected
6 Material at trial.
7 6. DURATION
8 Even after final disposition of this Action, the information that was designated as
9 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced as
10 an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of
11 the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual
12 findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See
13 Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180–81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing
14 documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-
15 related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective
16 order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
17 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
18 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for
19 Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection
20 under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
21 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
22 protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written
23 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items or
24 communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably
25 within the ambit of this Order.
26 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that
27 are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose
1 (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
2 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party
3 to sanctions.
4 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
5 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
6 promptly notify all other parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
7 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided
8 in this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material
9 that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the
10 material is disclosed or produced.
11 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
12 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
13 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
14 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
15 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
16 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for
17 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g.,
18 by making appropriate markings in the margins).
19 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
20 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
21 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before
22 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed
23 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the Inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants
24 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or
25 portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the
26 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to
27 each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a page
1 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
2 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
3 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party
4 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the
5 deposition all protected testimony, or within a reasonable time thereafter.
6 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and
7 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
8 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
9 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
10 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
11 portion(s).
12 7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
13 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
14 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon
15 timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to
16 assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
17 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
18 8.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
19 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling
20 Order.
21 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
22 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
23 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a
24 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
25 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be
26 on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
27 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties)
1 may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has
2 waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all Parties shall continue to afford
3 the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the
4 Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
5 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
6 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that
7 is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
8 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such
9 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
10 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving
11 Party must comply with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
12 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
13 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
14 authorized under this Order.
15 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
16 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
17 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL”
18 only to:
19 (a) the Receiving Party’s counsel of record in this Action, as well as
20 employees of said counsel of record to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the
21 information for this Action;
22 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including In-House Counsel)
23 of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
24 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
25 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
26 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
27 (d) the court and its personnel;
1 (e) court reporters and their staff;
2 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
3 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
4 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
5 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
6 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
7 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in
8 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
9 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will
10 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
11 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed
12 by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition
13 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately
14 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted
15 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
16 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel,
17 mutually agreed upon by any of the Parties engaged in settlement discussions.
18 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
19 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
20 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that
21 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
22 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
23 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
24 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
25 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or
26 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
27
1 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a
2 copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
3 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
4 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the
5 Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena or
6 court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as
7 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or
8 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
9 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court
10 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
11 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful
12 directive from another court.
13 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
14 PRODUCED IN THIS ACTION
15 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
16 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
17 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies
18 and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as
19 prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
20 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
21 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
22 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential
23 information, then the Party shall:
24 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-
25 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
26 agreement with a Non-Party;
27
1 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
2 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
3 specific description of the information requested; and
4
(3) make the information requested available for inspection by
5
the Non-Party, if requested.
6
(c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court
7
within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving
8
Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
9
request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not
10
produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality
11
agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order
12
to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection
13
in this court of its Protected Material.
14
12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
15
If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
16
Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
17
Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing
18
the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve
19
all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to
20
whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and
21
(d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to
22
Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.
23
13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
24
PROTECTED MATERIAL
25
When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
26
inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the
27
obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
1 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
2 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
3 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence, Rule 502(d) and (e), insofar as
4 the Parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
5 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
6 Parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to
7 the court.
8 14. MISCELLANEOUS
9 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of
10 any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
11 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
12 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
13 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
14 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
15 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
16 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
17 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
18 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
19 Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by
20 the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless
21 otherwise instructed by the court.
22 15. FINAL DISPOSITION
23 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6, within 60
24 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all
25 Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
26 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
27 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
1 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party
2 must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person
3 or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies (by
4 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed
5 and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
6 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
7 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an
8 archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts,
9 legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney
10 work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain
11 Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected
12 Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 6 (DURATION).
13 16. VIOLATION
14 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including,
15 without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
16
17 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
18
19 DATED: February 26, 2025 /s/ Shaun Markley
Attorneys for Plaintiff
20
21 DATED: February 26, 2025 /s/ Michelle L. Abdolhosseini
Attorneys for Defendants
22
23
SIGNATURE ATTESTATION
24
Pursuant to L.R. 5-4.3.4, I attest under penalty of perjury that concurrence in the
25
filing of this document has been obtained from any other signatory to this document.
26
27 DATED: February 26, 2025 /s/ Michelle L. Abdolhosseini
1 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
2
3 DATED: __M_a_r_c_h_ 1_4_,_ 2_0_2_5_____
HON. ALICIA G. ROSENBERG.
4
U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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