The opinion
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9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
10 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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12 SEDIGHEH BATTLE, LONNIE Case No.: 8:23-cv-02035-JWH-ADS
ASHTON, and HERMON MCCOY on
13 behalf of themselves and all others Hon. John W. Holcomb
similarly situated,
14 Discovery Document: Referred to
Plaintiffs, Magistrate Judge Autumn D. Spaeth
15
v. Complaint Filed: October 31, 2023
16 Second Amended Complaint Filed:
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, June 7, 2024
17 HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA, and
Does 1 through 5, inclusive, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
18 ORDER
Defendants.
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22 I. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
23 A. Discovery in this Action will involve production of confidential,
24 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
25 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation
26 may be warranted. Accordingly, the Parties hereby stipulate to and petition the
27 Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The Parties
28 acknowledge that this Stipulated Protective Order does not confer blanket
1 protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection
2 it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information
3 or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal
4 principles. The Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section XIII(C),
5 below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file
6 confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the
7 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a
8 party seeks permission from the Court to file material under seal.
9 II. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
10 A. This Action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists
11 and other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical
12 and/or proprietary information for which special protection from public
13 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this Action is
14 warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information may
15 consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial information,
16 private customer information, information regarding confidential business
17 practices, or other confidential research, development, or commercial
18 information (including information implicating privacy rights of third parties),
19 information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be
20 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes,
21 court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow
22 of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over
23 confidentiality of Discovery Materials, to adequately protect information the
24 Parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the Parties are permitted
25 reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct
26 of trial, to address their handling at the end of this Action, and to serve the ends
27 of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It
28 is the intent of the Parties that information will not be designated as confidential
1 for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief
2 that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is
3 good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
4 III. DEFINITIONS
5 A. Action: The above-captioned action, Sedigheh Battle, et al. v. Hyundai
6 Motor Company, et al., No. 8:23-cv-02035-JWH-ADS (C.D. Cal. filed Oct. 31,
7 2023).
8 B. Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
9 of information or items under this Stipulated Protective Order.
10 C. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: For purposes of this
11 Stipulated Protective Order, information that may be designated as
12 “CONFIDENTIAL” includes any information that a Party intends to produce
13 and believes in good faith to be confidential or sensitive non-public information,
14 including, but not limited to, research, design, development, financial, technical,
15 marketing, planning, personal, or commercial information, as such terms are
16 used in Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and any applicable
17 case law interpreting Rule 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause
18 Statement. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items also include information
19 that a Party is required to maintain as confidential under the terms of an
20 agreement or other understanding.
21 D. Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
22 support staff).
23 E. Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates information or
24 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
25 “CONFIDENTIAL” “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL,” or “PROTECTED
26 DATA.”
27 F. Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless
28 of the medium or manner in which they are generated, stored, or maintained
1 (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that
2 are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.
3 G. Expert: A person or firm with specialized knowledge or experience in a
4 matter pertinent to this Action who has been retained by a Party or its Counsel
5 to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
6 H. “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: For purposes of
7 this Stipulated Protective Order, Disclosure or Discovery Material may be
8 designated as “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” if the Designating Party in good
9 faith believes the Disclosure or Discovery Material constitutes or contains
10 confidential and highly sensitive competitive business and/or proprietary
11 information that warrants the highest level of confidentiality, the disclosure of
12 which other than as provided in Section VIII(C) below will place the Producing
13 Party at a competitive disadvantage. Any Producing Party may designate as
14 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL”: (i) trade secrets; (ii) current and future business
15 and marketing plans that have not been disclosed to the public; (iii) research and
16 development activities that have not been disclosed to the public; (iv)
17 commercial agreements with third parties containing competitively sensitive
18 information, and the negotiations concerning such agreements; provided that the
19 Producing Party has taken reasonable steps to keep the terms of such agreements
20 and related negotiations—as distinct from the existence of the commercial
21 relationship—out of the public domain; (v) non-public communications with
22 United States and foreign patent offices that are not producible by those patent
23 offices pursuant to public records requests; (vi) non-public communications
24 with United States or foreign regulatory agencies that are not producible by
25 those patent offices pursuant to public records requests; (vii) non-public
26 financial information, including non-public sales information, sales projections,
27 profit calculations, income and costs (i.e., production, marketing, and
28 overhead); and (viii) any other category of information subsequently agreed to
1 by the parties in writing as constituting “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL”
2 Information or Items.
3 I. House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a Party. House Counsel
4 does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel.
