Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 1 of 16 Page ID #:1969
1 JAIKARAN SINGH, CA Bar No. 201355 jsingh@foley.com 2 NICHOLAS M. GROSS, CA Bar No. 285403 ngross@foley.com 3 MIKLE S. JEW, CA Bar No. 316372 mjew@foley.com 555 SOUTH FLOWER STREET, SUITE 3300 5 LOS ANGELES, CA 90071-2418 TELEPHONE: 213.972.4500 6 FACSIMILE: 213.486.0065 7 Attorneys for Defendants FortiFi Financial, Inc. (f/k/a Energy Efficient 8 Equity, Inc.) and County of Los Angeles 9
10 JEFFREY R. KRINSK (SBN 109234) jrk@classactionlaw.com 11 DAVID J. HARRIS, JR. (SBN 286204) djh@classactionlaw.com 501 WEST BROADWAY, SUITE 1260 13 SAN DIEGO, CA 92101 TELEPHONE: 619.238.1333 14 FACSIMILE: 619.238.5425
15 Counsel for Plaintiffs and the Putative Classes 16 19 20 HECTOR PORTALUPPI and CARMEN Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO PORTALUPPI, Individually and On 21 Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, [PROPOSED] STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 22 Plaintiffs, Judge: Hon. Fred W. Slaughter 23 vs. Ctrm.: 10D 24 FORTIFI FINANCIAL, INC. (f/k/a ENERGY EFFICIENT EQUITY, INC.), 25 and the COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, Case Filed: August 31, 2020 26 Defendants.
27 28 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 2 of 16 Page ID #:1970
1 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER1 2 3 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 4 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary 5 or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use 6 for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the 7 parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated 8 Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket 9 protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords 10 from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are 11 entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. 13 This action is likely to involve commercial, financial, and/or personal information 14 for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other 15 than litigation of this action is warranted. Such confidential and/or proprietary materials 16 and information consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial 17 information, information regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential 18 commercial information, personal financial information (including information 19 implicating privacy rights of third parties), which is information otherwise generally 20 unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from 21 disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. 22 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of 23 disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the 24 parties (or third parties) are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are 25 permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the 26 conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of 27
28 1 This Stipulated Protective Order is substantially, but not entirely, based on the model protective order provided under Magistrate Judge Rozella A. Oliver’s Procedures. STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -1- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 3 of 16 Page ID #:1971
1 justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of 2 the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and 3 that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a 4 confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the 5 public record of this case. 7 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 8 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under 9 seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the 10 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the Court to file 11 material under seal. 12 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 13 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, good 14 cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and County of 15 Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006); Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 16 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002); Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 17 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and 18 a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support 19 and legal justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks 20 to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as 21 CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the submission of competent evidence by 22 declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as 23 confidential, privileged, or otherwise 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 relief 26 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See Pintos 27 v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type 28 of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal in STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -2- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 4 of 16 Page ID #:1972
1 connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must articulate 2 compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the requested 3 sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file documents 4 under seal must be provided by declaration. 5 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its 6 entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 7 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only the 8 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document shall be filed. 9 Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should include an 10 explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 11 2. DEFINITIONS 12 2.1. Action: this pending federal lawsuit. 13 2.2. Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of 14 information or items under this Order. 15 2.3. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it 16 is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under 17 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause 18 Statement. 19 2.4. Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 20 support staff). 21 2.5.
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Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 1 of 16 Page ID #:1969
1 JAIKARAN SINGH, CA Bar No. 201355 jsingh@foley.com 2 NICHOLAS M. GROSS, CA Bar No. 285403 ngross@foley.com 3 MIKLE S. JEW, CA Bar No. 316372 mjew@foley.com 555 SOUTH FLOWER STREET, SUITE 3300 5 LOS ANGELES, CA 90071-2418 TELEPHONE: 213.972.4500 6 FACSIMILE: 213.486.0065 7 Attorneys for Defendants FortiFi Financial, Inc. (f/k/a Energy Efficient 8 Equity, Inc.) and County of Los Angeles 9
10 JEFFREY R. KRINSK (SBN 109234) jrk@classactionlaw.com 11 DAVID J. HARRIS, JR. (SBN 286204) djh@classactionlaw.com 501 WEST BROADWAY, SUITE 1260 13 SAN DIEGO, CA 92101 TELEPHONE: 619.238.1333 14 FACSIMILE: 619.238.5425
15 Counsel for Plaintiffs and the Putative Classes 16 19 20 HECTOR PORTALUPPI and CARMEN Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO PORTALUPPI, Individually and On 21 Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, [PROPOSED] STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 22 Plaintiffs, Judge: Hon. Fred W. Slaughter 23 vs. Ctrm.: 10D 24 FORTIFI FINANCIAL, INC. (f/k/a ENERGY EFFICIENT EQUITY, INC.), 25 and the COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, Case Filed: August 31, 2020 26 Defendants.
27 28 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 2 of 16 Page ID #:1970
1 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER1 2 3 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 4 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary 5 or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use 6 for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the 7 parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated 8 Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket 9 protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords 10 from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are 11 entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. 13 This action is likely to involve commercial, financial, and/or personal information 14 for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other 15 than litigation of this action is warranted. Such confidential and/or proprietary materials 16 and information consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial 17 information, information regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential 18 commercial information, personal financial information (including information 19 implicating privacy rights of third parties), which is information otherwise generally 20 unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from 21 disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. 22 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of 23 disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the 24 parties (or third parties) are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are 25 permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the 26 conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of 27
28 1 This Stipulated Protective Order is substantially, but not entirely, based on the model protective order provided under Magistrate Judge Rozella A. Oliver’s Procedures. STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -1- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 3 of 16 Page ID #:1971
1 justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of 2 the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and 3 that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a 4 confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the 5 public record of this case. 7 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 8 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under 9 seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the 10 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the Court to file 11 material under seal. 12 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 13 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, good 14 cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and County of 15 Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006); Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 16 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002); Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 17 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and 18 a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support 19 and legal justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks 20 to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as 21 CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the submission of competent evidence by 22 declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as 23 confidential, privileged, or otherwise 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 relief 26 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See Pintos 27 v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type 28 of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal in STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -2- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 4 of 16 Page ID #:1972
1 connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must articulate 2 compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the requested 3 sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file documents 4 under seal must be provided by declaration. 5 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its 6 entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 7 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only the 8 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document shall be filed. 9 Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should include an 10 explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 11 2. DEFINITIONS 12 2.1. Action: this pending federal lawsuit. 13 2.2. Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of 14 information or items under this Order. 15 2.3. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it 16 is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under 17 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause 18 Statement. 19 2.4. Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 20 support staff). 21 2.5. Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 22 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 23 2.6. Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the 24 medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among 25 other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things) that are produced or generated in 26 disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 27 2.7. Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 28 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -3- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 5 of 16 Page ID #:1973
1 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 2 2.8. House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 3 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel. 4 2.9. Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or other 5 legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 6 2.10. Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to 7 this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have 8 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that has 9 appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 10 2.11. Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 11 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 12 support staffs). 13 2.12. Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 14 Discovery Material in this Action. 15 2.13. Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 16 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 17 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and 18 their employees and subcontractors. 19 2.14. Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated 20 as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 21 2.15. Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 22 from a Producing Party. 23 3. SCOPE 24 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected 25 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from 26 Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected 27 Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their 28 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -4- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 6 of 16 Page ID #:1974
1 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial 2 judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 3 4. DURATION 4 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 5 imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in 6 writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later 7 of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and 8 (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, 9 remands, trials, or reviews of this action, including the time limits for filing any motions 10 or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law. 11 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 12 5.1. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each 13 Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order 14 must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the 15 appropriate standards. To the extent it is practical to do so, the Designating Party must 16 designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written 17 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items or 18 communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within 19 the ambit of this Order. 20 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that 21 are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., 22 to unnecessarily encumber or retard the case development process or to impose 23 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to 24 sanctions. 25 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 26 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 27 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 28 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -5- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 7 of 16 Page ID #:1975
1 5.2. Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this 2 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or 3 ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order 4 must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced. 5 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 6 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 7 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), 8 that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter 9 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a 10 portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must 11 clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the 12 margins). 13 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection need 14 not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which 15 documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the 16 designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed 17 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants 18 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions 19 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified 20 documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page 21 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for 22 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., 23 by making appropriate markings in the margins). 24 (b) for testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings, 25 that the Designating Party identify on the record, before the close of the deposition, 26 hearing, or other proceeding, all protected testimony and specify the level of protection 27 being asserted. When it is impractical to identify separately each portion of testimony that 28 is entitled to protection and it appears that substantial portions of the testimony may STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -6- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 8 of 16 Page ID #:1976
1 qualify for protection, the Designating Party may invoke on the record (before the 2 deposition, hearing, or other proceeding is concluded) a right to have up to 21 days to 3 identify the specific portions of the testimony as to which protection is sought and to 4 specify the level of protection being asserted. Only those portions of the testimony that 5 are appropriately designated for protection within the 21 days shall be covered by the 6 provisions of this Stipulated Protective Order. 7 Transcripts containing Protected Material shall have an obvious legend on 8 the title page that the transcript contains Protected Material, and the title page shall be 9 followed by a list of all pages (including line numbers as appropriate) that have been 10 designated as Protected Material. The Designating Party shall inform the court reporter of 11 these requirements. 12 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for 13 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 14 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 15 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants protection, 16 the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s). 17 5.3. Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure 18 to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the 19 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon 20 timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to 21 assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 22 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 23 6.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation 24 of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order. 25 6.2. Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution 26 process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. 27 6.3. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the 28 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -7- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 9 of 16 Page ID #:1977
1 to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 2 Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn 3 the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question 4 the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until 5 the Court rules on the challenge. 6 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 7 7.1. Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 8 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action 9 only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected 10 Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions 11 described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must 12 comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 13 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 14 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 15 authorized under this Order. 16 7.2. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise 17 ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party 18 may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 19 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well 20 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to 21 disclose the information for this Action; 22 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the 23 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 24 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 25 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 26 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 27 (d) the Court and its personnel; 28 (e) court reporters and their staff; STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -8- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 10 of 16 Page ID #:1978
1 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 2 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed 3 the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 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; 6 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the 7 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party 8 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will not 9 be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment 10 and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating 11 Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to 12 depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter 13 and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective 14 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 discussions. 17 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN 19 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that 20 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 21 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 22 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall 23 include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 24 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to 25 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or 26 order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this 27 Stipulated Protective Order; and 28 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -9- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 11 of 16 Page ID #:1979
1 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued 2 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 3 If the 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 as 5 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the Court from which the subpoena or 6 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 7 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of 8 its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as 9 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive 10 from another court. 11 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 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 remedies 16 and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as 17 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 subject 20 to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential 21 information, then the Party shall: 22 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 23 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement 24 with a Non-Party; 25 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 26 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 27 specific description of the information requested; and 28 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -10- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 12 of 16 Page ID #:1980
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 within 14 4 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may 5 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If 6 the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any 7 information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement 8 with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court. Absent a court order to the 9 contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this 10 court of its Protected Material. 11 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 12 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 13 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 14 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing 15 the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve 16 all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to 17 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request 18 such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 19 that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 20 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 22 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently 23 produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of 24 the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). 25 This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e- 26 discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to 27 Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the 28 effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -11- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 13 of 16 Page ID #:1981
1 privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the 2 stipulated protective order submitted to the Court. 3 12. MISCELLANOUS 4 12.1. Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 5 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 6 12.2. Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 7 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 8 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 9 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground 10 to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 11 12.3. Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected 12 Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed 13 under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected 14 Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by 15 the Court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless 16 otherwise instructed by the Court. 17 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 18 Within 60 days after the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section 4, 19 each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy 20 such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, 21 abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of 22 the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the 23 Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the 24 same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies 25 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed 26 and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, 27 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 28 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -12- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page14o0f16 Page ID #:1982
1 || archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, 2 || legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney 3 || work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain 4 || Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected 5 || Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). 6/14. VIOLATION 7 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including, 8 || without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 9 |/IT ISSO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 10 Respectfully submitted, 11 || Dated: May 5, 2022 FOLEY & LARDNER LLP D By: __/s/ Jaikaran Singh Jaikaran Singh, Esq. 13 jsingh@foley.com 14 11988 El Camino Real, Suite 400 San Diego, California 92130 15 Telephone: (858) 847-6700 16 Counsel for Defendants FortiFi Financial, Inc. (f/k/a Energy Efficient Equity, Inc.) and 17 County of Los Angeles 18 || Dated: May 5, 2022 FINKELSTEIN & KRINSK LLP 19 By: __/s/ David J. Harris, Jr. David J. Harris, Jr., Esq. 20 djh@classactionlaw.com 1 501 West Broadway, Suite 1260 San Diego, California 92101 22 Telephone: (619) 238-1333 3 Counsel for Plaintiffs and the Putative Classes 24 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 25 DATED: May 5, 2022 Raye QL. a. QA 26 27 HON. ROZELLA A. OLIVER United States Magistrate Judge 28 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -13- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1
Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 15 of 16 Page ID #:1983
1 * Pursuant to Local Rule 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), I attest that the other signatory listed, and on whose behalf this filing is submitted, concurs in the filing content and has authorized 2 this filing. 3 /s/ Jaikaran Singh Jaikaran Singh 4
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -14- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1 Case 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO Document 70 Filed 05/05/22 Page 16 of 16 Page ID #:1984
3 4 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of _________________ 5 [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety 6 and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States 7 District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of Hector 8 Portaluppi and Carmen Portaluppi, individually and On Behalf of All Others Similarly 9 Situated v. FortiFi Financial, Inc. (f/k/a Energy Efficient Equity, Inc.), and the County of 10 Los Angeles, Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO. I agree to comply with and to be 11 bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and 12 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in 13 the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any 14 information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or 15 entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 16 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the 17 Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, 18 even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I hereby 19 appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of 20 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and telephone 21 number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or 22 any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. 23 Date: ______________________________________ 24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 25 26 Printed name: _______________________________ 27 28 Signature: __________________________________ STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER -15- Case No. 2:20-cv-07959-FWS-RAO 4877-8975-4132.1