# Gene Wechsler v. Hyundai Capital America

> District Court, C.D. California · June 14, 2023

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9983454

## Case

- **Court:** District Court, C.D. California
- **Decided:** June 14, 2023
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

1 HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP
Zachary C. Frampton (303225)
2 Abraham J. Colman (146933)
400 South Hope Street, 8th Floor
3 Los Angeles, CA 90071
Phone: (213) 896-2413
4 zac.frampton@hklaw.com
abe.colman@hklaw.com
5
Attorneys for Defendants
6 Hyundai Capital America, and
Coastline Recovery Services, Inc.,
7
8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
11 GENE WECHSLER and BRIDGETTE Case No. 2:22-cv-08599-AB-Ex
WECHSLER,
12 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
Plaintiffs, ORDER AND
13 CONFIDENTIALITY
vs. AGREEMENT
14
HYUNDAI CAPITAL AMERICA dba Judge Andre Birotte, Jr.
15 HYUNDAI MOTOR FINANCE Mag. Judge Charles F. Eick
COMPANY; COASTLINE Complaint Filed: Nov. 23, 2022
16 RECOVERY SERVICES, INC.; and
DOES 1 through 100, inclusive, [Removed from Los Angeles County
17 Superior Court Case No.: 21-ST-CV-
Defendants. 28093]
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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 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
6 the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties
7 acknowledge that his 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.
11 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
12 This action is likely to involve confidential, financial, and/or
13 proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure
14 and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is
15 warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information
16 consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial information,
17 information regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential,
18 commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of
19 third parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or
20 which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state
21 or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly,
22 to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of
23 disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect
24 information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the
25 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation
26 for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the
27 litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information
is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will
1 not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so
2 designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a
3 confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part
4 of the public record of this case.
5 ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL
6 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this
7 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information
8 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed
9 and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court
10 to file material under seal.
11 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial
12 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions,
13 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and
14 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006); Phillips v. Gen. Motors
15 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002); Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics,
16 Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require
17 good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons
18 with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to
19 Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation
20 of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the
21 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material
22 sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise
23 protectable—constitute good cause.
24 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then
25 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the
26 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected.
27 See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For
each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced
1 under seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking
2 protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal
3 justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence
4 supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by
5 declaration.
6 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise
7 protectable in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential
8 portions can be redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted
9 version for public viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or
10 otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be filed. Any
11 application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should
12 include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
13 2. DEFINITIONS
14 2.1 Action: the above-captioned case.
15 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
16 of information or items under this Order.
17 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
18 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify
19 for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as
20 specified above in the Good Cause Statement.
21 2.4 Counsel (without qualifier): Outside Counsel of Record and House
22 Counsel (as well as their support staff).
23 2.5 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.”
26 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
27 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained
(including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible
1 things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to
2 discovery in this matter.
3 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
4 pertinent to the litigation 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 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
7 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any
8 other outside counsel.
9 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or
10 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
11 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party
12 to this action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action
13 and have appeared in this action on behalf of that party or are affiliated
14 with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes
15 support staff.
16 2.11 Party: any party to this action, including all of its officers, directors,
17 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of
18 Record (and their support staffs).
19 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
20 Discovery Material in this action.
21 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities, not employed by or affiliated
22 with a Party, that provide litigation support services (e.g.,
23 photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
24 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form
25 or medium) and their employees and subcontractors.
26 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
27 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
1 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
2 from a Producing Party.
3 3. SCOPE
4 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
5 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
6 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
7 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
8 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
9 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders
10 of the trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at
11 trial.
12 4. DURATION
13 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
14 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or
15 introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively
16 available to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling
17 reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made
18 to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81
19 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in
20 discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related
21 documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective
22 order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
23 / / /
24 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
25 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
26 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for
27 protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation
to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The
1 Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of
2 material, documents, items or oral or written communications that
3 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items or
4 communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
5 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. Mass, indiscriminate or
6 routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are shown to
7 be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose
8 (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to
9 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose
10 the Designating 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, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or
16 Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must
17 be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
18 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
19 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
20 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or
21 trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the
22 legend “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains protected
23 material.
24 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies
25 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of
26 the deposition all protected testimony.
27 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for
any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent
1 place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the
2 information is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.”
3 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an
4 inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items does not,
5 standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under
6 this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the
7 Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is
8 treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
9 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
10 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
11 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the
12 Court’s Scheduling Order.
13 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
14 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
15 6.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a
16 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
17 6.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
18 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an
19 improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and
20 burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to
21 sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the