5 J. Non-Party: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
6 other legal entity not named as a Party.
7 K. Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a Party
8 but are retained to represent a Party and have appeared in this Action on behalf
9 of that Party or are affiliated with a law firm that has appeared on behalf of that
10 Party, and includes support staff.
11 L. Party: Any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
12 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and
13 their support staffs).
14 M. Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
15 Discovery Material in this Action.
16 N. Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation support
17 services, including outside copying services, court reporters, interpreters,
18 translators, stenographers, or companies engaged in the business of supporting
19 computerized or electronic litigation discovery or trial preparation, and their
20 employees and subcontractors.
21 O. “PROTECTED DATA”: Sensitive personal information of individuals
22 that is protected from disclosure by an applicable law, statute, or regulation.
23 “PROTECTED DATA” includes the following:
24 a. Social Security Numbers, except the last four digits;
25 b. Passport Numbers, except the last four digits;
26 c. Driver’s License Numbers, except the last four digits;
27 d. State Identification Numbers, except the last four digits;
28 e. Taxpayer Identification Numbers, except the last four digits;
1 f. Patient Identification Numbers, except the last four digits;
2 g. Financial Account Numbers, except the last four digits;
3 h. Credit/Debit Card Numbers, except the last four digits;
4 i. Media Access Control addresses, except the last four digits;
5 j. Vehicle Identification Numbers, except the last four digits;
6 k. License plate numbers;
7 l. Biometric information;
8 m. Fingerprints;
9 n. Retina scans;
10 o. Voice signatures;
11 p. Facial geometry;
12 q. Medical information unrelated to the alleged defects at issue
13 in this Action;
14 r. Information identifying credit card or bank account
15 balances;
16 s. Names of minor children, unless related to the issue of
17 providing notice to a putative class;
18 t. Home addresses, except for the State and zip code, that do
19 not relate to the issue of providing notice to a putative class or
20 facilitating service upon a potential witness to this Action;
21 u. Personal telephone numbers;
22 v. Dates of birth, other than the year of an individual’s birth;
23 w. Alien Registration Numbers;
24 x. Identification card numbers, except the last four digits;
25 y. Data identifying the physical location of persons if not
26 relevant to this Action;
27 z. Internet Protocol addresses, except the last four digits;
28 aa. Cookie IDs, except the last four digits;
1 bb. Advertising identifiers of a phone, except the last four digits;
2 cc. Racial or ethnic origin; and
3 dd. Genetic data.
4 No other information that falls outside the enumerated list above shall be
5 deemed “PROTECTED DATA” absent later agreement of the Parties or a court order.
6 P. Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
7 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL,” or that
8 constitutes “PROTECTED DATA.”
9 Q. Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
10 from a Producing Party.
11 IV. SCOPE
12 A. The protections conferred by this Stipulated Protective Order cover not
13 only Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied
14 or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
15 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
16 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
17 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial
18 judge and other applicable authorities. This Stipulated Protective Order does
19 not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
20 V. DURATION
21 A. Once this Action proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
22 “CONFIDENTIAL,” “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL,” or maintained pursuant to
23 this Stipulated Protective Order that is used or introduced as an exhibit at trial
24 becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the
25 public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific
26 factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of
27 the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-
28 81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents
1 produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related
2 documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this Stipulated
3 Protective Order do not extend to such information beyond the commencement
4 of the trial. The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order shall continue to apply
5 to all other information and documents not used or introduced as an exhibit at
6 trial.
7 VI. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
8 A. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection
9 1. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for
10 protection under this Stipulated Protective Order must take care to
11 limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under
12 the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate
13 for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or
14 oral or written communications that qualify for protection so that
15 other portions of the material, documents, items, or
16 communications for which protection is not warranted are not
17 swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Stipulated Protective
18 Order. Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are
19 prohibited. Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified
20 or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to
21 unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to
22 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
23 expose the Designating Party to sanctions. If it comes to a
24 Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
25 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that
26 Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is
27 withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
28 B. Manner and Timing of Designations
1 1. Except as otherwise provided in this Stipulated Protective Order or
2 as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery
3 Material that qualifies for protection under this Stipulated
4 Protective Order must be clearly so designated before the material
5 is disclosed or produced. Designation in conformity with this
6 Stipulated Protective Order requires:
7 a. For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or
8 electronic documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or
9 other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix
10 at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL,” “HIGHLY
11 CONFIDENTIAL,” or “PROTECTED DATA” to each document
12 that contains any Protected Material. However, upon reasonable
13 request by a Party to a Designating Party to identify the specific
14 portions of a document that contain Protected Material purportedly
15 justifying the designation, the Designating Party shall provide that
16 information, including the relevant pages, within ten (10) business
17 days of the request. A Party or Non-Party that makes original
18 documents available for inspection need not designate them for
19 protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which
20 documents it would like copied and produced. During the
21 inspection and before the designation, all of the material made
22 available for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.”
23 After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants
24 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which
25 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this
26 Stipulated Protective Order. Then, before producing the specified
27 documents, the Producing Party must affix the
28 “CONFIDENTIAL,” “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL,” or
1 “PROTECTED DATA” legend, as appropriate, to each document
2 that contains Protected Material. However, upon reasonable
3 request by a Party to a Designating Party to identify the specific
4 portions of a document that contain Protected Material purportedly
5 justifying the designation, the Designating Party shall provide that
6 information, including the relevant pages, within ten (10) business
7 days of the request.
8 b. For testimony given in deposition that the Designating Party
9 designates portions of the testimony as “CONFIDENTIAL” or
10 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” on the record at the deposition, or
11 by identifying specific pages and/or lines as “CONFIDENTIAL”
12 or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” within thirty (30) days after
13 receipt of the final transcript of the deposition in which the
14 designations are made. All deposition transcripts shall be treated
15 as “CONFIDENTIAL” for thirty (30) days following receipt by the
16 Designating Party of the final transcript.
17 The Parties shall direct the reporter attending each deposition to place the
18 following legend in bold type on all the covers of all deposition transcripts:
19 “NOTICE: This deposition is subject to a Protective Order
and may contain “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
20 CONFIDENTIAL” testimony and/or exhibits.”
21 Whenever Protected Material is to be discussed or disclosed in a deposition, the
22 Designating Party for such Protected Material shall have the right to require the
23 exclusion from the room of any person who is not entitled to access such Protected
24 Material. Nothing in this provision is intended to impose any obligation upon a
25 Receiving Party beyond those imposed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Any
26 Party’s introduction or other use of Protected Material in a deposition shall not be
27 deemed to waive the continued designation and treatment of such Protected Material
28 as “CONFIDENTIAL,” “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL,” or “PROTECTED DATA.”
1 c. For information produced in some form other than
2 documentary and for any other tangible items, that the Producing
3 Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or
4 containers in which the information or item is stored, as applicable,
5 the legend “CONFIDENTIAL,” “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL,” or
6 “PROTECTED DATA,” as appropriate. If only a portion or
7 portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing
8 Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
9 portion(s).
10 C. Redaction of “PROTECTED DATA”
11 1. Any Party may redact “PROTECTED DATA” that it claims, in
12 good faith, requires protections under the terms of this Stipulated
13 Protective Order and which is irrelevant to this Action. Redactions
14 of “PROTECTED DATA” will include the reason for the redaction
15 and the redacting party shall prepare and maintain a log that
16 identifies: (a) the Bates number(s) of the redacted documents; (b)
17 the category of “PROTECTED DATA” that has been redacted
18 (e.g., social security numbers, credit card numbers, etc.); and (c) a
19 general description of the individual or entity to whom the redacted
20 “PROTECTED DATA” relates, if known, for example, whether
21 the redacted information relates to a Party, a customer or potential
22 customer of a Party, a current or former employee, officer, or
23 director of a Party, a commercial supplier to a Party, or a
24 governmental agency. The Producing Party shall reasonably
25 respond to reasonable requests for further specificity concerning
26 redactions in good faith. Where “PROTECTED DATA” is not
27 redacted because it is relevant to this Action, the document or
28 information containing the “PROTECTED DATA” shall be
1 designated as “PROTECTED DATA.” Such “PROTECTED
2 DATA,” while unredacted, shall otherwise receive the same
3 protections and treatment afforded to other “PROTECTED
4 DATA” under this Stipulated Protective Order.
5 D. Inadvertent Failures to Designate
6 1. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate qualified
7 information or items as “CONFIDENTIAL,” “HIGHLY
8 CONFIDENTIAL,” or “PROTECTED DATA” does not, standing
9 alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection
10 under this Stipulated Protective Order for such material. Upon
11 timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make
12 reasonable good faith efforts to assure that the material is treated
13 in accordance with the provisions of this Stipulated Protective
14 Order. If the Producing Party amends the designation of
15 information or items pursuant to this section, the Producing Party
16 must provide a replacement production with the corrected
17 designation and load file within twenty-one (21) days of the
18 amendment of the designation.
19 2. The Receiving Party shall also exercise good faith efforts to ensure
20 that copies made of the material by the Receiving Party, and copies
21 made by others who obtained the material directly or indirectly
22 from the Receiving Party, include the appropriate confidentiality
23 legend, to the same extent that the material has been marked with
24 the appropriate confidentiality legend by the Designating Party.
25 VII. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
26 A. Timing of Challenges
27 1. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of
28 confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
1 Scheduling Order.
2 B. Meet and Confer
3 1. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process
4 under Local Civil Rule 37-1 et seq.
5 C. Judicial Intervention
6 1. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a joint stipulation
7 pursuant to Local Civil Rule 37-2. The burden of persuasion in
8 any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating Party.
9 Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
10 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on
11 other Parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions.
12 Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the
13 confidentiality designation, all Parties shall continue to afford the
14 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled
15 under the Designating Party’s designation until the Court rules on
16 the challenge.
17 VIII. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
18 A. Basic Principles
19 1. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or
20 produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with
21 this Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle
22 this Action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the
23 categories of persons and under the conditions described in this
24 Stipulated Protective Order. When this Action has been
25 terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of
26 Section XIV (FINAL DISPOSITION) below.
27 2. Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving
28 Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access
1 is limited to the persons authorized under this Stipulated Protective
2 Order.
3 B. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items
4 1. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by
5 the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose information
6 or items designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
7 a. the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this
8 Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to
9 whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this
10 Action;
11 b. the officers, directors, and employees (including House
12 Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably
13 necessary for this Action;
14 c. Experts (as defined in Section III(G)) of the Receiving Party
15 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and
16 who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
17 Bound” (Exhibit A);
18 d. the Court and its personnel;
19 e. court reporters and their staff;
20 f. professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
21 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary
22 for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and
23 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
24 g. any person who (1) authored, is listed as a recipient of, or is
25 mentioned, discussed, or referred to in the material; (2) is or was a
26 custodian of the material; (3) is an employee of the Producing
27 Party; or (4) was an employee of the Producing Party and who has
28 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
1 (Exhibit A);
2 h. during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for
3 witnesses, in this Action to whom disclosure is reasonably
4 necessary provided that: (1) the deposing Party requests that the
5 witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) the
6 witness will not be permitted to keep any “CONFIDENTIAL”
7 Information or Items, unless otherwise agreed by the Designating
8 Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed deposition
9 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material
10 may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be
11 disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated
12 Protective Order;
13 i. mediators or settlement officers, and their supporting
14 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any Parties engaged in
15 discussions concerning settlement of all or part of this Action; and
16 j. any other person that the Designating Party agrees in
17 writing, or that the Court orders, may receive the
18 “CONFIDENTIAL” information or items.
19 C. Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items
20 1. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by
21 the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose information
22 or items designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
23 a. the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record, as well as
24 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is
25 reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
26 b. Experts (as defined in Section III(G)) of the Receiving Party
27 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and
28 who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
1 Bound” (Exhibit A);
2 c. the Court and its personnel;
3 d. court reporters and their staff to whom disclosure is
4 reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
5 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
6 e. professional jury or trial consultants or mock jurors who (1)
7 are not a past or current employee of a Party or of a Party’s
8 competitor, and (2) at the time of retention, are not anticipated to
9 become an employee of a Party or of a Party’s competitor, and
10 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary
11 for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and
12 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
13 f. any person who (1) authored, is listed as a recipient of, or is
14 mentioned, discussed, or referred to in the material; (2) is or was a
15 custodian of the material; (3) is an employee of the Producing
16 Party; or (4) was an employee of the Producing Party at the time
17 the document was created and who has signed the
18 “Acknowledgement and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
19 g. during their depositions, witnesses and attorneys for
20 witnesses in this Action to whom disclosure is reasonably
21 necessary provided that: (1) the witness and his or her attorney has
22 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
23 (Exhibit A); and (2) the witness will not be permitted to keep any
24 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items, unless
25 otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court.
26 Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to
27 depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately bound
28 by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as
1 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order;
2 h. mediators or settlement officers, and their supporting
3 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any Parties engaged in
4 discussions concerning settlement of all or part of this Action; and
5 i. any other person that the Designating Party agrees in
6 writing, or that the Court orders, may receive the “HIGHLY
7 CONFIDENTIAL” Information.
8 D. Disclosure of “PROTECTED DATA.”
9 1. To the extent permitted by applicable law, and unless otherwise
10 ordered by the Court, a Receiving Party may disclose any
11 information or item designated as “PROTECTED DATA” only to:
12 a. the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record;
13 b. employees of the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of
14 Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the
15 information for this Action;
16 c. Experts (as defined in Section III(G)) of the Receiving Party
17 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and
18 who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
19 Bound” (Exhibit A);
20 d. the Court and its personnel;
21 e. court reporters and their staff to whom disclosure is
22 reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
23 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
24 f. professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
25 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary
26 for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and
27 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
28 g. any person who (1) authored, is listed as a recipient of, or is
1 mentioned, discussed, or referred to in the material; (2) is or was a
2 custodian of the material; (3) is an employee of the Producing
3 Party; or (4) was an employee of the Producing Party and who has
4 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
5 (Exhibit A);
6 h. mediators or settlement officers, and their supporting
7 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any Parties engaged in
8 discussions concerning settlement of all or part of this Action;
9 i. during their depositions, witnesses and attorneys for
10 witnesses in this Action to whom disclosure is reasonably
11 necessary; provided that: (1) the witness and his or her attorney has
12 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
13 (Exhibit A); and (2) the witness will not be permitted to keep any
14 information or items designated as “PROTECTED DATA,” unless
15 otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court.
16 Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to
17 depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately bound
18 by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as
19 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
20 j. any other person that the Designating Party agrees in
21 writing, or that the Court orders, may receive the “PROTECTED
22 DATA.”
23 IX. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
24 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
25 A. If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other
26 litigation that compels disclosure of any Protected Material, that Party must:
27 1. promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
28 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
1 2. promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or
2 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material
3 covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this Stipulated
4 Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this
5 Stipulated Protective Order; and
6 3. cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
7 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may
8 be affected.
9 B. If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served
10 with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any Protected Material before
11 a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless
12 the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating
13 Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in the court from
14 which the subpoena or order issued of its confidential material. Nothing herein
15 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party to disobey
16 a lawful directive from another court.
17 X. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
18 PRODUCED IN THIS ACTION
19 A. The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order are applicable to
20 information or items produced by a Non-Party and designated as
21 “CONFIDENTIAL,” “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL,” or “PROTECTED
22 DATA.” Such information or items produced by Non-Parties in connection
23 with this Action is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this
24 Stipulated Protective Order. However, nothing herein should be construed as
25 prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
26 B. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
27 produce a Non-Party’s Protected Material, and the Party is subject to an
28 agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s Protected
1 Material, then the Party shall:
2 1. promptly notify the Requesting Party and the Non-Party in writing
3 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a
4 confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
5 2. promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of this Stipulated
6 Protective Order, the relevant discovery request(s), and a
7 reasonably specific description of the information requested; and
8 3. make the information requested available for inspection by the
9 Non-Party, if requested.
10 C. If the Non-Party fails to object or seek a protective order from this Court
11 within fourteen (14) days of receiving the notice and accompanying
12 information, the Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s Protected
13 Material responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a
14 protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any Protected Material
15 in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with
16 the Non-Party before a determination by the Court. Absent a court order to the
17 contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection
18 in this Court of its Protected Material.
