even 6 stipulated protective orders require good cause showing
How later courts described this case
- even 6 stipulated protective orders require good cause showing
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
8
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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10 ERIKA LOURAINE JOHNSON AND ) Case No. 8:25-cv-00076-JWH-JDE
RAYMON TYLER JOHNSON, )
11 )
Plaintiffs, ) STIPULATION AND PROPOSED
12 ) PROTECTIVE ORDER
vs. )
13 )
)
FCA US, LLC; and DOES 1 through
14 10, inclusive, )
)
15 )
Defendant. )
16 )
17 Based on the parties’ Stipulation (Dkt. 19) and for good cause shown, the
18 Court finds and orders as follows.
19 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
20 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
21 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public
22 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be
23 warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to
24 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this
25 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
26 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends
27 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
28 under the applicable legal principles.
1 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
2 Documents and materials covered under the protective order contain
3 proprietary, financial, confidential, copyrighted, and sensitive information not
4 intended to be circulated among the general public. This includes copyrighted
5 vehicle information intended for purchase or to be used under license, sensitive
6
personally identifiable information, confidential business practices, and
7
information otherwise generally unavailable to the public. In many instances,
8
redaction is not possible as necessary information would be redacted, and in some
9
instances more information would be redacted than visible.
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Special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other
11
than prosecution of this action is warranted.
12
Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt
13
resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately
14
protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the
15
parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for
16
and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and
17
serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this
18
matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as
19
confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good
20
faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and
21
22 there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
23 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE
24 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, 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
28 to file material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right
1 of access to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-
2 dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See
3 Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006),
4 Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-
5 Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even
6
stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of
7
good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal
8
justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to
9
file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material
10
as CONFIDENTIAL does not— without the submission of competent evidence by
11
declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as
12
confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
13
Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial,
14
then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and
15
the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be
16
protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir.
17
2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed
18
or introduced under seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling
19
reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing
20
order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file documents
21
22 under seal must be provided by declaration.
23 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable
24 in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be
25 redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing,
26 omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the
27 document, shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in
28 their entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
1 4. DEFINITIONS
2 4.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit.
3 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
4 designation of information or items under this Order.
5 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
6
how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
7
protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
8
the Good Cause Statement.
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4.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
10
their support staff).
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4.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
12
items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
13
“CONFIDENTIAL.”
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4.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
15
of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
16
among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced
17
or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.
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4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
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pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve
20
as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
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22 4.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this
23 Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other
24 outside counsel.
25 4.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or
26 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
27 4.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
28 party to this Action but are retained to represent a party to this Action and have
1 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that
2 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
3 4.11 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).
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4.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
7
Discovery Material in this Action.
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4.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
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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.
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4.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
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designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
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4.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
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Material from a Producing Party.
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5. SCOPE
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The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
18
Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
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extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
20
compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
21
22 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
23 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
24 trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of
25 Protected Material at trial.
26 6. DURATION
27 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
28 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or
1 introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively
2 available to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling
3 reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the
4 trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81
5 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in
6
discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are
7
part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend
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beyond the commencement of the trial.
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7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
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7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for
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Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or
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items for protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation
13
to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating
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Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items
15
or oral or written communications that qualify so that other portions of the
16
material, documents, items or communications for which protection is not
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warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
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Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
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that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
20
purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to
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22 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the
23 Designating Party to sanctions.
24 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
25 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
26 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
27 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
28 this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material
1 that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before
2 the material is disclosed or produced.
3 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
4 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
5 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
6
proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
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“CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
8
contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for
9
protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)
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(e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
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A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
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need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
13
which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
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before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
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deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the
16
documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine
17
which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order.
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Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix
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the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If
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only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
21
22 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
23 appropriate markings in the margins).
24 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party
25 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of
26 the deposition all protected testimony.
27 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary
28 and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent
1 place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is
2 stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the
3 information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable,
4 shall identify the protected portion(s).
5 7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
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failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
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the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such
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material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make
9
reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the
10
provisions of this Order.
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8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
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8.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
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designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
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Scheduling Order.
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8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
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resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
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8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a
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joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
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8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
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the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
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22 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
23 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
24 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
25 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
26 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
27 challenge.
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1 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
2 9.1 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
6
the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
7
Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL
8
DISPOSITION).
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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
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authorized under this Order.
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9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
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otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
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Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
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“CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
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(a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
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well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
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necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
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(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel)
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of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
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22 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
23 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
24 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
25 (d) the court and its personnel;
26 (e) court reporters and their staff;
27 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
28 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
1 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
2 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or
3 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
4 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in
5 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing
6
party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2)
7
they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
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“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
9
agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
10
deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
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be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone
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except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
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(i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel,
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mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
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10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
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PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
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If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
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that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
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“CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
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(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
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22 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
23 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or
24 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
25 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall
26 include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
27 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
28 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the
1 Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the
2 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action
3 as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
4 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
5 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
6
protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
7
should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
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to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
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10 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO
BE PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
11
12 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by
13 a Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such
14 information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected
15 by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions
16 should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional
17 protections.
18 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request,
19 to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party
20 is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
21 confidential information, then the Party shall:
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(1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
23
that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
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agreement with a Non-Party;
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(2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
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Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
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specific description of the information requested; and
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1 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
2 Non-Party, if requested.
3 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court
4 within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the
5 Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive
6
to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the
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Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that
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is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a
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determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party
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shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its
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Protected Material.
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12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED
13 MATERIAL
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If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has
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disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized
16
under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a)
17
notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its
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best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform
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the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms
20
of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the
21
22 “Acknowledgment an Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.
23 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL
24
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
27 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal
28 Rule of Civil\ Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify
1 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for
2 production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence
3 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure
4 of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or
5 work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the
6
stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
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14. MISCELLANEOUS
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14.1 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.
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14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
11
Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
12
disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in
13
this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on
14
any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective
15
Order.
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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
18
may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
19
specific Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under
20
seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the
21
22 public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
23 15. FINAL DISPOSITION
24 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6, within
25 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must
26 return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As
27 used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts,
28 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
1 || Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the
2 || Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if
3 || not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that
4 (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was
> || returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any
6 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or
capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel
8 are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial,
deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition
and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert
work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival
2 copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this
Protective Order as set forth in Section 6 (DURATION).
Is 16. MIOLATION
6 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
18 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED
19 je de
29 ||DATED: April 16, 2025
HN D. EARLY
United States Magistrate Judge
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EXHIBIT A
2
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
4
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I hereby acknowledged that I, ______________________________ [NAME],
6
____________________________________________ [POSITION AND EMPLOYER],
7
am about to receive Confidential Materials supplied in connection with the proceeding,
8
8:25-cv-00076-JWH-JDE. I certify that I understand the Confidential Materials are
9
provided to me subject to the terms and restrictions of the Stipulation and Protective
10
Order filed in this Proceeding. I have been given a copy of this Stipulation and Protective
11
Order; I have read it, and I agree to be bound by its terms.
12
I understand that Confidential Materials, as defined in the Stipulation and
13
Protective Order, including any notes or other records that may be made regarding any
14
such materials, shall not be Disclosed to anyone except as expressly permitted by the
15
16 Stipulation and Protective Order. I will not copy or use, except solely for the purposes of
17 this Proceeding, any Confidential Materials obtained pursuant to this Protective Order,
18 except as provided therein or otherwise ordered by the Court in the Proceeding.
19 I further understand that I am to retain all copies of all Confidential Materials
20 provided to me in the Proceeding in a secure manner and that all copies of such Materials
21 are to remain in my personal custody until termination of my participation in the
22 Proceeding, whereupon the copies of such Materials will be returned to counsel who
23 provided me with such Materials.
24 ///
25 ///
26 ///
27 ///
28 ///
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I declare under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the State of California, that
2
the foregoing is true and correct. Executed this_____ day of _____, 20_____, at
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_________________.
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DATED: _________________________ BY: _____________________________
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Signature
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_____________________________
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Title
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_____________________________
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Address
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_____________________________
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City, State, Zip
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_____________________________
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Telephone Number
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