distinguishing “good cause” showing 3 for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when 4 merits-related documents are part of court record
How later courts described this case
- distinguishing “good cause” showing 3 for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when 4 merits-related documents are part of court record
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
1 Maribel B. Ullrich, Esq. (SBN 246970)
LAW OFFICES OF MARIBEL ULLRICH
2
20042 Beach Blvd., Suite 100
Huntington Beach, California 92648
3
Telephone: (714) 465-9646
4 Facsimile: (714) 274-9710
Email: maribel@mullrichlaw.com
5
Attorneys for Plaintiff,
6
NAOMI SHUMATE
7
MCGUIREWOODS LLP
Sabrina A. Beldner (SBN 221918)
8 Email: sbeldner@mcguirewoods.com
Andrew W. Russell (SBN 280669)
9 Email: arussell@mcguirewoods.com
Sarah Y. Oh (SBN 322164)
10 Email: soh@mcguirewoods.com
1800 Century Park East, 8th Floor
11 Los Angeles, CA 90067-1501
Telephone: 310.315.8200
Facsimile: 310.315.8210
12
Attorneys for Defendants
13 REMX, LLC and KAISER PERMANENTE
INTERNATIONAL
14
15
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
16
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
17
18 NAOMI SHUMATE, an individual Case No. 8:22-cv-01659-CJC-ADSx
19 Plaintiff(s), [Discovery Document: referred to
Magistrate Judge Autumn D. Spaeth]
20 v.
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
21
REMX, LLC dba REMX; KAISER
22 PERMANENTE INTERNATIONAL; and
DOES 1 to 100, Inclusive;
23
Defendant(s).
24
1 I. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
2 A. Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
3 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
4 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation
5 may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the
6 Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties
7 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all
8 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from
9 public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that
10 are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The
11 parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section XIII(C), below, that this
12 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information
13 under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed
14 and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the
15 Court to file material under seal.
16 II. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
17 A. This action is likely to involve trade secrets, marketing information,
18 customer and pricing lists and other valuable research, development,
19 commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary information for which
20 special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other
21 than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary
22 materials and information consist of, among other things, confidential business
23 or financial information, information regarding confidential business practices,
24 or other confidential research, development, or commercial information
1 (including information implicating privacy rights of third parties, including but
2 not limited to, mailing addresses, email addresses, phone numbers of current
3 and former employees of Defendants), information otherwise generally
4 unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected
5 from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or
6 common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the
7 prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to
8 adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to
9 ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material
10 in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the
11 end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such
12 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that
13 information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that
14 nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained
15 in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not
16 be part of the public record of this case.
17 III. DEFINITIONS
18 A. Action: This pending federal lawsuit.
19 B. Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
20 of information or items under this Order.
21 C. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information (regardless of how
22 it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
23 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
24 the Good Cause Statement.
1 D. Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
2 support staff).
3 E. Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates information or
4 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
5 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
6 F. Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless of
7 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained
8 (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that
9 are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this
10 matter.
11 G. Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
12 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to
13 serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
14 H. House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
15 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
16 counsel.
17 I. Non-Party: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
18 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
19 J. Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a party
20 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and
21 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law
22 firm which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
23 K. Party: Any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
24 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and
1 their support staffs).
2 L. Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
3 Discovery Material in this Action.
4 M. Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation support
5 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
6 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or
7 medium) and their employees and subcontractors.
8 N. Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
9 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
10 O. Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
11 from a Producing Party.
12 IV. SCOPE
13 A. The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
14 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
15 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
16 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
17 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
18 B. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of
19 the trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
20 V. DURATION
21 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as
22 confidential or maintained pursuant to this Protective Order becomes public and will
23 be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless
24 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are
1 made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of
2 Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing
3 for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when
4 merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this
5 Protective Order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
6 VI. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
7 A. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection
8 1. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for
9 protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation
10 to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The
11 Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of
12 material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that
13 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or
14 communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
15 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
16 2. Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited.
17 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been
18 made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case
19 development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on
20 other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
21 3. If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or
22 items that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that
23 Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is
24 withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
1 B. Manner and Timing of Designations
2 1. Except as otherwise provided in this Order (see, e.g., Section
3 B(2)(b) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or
4 Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be
5 clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
6 2. Designation in conformity with this Order requires the following:
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” (hereinafter
11 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected
12 material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
13 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
14 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
15 markings in the margins).
16 b. A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents
17 available for inspection need not designate them for protection
18 until after the inspecting Party has indicated which documents it
19 would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before
20 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection
21 shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has
22 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the
23 Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions
24 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before
1 producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix
2 the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected
3 Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
4 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
5 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
6 markings in the margins).
7 c. For testimony given in depositions, that the Designating
8 Party identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record,
9 before the close of the deposition all protected testimony.
10 d. For information produced in form other than document and
11 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a
12 prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in
13 which the information is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If
14 only a portion or portions of the information warrants protection,
15 the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the
16 protected portion(s).
17 C. Inadvertent Failure to Designate
18 1. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate qualified
19 information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating
20 Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
21 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make
22 reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with
23 the provisions of this Order.
24
1 VII. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
2 A. Timing of Challenges
3 1. Any party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of
4 confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling
5 Order.
6 B. Meet and Confer
7 1. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process
8 under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
9 C. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
10 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
11 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
12 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
13 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
14 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
15 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
16 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 this
21 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action.
22 Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of
23 persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When the
24 Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the
1 provisions of Section XIV below.
2 2. Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving
3 Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is
4 limited to the persons authorized under this Order.
5 B. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items
6 1. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by
7 the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or
8 item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
9 a. The Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this
10 Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to
11 whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this
12 Action;
13 b. The officers, directors, and employees (including House
14 Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably
15 necessary for this Action;
16 c. Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to
17 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who
18 have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
19 (Exhibit A);
20 d. The Court and its personnel;
21 e. Court reporters and their staff;
22 f. Professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
23 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary
24 for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and
1 Agreement to be Bound” attached as Exhibit A hereto;
2 g. The author or recipient of a document containing the
3 information or a custodian or other person who otherwise
4 possessed or knew the information;
5 h. During their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for
6 witnesses, in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably
7 necessary provided: (i) the deposing party requests that the
8 witness sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound;”
9 and (ii) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential
10 information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement
11 to Be Bound,” unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or
12 ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or
13 exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be
14 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to
15 anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order;
16 and
17 i. Any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting
18 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in
19 settlement discussions.
20 IX. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
21 IN OTHER LITIGATION
22 A. If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other
23 litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this
24 Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
1 1. Promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
2 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
3 2. Promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or
4 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material
5 covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such
6 notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
7 3. Cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
8 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be
9 affected.
10 B. If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served
11 with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated
12 in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the Court from
13 which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the
14 Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden
15 and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and
16 nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a
17 Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
18 X. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
19 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
20 A. The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
21 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
22 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
23 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should
24 be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
1 B. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
2 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party
3 is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
4 confidential information, then the Party shall:
5 1. Promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
6 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a
7 confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
8 2. Promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
9 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a
10 reasonably specific description of the information requested; and
11 3. Make the information requested available for inspection by the
12 Non-Party, if requested.
13 C. If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14
14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
15 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the
16 discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the
17 Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control
18 that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a
19 determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party
20 shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its
21 Protected Material.
22 XI. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
23 A. If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has
24 disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not
1 authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must
2 immediately (1) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized
3 disclosures, (2) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the
4 Protected Material, (3) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized
5 disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (4) request such person
6 or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to be Bound” that is
7 attached hereto as Exhibit A.
8 XII. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
9 PROTECTED MATERIAL
10 A. When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
11 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
12 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal
13 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify
14 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for
15 production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence
16 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of
17 disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client
18 privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their
19 agreement in the Stipulated Protective Order submitted to the Court.
20 XIII. MISCELLANEOUS
21 A. Right to Further Relief
22 1. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek its
23 modification by the Court in the future.
24 B. Right to Assert Other Objections
1 1. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective Order, no Party waives
2 any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any
3 information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated
4 Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
5 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective
6 Order.
7 C. Filing Protected Material
8 1. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must
9 comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed
10 under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
11 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material
12 under seal is denied by the Court, then the Receiving Party may file the
13 information in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the Court.
14 XIV. FINAL DISPOSITION
15 A. After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section V, within
16 sixty (60) days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving
17 Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such
18 material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies,
19 abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or
20 capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is
21 returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to
22 the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating
23 Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate)
24 all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the
1 Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries
2 or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material.
3 Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of
4 all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal
5 memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports,
6 attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
7 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
8 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth
9 in Section V.
10 B. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate
11 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary
12 sanctions.
13 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
14 Dated: March 30,2023 /s/ Maribel B. Ullrich
Attorney(s) for Plaintiff NAOMI SHUMATE
15
16 Dated: March 30, 2023 /s/ Andrew W. Russell
Attorney(s) for Defendants REMX, LLC and
17 KAISER PERMANENTE INTERNATIONAL
18
Pursuant to Local Rule 5-4.3.4(a)(2), the filing attorney attests that all signatories listed
19 other than the filer concur in the filing’s content and have authorized the filing.
20
21
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
22
Dated: 3/31/2023 /s/ Autumn D. Spaeth
23
HONORABLE AUTUMN D. SPAETH
United States Magistrate Judge
24
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
5 have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issue
6 by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on [DATE] in
7 the case of [insert formal name of the case and the
8 number and initials assigned to it by the Court]. I agree to comply with and to be
9 bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and
10 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in
11 the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any
12 information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or
13 entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
15 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
16 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
17 termination of this action. I hereby appoint [print or
18 type full name] of [print or type full address and
19 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this
20 action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
21 Date:
22 City and State where sworn and signed:
23 Printed Name:
24 Signature: