Opinion

Lerum v. Heritage-Crystal Clean Inc

Court: District Court, W.D. Washington
Filed: Jul 7, 2025
Cited by: 0 cases
Authority: More cited than 37.4%

The opinion

7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

8 IN TACOMA

9 NATHANIEL LERUM, an individual,

10 Plaintiff,

11 v. Case No. 3:25-cv-05136-TMC

12 HERITAGE-CRYSTAL CLEAN, INC., a STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

Delaware corporation, HERITAGE-

13 CRYSTAL CLEAN OF WASHINGTON,

LLC, a foreign Limited Liability

14 Company, and WILLIAM LEE HINTON,

and his marital community,

Defendants.

1 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

2 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,

3 proprietary, or private information for which special protection may be warranted.

4 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the court to enter the following

5 Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this agreement is consistent

6 with LCR 26(c). It does not confer blanket protection on all disclosures or responses to

7 discovery, the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the

8 limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the

9 applicable legal principles, and it does not presumptively entitle parties to file

10 confidential information under seal.

2. “CONFIDENTIAL” MATERIAL

"Confidential" material shall include the following documents and tangible

things produced or otherwise exchanged: Plaintiff, Defendant(s), and third-party’s

highly private identifying information (e.g., dates of birth, social security or taxpayer-

identification numbers, passport information, or driver-licenses); banking account

information and passwords; all Protected Health Information (PHI) as that term is

defined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy

Rule; personnel files and employment records of current and former employees besides

Plaintiff; non-public workplace complaints by current and former employees besides

Plaintiff; compensation information of current and former employees besides Plaintiff;

non-public documents related to other litigation against Defendants; confidential

workplace investigation records; and the Parties’ confidential financial, business, tax, or

insurance information that is not publicly available.

25 Nothing in the definition of “Confidential Material” is in any way an admission

26 or acknowledgement that the documents and tangible things listed herein are otherwise

27 discoverable. The Parties reserve all rights to object to the production of documents or

1 tangible things included in the list above, notwithstanding that these documents or

2 tangible things might be subject to the terms of this Protective Order.

3 Furthermore, marking materials “CONFIDENTIAL” is subject to the following

4 limitations: (1) the designation must be consistent with FRCP 26(c), (2) the designating

5 party must have “good cause” for marking a document as CONFIDENTIAL, and (3) the

6 designation “does not restrict the dissemination of the information if gained from other

7 sources.” Seattle Times Co. v. Rhinehart, 467 U.S. 20, 37 (1984). To establish good cause,

8 the designating party must be able to show that specific prejudice or harm will result if

9 the confidentiality of the documents is not maintained.

The Parties further agree that materials marked as “CONFIDENTIAL” shall not

be redacted except in situations where the redacted material is protected by privilege.

3. SCOPE

14 The protections conferred by this agreement cover not only confidential material

15 (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from confidential

16 material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of confidential material;

17 and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by parties or their counsel that

18 might reveal confidential material.

19 However, the protections conferred by this agreement do not cover information

20 that is in the public domain or becomes part of the public domain through trial or

21 otherwise.

4. ACCESS TO AND USE OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL

4.1 Basic Principles. A receiving party may use confidential material that is

disclosed or produced by another party or by a non-party in connection with this case

only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this litigation. Confidential

material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions

1 described in this agreement. Confidential material must be stored and maintained by a

2 receiving party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited

3 to the persons authorized under this agreement.

4 4.2 Disclosure of "CONFIDENTIAL" Information or Items. Unless otherwise

5 ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the designating party, a receiving party

6 may disclose any confidential material only to:

(a) the receiving party’s counsel of record in this action, as well as

employees of counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for

this litigation;

(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including in house counsel)

of the receiving party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation,

unless the parties agree that a particular document or material produced is for

Attorney’s Eyes Only and is so designated;

15 (c) experts and consultants to whom disclosure is reasonably

16 necessary for this litigation and who have signed the "Acknowledgment and Agreement

17 to Be Bound" (Exhibit A);

18 (d) the court, court personnel, and court reporters and their staff;

(e) copy or imaging services retained by counsel to assist in the

duplication of confidential material, provided that counsel for the party retaining the

copy or imaging service instructs the service not to disclose any confidential material to

third parties and to immediately return all originals and copies of any confidential

material; and

(f) witnesses or potential witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is

reasonably necessary and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to

Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the designating party or ordered by

1 the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that

2 reveal confidential material must be separately bound by the court reporter and may

3 not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this agreement;

4 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a

5 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; and

(h) mutually agreed upon mediators and their staff.

4.3 Filing Confidential Material. Before filing confidential material or

discussing or referencing such material in court filings, the filing party shall confer with

the designating party, in accordance with Local Civil Rule 5(g)(3)(A), to determine

whether the designating party will remove the confidential designation, whether the

document can be redacted, or whether a motion to seal or stipulation and proposed

order is warranted. During the meet and confer process, the designating party must

identify the basis for sealing the specific confidential information at issue, and the filing

party shall include this basis in its motion to seal, along with any objection to sealing

the information at issue. Local Civil Rule 5(g) sets forth the procedures that must be

followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the

court to file material under seal. A party who seeks to maintain the confidentiality of its

information must satisfy the requirements of Local Civil Rule 5(g)(3)(B), even if it is not

the party filing the motion to seal. Failure to satisfy this requirement will result in the

motion to seal being denied, in accordance with the strong presumption of public access

to the Court’s files.

23 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

24 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each

25 party or non-party that designates information or items for protection under this

26 agreement must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies

1 under the appropriate standards. The designating party must designate for protection

2 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that

3 qualify, so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for

4 which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this

5 agreement.

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 purpose

8 (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber or delay the case development process or to impose

9 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) expose the designating party to

10 sanctions.

If it comes to a designating party's attention that information or items that it

designated for protection do not qualify for protection, the designating party must

promptly notify all other parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.

5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this

agreement (see, e.g., section 5.3 below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, disclosure

or discovery material that qualifies for protection under this agreement must be clearly

so designated before or when the material is disclosed or produced.

19 (a) Information in documentary form: (e.g., paper or electronic

20 documents and deposition exhibits, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other

21 pretrial or trial proceedings), the designating party must affix the word

22 "CONFIDENTIAL" to each page that contains confidential material. If only a portion or

23 portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the producing party also must

24 clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the

25 margins).

26 (b) Testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial proceedings: the

1 parties and any participating non-parties must identify on the record, during the

2 deposition or other pretrial proceeding, all protected testimony, without prejudice to

3 their right to so designate other testimony after reviewing the transcript. Any party or

4 non-party may, within fifteen days after receiving the transcript of the deposition or

5 other pretrial proceeding, designate portions of the transcript, or exhibits thereto, as

6 confidential. If a party or non-party desires to protect confidential information at trial,

7 the issue should be addressed during the pre-trial conference.

8 (c) Other tangible items: the producing party must affix in a prominent

9 place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information or item is

10 stored the word "CONFIDENTIAL." If only a portion or portions of the information or

11 item warrant protection, the producing party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the

12 protected portion(s).

5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the

designating party's right to secure protection under this agreement for such material.

Upon timely correction of a designation, the receiving party must make reasonable

efforts to ensure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this

agreement.

6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

21 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any party or non-party may challenge a

22 designation of confidentiality at any time. Unless a prompt challenge to a designating

23 party's confidentiality designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial

24 unfairness, unnecessary economic burdens, or a significant disruption or delay of the

25 litigation, a party does not waive its right to challenge a confidentiality designation by

26 electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the original designation is disclosed.

1 6.2 Meet and Confer. The parties must make every attempt to resolve any

2 dispute regarding confidential designations without court involvement. Any motion

3 regarding confidential designations or for a protective order must include a

4 certification, in the motion or in a declaration or affidavit, that the movant has engaged

5 in a good faith meet and confer with other affected parties in an effort to resolve the

6 dispute without court action. The certification must list the date, manner, and

7 participants to the conference. A good faith effort to confer requires a face-to-face

8 meeting, telephone conference, or video call (e.g., Zoom).

9 6.3 Judicial Intervention. If the parties cannot resolve a challenge without

10 court intervention, the designating party may file and serve a motion to retain

11 confidentiality under Local Civil Rule 7 (and in compliance with Local Civil Rule 5(g),

12 if applicable). The burden of persuasion in any such motion shall be on the designating

13 party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or

14 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the

15 challenging party to sanctions. All parties shall continue to maintain the material in

16 question as confidential until the court rules on the challenge.

7. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED

IN OTHER LITIGATION

If a party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that

compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as

"CONFIDENTIAL," that party must:

(a) promptly notify the designating party in writing and include a

copy of the subpoena or court order;

(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or

order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the

subpoena or order is subject to this agreement. Such notification shall include a copy of

1 this agreement; and

2 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be

3 pursued by the designating party whose confidential material may be affected.

4 8. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

If a receiving party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed

confidential material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this

agreement, the receiving party must immediately (a) notify in writing the designating

party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized

copies of the protected material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized

disclosures were made of all the terms of this agreement, and (d) request that such

person or persons execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is

attached hereto as Exhibit A.

9. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

PROTECTED MATERIAL

16 When a producing party gives notice to receiving parties that certain

17 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,

18 the obligations of the receiving parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil

19 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure

20 may be established in an e-discovery order or agreement that provides for production

21 without prior privilege review. The parties agree to the entry of a non-waiver order

22 under Fed. R. Evid. 502(d) as set forth herein.

23 10. NON-TERMINATION AND DESTRUCTION OF DOCUMENTS

24 Within 60 days after the termination of this action, including all appeals, each

25 receiving party must delete or destroy all copies of confidential material that were

26 produced by the producing party, including all extracts and summaries thereof.

27 Notwithstanding this provision, counsel are entitled to retain one archival copy

1 of all documents filed with the court, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts,

2 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product,

3 consultant and expert work product, and discovery even if such materials contain

4 confidential material. Counsel are entitled to retain one archival copy of the

5 aforementioned materials as part of the complete client file, as recommended by the

6 WSBA Guide to Best Practices for Client File Retention and Management, which either party

7 may maintain for up to six years.

8 The confidentiality obligations imposed by this agreement shall remain in effect

9 until a designating party agrees otherwise in writing or a court orders otherwise.

IT IS SO STIPULATED THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

12 DATED this 3rd day of July, 2025.

SEARS INJURY LAW, PLLC JACKSON LEWIS, P.C.

By: s/ Kay Fuhlman By: s/ Peter Montine

16 Holly Brauchli, WSBA No. 44814 Michael Griffin, WSBA #29103

Kay Fuhlman, WSBA No. 60165 Peter Montine, WSBA #49815

1011 East Main, Suite 208 520 Pike Street, Suite 2300

18 Puyallup, WA 98372 Seattle, WA 98101

(253) 444-5767 (206) 626-6416

Email: holly@searsinjurylaw.com Email:

20 kay@searsinjurylaw.com michael.griffin@jacksonlewis.com

peter.montine@jacksonlewis.com

Attorneys for Plaintiff Nathaniel Lerum Attorneys for the Defendants

1 PURSUANT TO STIPULATION, IT IS SO ORDERED

2 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 502(d), the

production of any documents, electronically stored information (ESI) or information,

5 || whether inadvertent or otherwise, in this proceeding shall not, for the purposes of this

proceeding or any other federal or state proceeding, constitute a waiver by the

? producing party of any privilege applicable to those documents, including the

attorney-client privilege, attorney work-product protection, or any other privilege or

10 | Protection recognized by law. This Order shall be interpreted to provide the maximum

protection allowed by Fed. R. Evid. 502(d). The provisions of Fed. R. Evid. 502(b) do

2) not apply. Nothing contained herein is intended to or shall serve to limit a party’s

right to conduct a review of documents, ESI or information (including metadata) for

15 relevance, responsiveness and/or segregation of privileged and/or protected

16 || information before production. Information produced in discovery that is protected as

7 privileged or work product shall be immediately returned to the producing party.

20 DATED this 7th Day of July, 2025

n Ly

23 Tiffany M. Cartwright

United States District Judge

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER - 11

1 EXHIBIT A

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

I, ____________________________________ [print or type full name], of

___________________________________ [print or type full address], declare under

6 penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated

Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Western

District of Washington on [date] in the case of Nathaniel Lerum v. Heritage Crystal Clean

Inc, et al, Case No. 3:25-cv-05136-TMC. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all

11 the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that

failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of

contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information

or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except

16 in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.

17 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court

for the Western District of Washington for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this

Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after

21 termination of this action.

22 Date: ___________________________

City and State where sworn and signed: __________________________

Printed Name: ____________________

26 Signature: _______________________

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