The opinion
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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10 RAD COMMUNICATIONS, INC., ) Case No.: 24-cv-06718-AH-PVC
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11 Plaintiff, )
) PROTECTIVE ORDER
12 vs. )
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13 SECURITY NATIONAL INS. CO., et )
al., )
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Defendants. )
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16 and related cross-claims )
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18 1. INTRODUCTION
19 1.1 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 prosecuting this litigation may
23 be warranted. Accordingly, Defendants SECURITY NATIONAL INSURANCE
24 COMPANY and AMTRUST NORTH AMERICA, INC. (“Defendants”) hereby
25 stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Protective Order. The
26 parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all
27 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public
1 to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further
2 acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Protective Order does not
3 entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets
4 forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied
5 when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
6 1.2 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
7 Good cause exists for the entry of this Protective Order because, among other
8 things, Plaintiff RAD COMMUNICATIONS, INC. (“RAD”) asserts that its
9 damages claimed in this litigation include lost profits allegedly occasioned by the
10 alleged acts of Defendants, but RAD also asserts that it has a right to the privacy of
11 its tax records and other financial documents. Defendants assert that RAD’s tax
12 records and other financial documents in which RAD asserts it has a right to privacy
13 are directly relevant to the existence and/or extent, if any, of RAD’s damages
14 claimed in this litigation. Defendants’ rights to privacy concerning its tax records
15 and other financial documents can be appropriately protected, while allowing for the
16 discovery to which the parties are allowed under Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of
17 Civil Procedure, by the entry of this Protective Order.
18 2. DEFINITIONS
19 2.1 Action: this pending federal law suit.
20 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
21 designation of information or items under this Order.
22 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
23 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
24 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
25 the Good Cause Statement.
26 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
27 their support staff).
1 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
2 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
3 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
4 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
5 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
6 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
7 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
8 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
9 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
10 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
11 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
12 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
13 counsel.
14 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
15 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
16 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
17 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and
18 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm
19 which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
20 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
21 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
22 support staffs).
23 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
24 Discovery Material in this Action.
25 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
26 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
27 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
1 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
2 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
3 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
4 Material from a Producing Party.
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6 3. SCOPE
7 The protections conferred by this Order cover not only Protected Material (as
8 defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected
9 Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material;
10 and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel
11 that might reveal Protected Material.
12 Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the orders of the
13 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
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15 4. DURATION
16 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as
17 confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will
18 be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless
19 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are
20 made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of
21 Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause”
22 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”
23 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the
24 terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
25 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
26 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
27 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
1 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
2 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
3 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,
4 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
5 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
6 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
7 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
8 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
9 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating
10 Party to sanctions.
11 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
12 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
13 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
14 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
15 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
16 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
17 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
18 produced.
19 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
20 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,
21 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that
22 the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter
23 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a
24 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
25 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
26 markings in the margins).
27 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for
1 indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the
2 inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for
3 inspection will be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has
4 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must
5 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this
6 Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must
7 affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material.
8 If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the
9 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
10 appropriate markings in the margins).
11 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the
12 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all
13 protected testimony.
14 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for
15 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
16 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
17 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
18 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, will identify the protected
19 portion(s).
20 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
21 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
22 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
23 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
24 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
25 Order.
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1 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
2 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
3 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
4 Scheduling Order.
5 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party will initiate the dispute
6 resolution process (and, if necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 37.1
7 et seq.
8 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding will be on
9 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
10 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
11 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
12 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties will
13 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
14 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
15 challenge.
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17 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
18 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
19 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
20 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
21 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
22 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
23 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
24 DISPOSITION).
25 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
26 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
27 authorized under this Order.
1 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
2 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
3 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
4 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
5 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
6 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
7 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
8 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
9 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
10 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
11 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
12 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
13 (d) the Court and its personnel;
14 (e) court reporters and their staff;
15 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
16 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
17 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
18 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
19 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
20 (h) during their depositions, witnesses ,and attorneys for witnesses, in the
21 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
22 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they
23 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
24 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
25 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
26 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
27 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except
1 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
2 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
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4 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
5 IN OTHER LITIGATION
6 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
7 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
8 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
9 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
10 will include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
11 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
12 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
13 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification will include
14 a copy of this Protective Order; and
15 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
16 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
17 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
18 the subpoena or court order will not produce any information designated in this
19 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
20 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
21 permission. The Designating Party will bear the burden and expense of seeking
22 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
23 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
24 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
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1 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
2 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
3 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
4 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
5 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
6 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
7 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
8 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
9 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
10 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
11 confidential information, then the Party will:
12 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
13 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
14 agreement with a Non-Party;
15 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Protective
16 Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific
17 description of the information requested; and
18 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
19 Non-Party, if requested.
20 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within
21 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
22 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
23 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party will
24 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
25 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
26 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party will bear the burden and expense
27 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
1 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
2 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
3 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
4 Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the
5 Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve
6 all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to
7 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d)
8 request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to
9 Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
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11 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
12 PROTECTED MATERIAL
13 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
14 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
15 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
16 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever
17 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production
18 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and
19 (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a
20 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work
21 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in a stipulated
22 protective order submitted to the court.
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24 12. MISCELLANEOUS
25 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
26 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
27 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
1 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
2 Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use
3 in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
4 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
5 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
6 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
7 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material
8 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information
9 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
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11 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
12 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60
13 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
14 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in
15 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
16 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
17 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving
18 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same
19 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies
20 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or
21 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,
22 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any
23 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to
24 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
25 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
26 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
27 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
1 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
2 Section 4 (DURATION).
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4 14. Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or criminal
5 contempt proceedings, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary
6 authorities, or other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court.
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FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. THIS ORDER APPLIES
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ONLY TO PLAINTIFF AND DEFENDANTS SECURITY NATIONAL
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INSURANCE AND AMTRUST NORTH AMERICA, INC.
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DATED: June 5, 2025 __________________________________
14 HON. PEDRO V. CASTILLO
United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
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4 I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________
5 [full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and
6 understand the Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court
7 for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of RAD Communications,
8 Inc. v. Security National Insurance Company, et al., Case No. 24-cv-06718-AH-
9 PVC. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Protective
10 Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me
11 to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I
12 will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this
13 Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the
14 provisions of this Order.
15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
16 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
17 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of
18 this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [full name] of
19 _______________________________________ [full address and telephone
20 number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this
21 action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Protective Order.
22 Date: ______________________________________
23 City and State where signed: _________________________________
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25 Printed name: _______________________________
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27 Signature: __________________________________