Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 1 of 14 Page ID #:147
1 THOMAS F. LANDERS [SBN 207335] tlanders@swsslaw.com 2 JOHN A. KELLY [SBN 324463] jkelly@swsslaw.com 3 SOLOMON WARD SEIDENWURM & SMITH, LLP 401 B Street, Suite 1200 4 San Diego, California 92101 (t) 619.231.0303 5 (f) 619.231.4755 NOTE: CHANGES MADE BY THE COURT 6 Attorneys for Defendant, Midland Credit Management, Inc. 7 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, WESTERN DIVISION 11 12 JOSE D. DELACERDA, Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR 13 Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 14 ORDER 15 v. Judge: Hon. Mark C. Scarsi 16 MIDLAND CREDIT MANAGEMENT, 17 INC., Mag. Judge: Hon. Jean P. Rosenbluth 18 Defendant. 19 20 1. INTRODUCTION 21 1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 22 Discovery in this action may involve production of confidential, proprietary, or 23 private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use 24 for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, 25 the Parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated 26 Protective Order. The Parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket 27 protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 2 of 14 Page ID #:148
1 affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items 2 that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The 3 Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3 below, that this Order does 4 not entitle them to file Confidential Information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets 5 forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when 6 a Party seeks permission from the Court to file material under seal. 7 1.2 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 8 Good cause exists for the parties to enter into this stipulated protective order to 9 prevent the public dissemination of Defendant’s confidential business information, 10 and the personal financial information of the Plaintiff. The stipulated protective order 11 is necessary to allow the parties to exchange information for the purposes of this 12 litigation regarding Plaintiff’s claims that Defendant called Plaintiff in violation of 13 the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. 14 Parties anticipate that current written discovery and future discovery will 15 involve inquiry into Defendant’s policies and procedures concerning its processes for 16 placing and stopping phone calls to individuals, its own internal compliance 17 procedures related to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and related statutes, and 18 other confidential business information. The before mentioned confidential business 19 information is the appropriate subject of a protective order. (See S2 Automation LLC 20 v. Micron Tech., Inc., 283 F.R.D. 671, 681 (D.N.M. 2012) (The disclosure of trade 21 secrets, sensitive commercial information, and information that gives a competitive 22 advantage are proper subjects of a protective order.); Miles v. Boeing Co., 154 F.R.D. 23 112, 114 (E.D. Pa. 1994) (The subject matter of confidential business information is 24 broad, including a wide variety of business information.).) If forced to reveal the 25 aforementioned information, Defendant may be subjected to a competitive 26 disadvantage by being forced to reveal compliance procedures which give it a marked 27 competitive advantage to its competitors as well as other confidential information 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 -2- Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 3 of 14 Page ID #:149
1 vital to its operation. 2 Additionally, the protective order is necessary to allow for the personal 3 financial information of the Plaintiff to be disclosed and discussed without harm to 4 the Plaintiff. The protection of the personal financial information of a Plaintiff 5 constitutes good cause. (Horowitz v. GC Servs. Ltd. P'ship, No. 14cv2512-MMA 6 RBB, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172359, at *9 (S.D. Cal. Dec. 12, 2016).) 7 For the forgoing reasons, good cause exists for this protective order. 8 2. DEFINITIONS 9 2.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit. 10 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Nonparty that challenges the designation 11 of information or items under this Order. 12 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 13 how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection 14 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) and as specified above in the Good Cause 15 Statement. 16 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 17 support staff). 18 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Nonparty that designates information or 19 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 20 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 21 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 22 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 23 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 24 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 25 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 26 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 27 an expert witness or as a consultant in this action. 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 -3- Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 4 of 14 Page ID #:150
1 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a Party to this Action. 2 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 3 counsel. 4 2.9 Nonparty: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 5 other 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 7 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a Party and have appeared in this 8 Action on behalf of that Party or are affiliated with a law firm that has appeared on 9 behalf of that Party, including 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 Nonparty that produces Disclosure or 14 Discovery Material in this Action. 15 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 16 services (for example, photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 17 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 18 and their employees and subcontractors. 19 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 20 designated 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 25 Protected Material (as defined above) but also any information copied or extracted 26 from Protected Material; all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected 27 Material; and any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 -4- Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 5 of 14 Page ID #:151
1 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
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Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 1 of 14 Page ID #:147
1 THOMAS F. LANDERS [SBN 207335] tlanders@swsslaw.com 2 JOHN A. KELLY [SBN 324463] jkelly@swsslaw.com 3 SOLOMON WARD SEIDENWURM & SMITH, LLP 401 B Street, Suite 1200 4 San Diego, California 92101 (t) 619.231.0303 5 (f) 619.231.4755 NOTE: CHANGES MADE BY THE COURT 6 Attorneys for Defendant, Midland Credit Management, Inc. 7 8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, WESTERN DIVISION 11 12 JOSE D. DELACERDA, Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR 13 Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 14 ORDER 15 v. Judge: Hon. Mark C. Scarsi 16 MIDLAND CREDIT MANAGEMENT, 17 INC., Mag. Judge: Hon. Jean P. Rosenbluth 18 Defendant. 19 20 1. INTRODUCTION 21 1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 22 Discovery in this action may involve production of confidential, proprietary, or 23 private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use 24 for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, 25 the Parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated 26 Protective Order. The Parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket 27 protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 2 of 14 Page ID #:148