22 confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the
23 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under
24 the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
25 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
26 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
27 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection
with this Action only, for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle
1 this Action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the
2 categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order.
3 When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply
4 with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
5 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party
6 at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited
7 to the persons authorized under this Order.
8 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
9 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the
10 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or
11 item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
12 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this action, as well
13 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is
14 reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
15 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
16 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for
17 this Action;
18 (c) experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
19 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed
20 the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
21 (d) the court and its personnel;
22 (e) court reporters and their staff;
23 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
24 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action
25 and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
26 Bound” (Exhibit A);
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1 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
2 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the
3 information;
4 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the
5 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the
6 deposing party requests that the witness sign the form attached as
7 Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they will not be permitted to keep any
8 confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and
9 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the
10 Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
11 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected
12 Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not
13 be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated
14 Protective Order; and
15 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
16 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement
17 discussions.
18 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
19 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
20 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other
21 litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in
22 this Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
23 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such
24 notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
25 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or
26 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by
27 the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification
shall include a copy of this Protective Order; and
1 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
2 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the
3 Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the
4 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action
5 as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena
6 or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission.
7 The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in
8 that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be
9 construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey
10 a lawful directive from another court.
11 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
12 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
13 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
14 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
15 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
16 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
17 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
18 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
19 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
20 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
21 confidential information, then the Party shall:
22 1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that
23 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
24 with a Non-Party;
25 2) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that
26 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
27 with a Non-Party;
1 3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
2 Non-Party, if requested.
3 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court
4 within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the
5 Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information
6 responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective
7 order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession
8 or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party
9 before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the
10 Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this
11 court of its Protected Material.
12 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
13 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has
14 disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not
15 authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must
16 immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized
17 disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the
18 Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized
19 disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request such
20 person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
21 Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
22 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
23 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL
24 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
25 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
26 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in
27 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended
to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that
1 provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of
2 Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of
3 disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client
4 privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in
5 the stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
6 12. MISCELLANEOUS
7 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
8 person to seek its modification by the court in the future.
9 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
10 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to
11 object to disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground
12 not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party
13 waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of
14 the material covered by this Protective Order.
15 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
16 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected
17 Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order
18 authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. If a
19 Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the
20 court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public
21 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
22 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
23 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60
24 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
25 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in
26 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
27 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving
1 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not
2 the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline
3 that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material
4 that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not
5 retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format
6 reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this
7 provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings,
8 motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda,
9 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work
10 product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials
11 contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
12 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set
13 forth in Section 4.
14 14. VIOLATION
15 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
16 including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary
17 sanctions.
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19 IT IS SO STIPULATED.
20
21 Dated: June 14, 2023 HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP
22 By: /s/ Zachary C. Frampton
Zachary C. Frampton
23
Attorneys for Defendants
24 Hyundai Capital America, Inc.
and Coastline Recovery Services, Inc.
25
26 Dated: June 14, 2023 SWIGART LAW GROUP, APC
DANIEL SHAY LAW OFFICES
27
By: /s/ Joshua B. Swigart
1 Joshua B. Swigart
Spencer L. Pfeiff
2 Daniel Guinn Shay
3 Attorneys for Plaintiffs
Gene Wechsler and Bridgette Wechsler
4
5 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
6
7 DATED: _____6_/_1_4_/2_0_2_3____________
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9 __________/_s_/ _C_h_a_r_le_s_ F_._ E__ic_k_________________
HON. CHARLES F. EICK
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United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, ______________________________[print or type full name], of
4 _______________________________ [print or type full address], declare under
5 penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated
6 Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central
7 District of California on _____, 20__ in the case of Gene Wechsler, et al. v. Hyundai
8 Capital America, et al, Case No. 2:22-cv-08599-AB-E. I agree to comply with and
9 to be 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
11 in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner
12 any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any
13 person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. I
14 further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the
15 Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective
16 Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action.
17 I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of
18 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and
19 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with
20 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective
21 Order.
22 Date: ______________________________________
23 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
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25 Printed name: _______________________________
26
27 Signature: ________________________

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9983454. Public record. Not legal advice.