19 XI. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
20 A. If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has
21 disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not
22 authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must
23 immediately (1) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized
24 disclosure, (2) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the
25 Protected Material, (3) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized
26 disclosure was made of all of the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, and
27 (4) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
28 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
1 XII. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
2 PROTECTED MATERIAL
3 A. When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
4 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
5 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal
6 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify
7 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for
8 production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of
9 Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the Parties reach an agreement on the effect
10 of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client
11 privilege or work product protection, the Parties may incorporate their
12 agreement in the Stipulated Protective Order submitted to the Court.
13 XIII. MISCELLANEOUS
14 A. Right to Further Relief
15 1. Nothing in this Stipulated Protective Order abridges the right of
16 any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
17 B. Right to Assert Other Objections
18 1. By stipulating to the entry of this Stipulated Protective Order, no
19 Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
20 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not
21 addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party
22 waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence any of
23 the material covered by this Stipulated Protective Order.
24 C. Filing Protected Material
25 1. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must
26 comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only
27 be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing
28 of the specific Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file
1 Protected Material under seal is denied by the Court, then the
2 Receiving Party may file the information in the public record
3 unless otherwise instructed by the Court.
4 XIV. FINAL DISPOSITION
5 A. Upon final disposition of this Action, including any and all appeals,
6 counsel for each Party shall, upon request of the Producing Party, return to the
7 Producing Party all Protected Material, including any copies, excerpts, and
8 summaries thereof, or shall destroy the same at the option of the Receiving
9 Party, and shall purge all such information from all machine-readable media on
10 which the Protected Material resides. Whether the Protected Material is
11 returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to
12 the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating
13 Party) within thirty (30) days of the request, that (1) identifies (by category,
14 where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed,
15 and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
16 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of
17 the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to
18 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and
19 hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial
20 exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work
21 product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival
22 copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this
23 Stipulated Protective Order as set forth in Section IV (SCOPE).
24 XV. VIOLATIONS
25 A. Any violation of this Stipulated Protective Order may be punished by any
26 and all appropriate measures, including, without limitation, contempt
27 proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
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1 XVI. PROTECTIVE ORDER REMAINS IN FORCE
2 A. This Stipulated Protective Order shall remain in force and effect until
3 modified, superseded, or terminated by consent of the Parties or by order of the
4 Court made upon reasonable written notice. Unless otherwise ordered or agreed
5 upon by the Parties, this Stipulated Protective Order shall survive the
6 termination of this Action. The Court retains jurisdiction even after termination
7 of this Action to enforce this Stipulated Protective Order and to make such
8 amendments, modifications, deletions, and additions to this Stipulated
9 Protective Order as the Court may from time to time deem appropriate.
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11 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
12
13 Dated: June 13, 2025 McCUNE LAW GROUP, APC
14 /s/ Jordan I. Wispell
David C. Wright
15 Richards D. McCune
Steven A. Haskins
16 Jordan I. Wispell
Attorneys for Plaintiffs and the Putative Class
17
18 Dated: June 13, 2025 SKADDEN, ARPS, SLATE, MEAGHER &
FLOM LLP
19
/s/ Michael C. Minahan
20 Lance A. Etcheverry
Caroline Van Ness
21 Michael C. Minahan
Jessica St. Pierre
22 Attorneys for Defendants
Hyundai Motor Company and
23 Hyundai Motor America
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ATTESTATION
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26 Pursuant to Local Rule 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), the filer attests that all other signatories listed,
27 and on whose behalf the filing is submitted, concur in the filing’s content and have
28 authorized the filing.
1 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
2
3 Dated: 06/17/1015 /s/ Autumn D. Spaeth
HONORABLE AUTUMN D. SPAETH
4 United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
2
3 I, [print or type full name], of
4 [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have
5 read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by
6 the United States District Court for the Central District of California on [DATE] in
7 the case of Sedigheh Battle, et al. v. Hyundai Motor Company, et al., No. 8:23-cv-
8 02035-JWH-ADS (C.D. Cal. filed Oct. 31, 2023) (the “Action”). I agree to comply
9 with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I
10 understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions
11 and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not
12 disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated
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 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
18 termination of this Action. I hereby appoint [print or type
19 full name] of [print or type full address and
20 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with
21 this Action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective
22 Order.
23 Date:
24 City and State where sworn and signed:
25 Printed Name:
26 Signature:
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