1 affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items 2 that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The 3 Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3 below, that this Order does 4 not entitle them to file Confidential Information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets 5 forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when 6 a Party seeks permission from the Court to file material under seal. 7 1.2 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 8 Good cause exists for the parties to enter into this stipulated protective order to 9 prevent the public dissemination of Defendant’s confidential business information, 10 and the personal financial information of the Plaintiff. The stipulated protective order 11 is necessary to allow the parties to exchange information for the purposes of this 12 litigation regarding Plaintiff’s claims that Defendant called Plaintiff in violation of 13 the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. 14 Parties anticipate that current written discovery and future discovery will 15 involve inquiry into Defendant’s policies and procedures concerning its processes for 16 placing and stopping phone calls to individuals, its own internal compliance 17 procedures related to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and related statutes, and 18 other confidential business information. The before mentioned confidential business 19 information is the appropriate subject of a protective order. (See S2 Automation LLC 20 v. Micron Tech., Inc., 283 F.R.D. 671, 681 (D.N.M. 2012) (The disclosure of trade 21 secrets, sensitive commercial information, and information that gives a competitive 22 advantage are proper subjects of a protective order.); Miles v. Boeing Co., 154 F.R.D. 23 112, 114 (E.D. Pa. 1994) (The subject matter of confidential business information is 24 broad, including a wide variety of business information.).) If forced to reveal the 25 aforementioned information, Defendant may be subjected to a competitive 26 disadvantage by being forced to reveal compliance procedures which give it a marked 27 competitive advantage to its competitors as well as other confidential information 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 -2- Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 3 of 14 Page ID #:149
1 vital to its operation. 2 Additionally, the protective order is necessary to allow for the personal 3 financial information of the Plaintiff to be disclosed and discussed without harm to 4 the Plaintiff. The protection of the personal financial information of a Plaintiff 5 constitutes good cause. (Horowitz v. GC Servs. Ltd. P'ship, No. 14cv2512-MMA 6 RBB, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172359, at *9 (S.D. Cal. Dec. 12, 2016).) 7 For the forgoing reasons, good cause exists for this protective order. 8 2. DEFINITIONS 9 2.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit. 10 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Nonparty that challenges the designation 11 of information or items under this Order. 12 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 13 how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection 14 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) and as specified above in the Good Cause 15 Statement. 16 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 17 support staff). 18 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Nonparty that designates information or 19 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 20 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 21 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 22 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 23 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 24 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 25 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 26 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 27 an expert witness or as a consultant in this action. 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 -3- Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 4 of 14 Page ID #:150
1 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a Party to this Action. 2 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 3 counsel. 4 2.9 Nonparty: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 5 other 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 7 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a Party and have appeared in this 8 Action on behalf of that Party or are affiliated with a law firm that has appeared on 9 behalf of that Party, including 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 Nonparty that produces Disclosure or 14 Discovery Material in this Action. 15 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 16 services (for example, photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 17 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 18 and their employees and subcontractors. 19 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 20 designated 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 25 Protected Material (as defined above) but also any information copied or extracted 26 from Protected Material; all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected 27 Material; and any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 -4- Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 5 of 14 Page ID #:151
1 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 2 Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the orders of the trial 3 judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 4 4. DURATION 5 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality 6 obligations imposed by this Order will remain in effect until a Designating Party 7 agrees otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition is the 8 later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with or without 9 prejudice, or (2) final judgment after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, 10 rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits for 11 filing any motions or applications for extension of time under applicable law. 12 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 13 5.1 Each Party or Nonparty that designates information or items for 14 protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific 15 material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must 16 designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or 17 written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, 18 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept 19 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 20 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 21 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 22 purpose (for example, to unnecessarily encumber the case-development process or to 23 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 24 Designating Party to sanctions. 25 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items it 26 designated for protection do not qualify for that level of protection, that Designating 27 Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 -5- Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 6 of 14 Page ID #:152
1 designation. 2 5.2 Except as otherwise provided in this Order, Disclosure or Discovery 3 Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated 4 before the material is disclosed or produced. 5 Designation in conformity with this Order requires the following: 6 (a) for information in documentary form (for example, paper or electronic 7 documents but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 8 proceedings), the Producing Party must affix at a minimum the legend 9 “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion 10 or portions of the material on a page qualify for protection, the Producing Party must 11 clearly identify the protected portion(s) (for example, by making appropriate 12 markings in the margins). 13 A Party or Nonparty that makes original documents available for 14 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has 15 indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection 16 and before the designation, all material made available for inspection must be treated 17 as “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it 18 wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, 19 or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing 20 the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” 21 legend to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of 22 the material on a page qualify for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly 23 identify the protected portion(s) (for example, by making appropriate markings in the 24 margins). 25 (b) for testimony given in depositions, the Designating Party must identify the 26 Disclosure or Discovery Material that is protected on the record, before the close of 27 the deposition. 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 -6- Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 7 of 14 Page ID #:153
1 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any 2 other tangible items, the Producing Party must affix in a prominent place on the 3 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 4 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrant 5 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, must identify the protected 6 portion(s). 7 5.3 If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate qualified 8 information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to 9 secure protection under this Order for that material. On timely correction of a 10 designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the 11 material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 12 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 13 6.1 Any Party or Nonparty may challenge a designation of confidentiality at 14 any time consistent with the Court’s scheduling order. 15 6.2 The Challenging Party must initiate the dispute-resolution process (and, 16 if necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 37. 17 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such proceeding is on the Designating 18 Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (for example, 19 to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties), may expose 20 the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or 21 withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties must continue to afford the 22 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing 23 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 24 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 25 7.1 A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or 26 produced by another Party or by a Nonparty in connection with this Action only for 27 prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 -7- Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 8 of 14 Page ID #:154
1 may be disclosed only to the categories of people and under the conditions described 2 in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply 3 with the provisions of Section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 4 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 5 location and in a manner sufficiently secure to ensure that access is limited to the 6 people authorized under this Order. 7 7.2 Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the 8 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 9 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to the following people: 10 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well 11 as employees of that Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary 12 to disclose the information for this Action; 13 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the 14 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 15 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 16 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 17 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 18 (d) the Court and its personnel; 19 (e) court reporters and their staff; 20 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 21 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 22 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 23 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 24 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 25 (h) during their depositions, witnesses and attorneys for witnesses to whom 26 disclosure is reasonably necessary, provided that the deposing party requests that the 27 witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto and the witnesses will not be 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 -8- Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 9 of 14 Page ID #:155
1 permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the form, unless 2 otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of 3 transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected 4 Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to 5 anyone except as permitted under this Order; and 6 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 7 mutually agreed on by any of the Parties engaged in settlement discussions or 8 appointed by the Court. 9 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN 10 OTHER LITIGATION 11 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 12 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 13 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must 14 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification must 15 include a copy of the subpoena or court order unless prohibited by law; 16 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 17 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena 18 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification must include a copy of 19 this Order; and 20 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued 21 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 22 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 23 the subpoena or court order should not produce any information designated in this 24 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination on the protective-order request 25 by the relevant court unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. 26 The Designating Party bears the burden and expense of seeking protection of its 27 Confidential Material, and nothing in these provisions should be construed as 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 -9- Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 10 of 14 Page ID #:156
1 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful 2 directive from another court. 3 9. A NONPARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED 4 IN THIS LITIGATION 5 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 6 Nonparty in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information is 7 protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these 8 provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Nonparty from seeking additional 9 protections. 10 (b) In the event that a Party is required by a valid discovery request to 11 produce a Nonparty’s Confidential Information in its possession and the Party is 12 subject to an agreement with the Nonparty not to produce the Nonparty’s Confidential 13 Information, then the Party must 14 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Nonparty 15 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement 16 with a Nonparty; 17 (2) promptly provide the Nonparty with a copy of this Order, the relevant 18 discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the information 19 requested; and 20 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 21 Nonparty, if requested. 22 (c) If the Nonparty fails to seek a protective order within 21 days of 23 receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce 24 the Nonparty’s Confidential Information responsive to the discovery request. If the 25 Nonparty timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party must not produce any 26 information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement 27 with the Nonparty before a ruling on the protective-order request. Absent a court 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 -10- Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 11 of 14 Page ID #:157
1 order to the contrary, the Nonparty must bear the burden and expense of seeking 2 protection of its Protected Material. 3 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 4 If a Receiving Party learns that by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 5 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 6 Order, the Receiving Party must immediately notify the Designating Party in writing 7 of the unauthorized disclosures, use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies 8 of the Protected Material, inform the person or people to whom unauthorized 9 disclosures were made of the terms of this Order, and ask that person or people to 10 execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto 11 as Exhibit A. 12 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 13 PROTECTED MATERIAL 14 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 15 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 16 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 17 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). 18 12. MISCELLANEOUS 19 12.1 Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek its 20 modification by the Court. 21 12.2 By stipulating to the entry of this Order, no Party waives any right it 22 otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or item on 23 any ground not addressed in this Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object 24 on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Order. 25 12.3 A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must comply 26 with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may be filed under seal only pursuant 27 to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. If 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 -11- Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 12 of 14 Page ID #:158
1 a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is denied, then the Receiving 2 Party may file the information in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the 3 Court. 4 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 5 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 6 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return 7 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this 8 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 9 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected 10 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving 11 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 12 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that identifies (by 13 category, when appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed 14 and affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, 15 compilations, summaries, or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 16 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an 17 archival copy of all pleadings; motion papers; trial, deposition, and hearing 18 transcripts; legal memoranda; correspondence; deposition and trial exhibits; expert 19 reports; attorney work product; and consultant and expert work product even if such 20 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or 21 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Order as set forth in Section 4 22 (DURATION). 23 14. SANCTIONS 24 Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or criminal 25 contempt, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary authorities, or 26 other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court. 27 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 -12- Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 13 of 14 Page ID #:159
1 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 2 DATED: April 25, 2022 SOLOMON WARD SEIDENWURM & SMITH, LLP 3 4 By: /s/ John A. Kelly 5 THOMAS F. LANDERS 6 JOHN A. KELLY Attorneys for Defendant, 7 Midland Credit Management, Inc. 8 9 DATED: April 25, 2022 SULAIMAN LAW GROUP, LTD. 10 11 By: /s/ Alejandro E. Figueroa 12 ALEJANDRO E. FIGUEROA Attorneys for Plaintiff, 13 Jose D. Delacerda 14 ATTESTATION OF SIGNATURE 15 Pursuant to Central District Local Rule 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), I hereby certify that the 16 content of this document is acceptable to Alejandra E. Figueroa, counsel for Plaintiff, 17 and I obtained his authorization to affix his electronic signature to this document. 18 /s/ John A. Kelly 19 John A. Kelly 20 21 22 23 24 Date: April 25, 2022 ______________________________ JEAN P. ROSENBLUTH 25 U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE 26 27 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 -13- Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR Document 24 Filed 04/25/22 Page 14 of 14 Page ID #:160
1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 4 I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________ 5 [full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and 6 understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the U.S. District Court 7 for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of ___________ [insert 8 case name and number]. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all terms of 9 this Stipulated Protective Order, and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so 10 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment, including contempt. I 11 solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that 12 is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict 13 compliance with the provisions of this Order. 14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the 15 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 __________________________ [full 18 name] of _______________________________________ [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 signed: _________________________________ 24 25 Printed name: _______________________________ 26 27 Signature: __________________________________ 28 P:01527790.3:87025.418 -14- Case No. 2:21-cv-09130-MCS-JPR STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER