Nerses Antaplyan v. Transamerica Premier Life Insurance Company

• Court: District Court, C.D. California
• Decided: February 22, 2023
• Docket: 2:22-cv-08117
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

Case 2:22-cv-08117-GW-JEM Document 32 Filed 02/22/23 Page 1 of 14 Page ID #:135

1 ROBERT S. GIANELLI #82116 JOSHUA S. DAVIS #193187 2 ALEXANDRA H. GIANELLI #324246 3 GIANELLI & MORRIS, A Law Corporation 550 South Hope Street, Suite 1645 4 Los Angeles, CA 90071 5 Tel: (213) 489-1600; Fax: (213) 489-1611 rob.gianelli@gmlawyers.com 6 joshua.davis@gmlawyers.com 7 alex.gianelli@gmlawyers.com

8 Attorneys for Plaintiffs 9 NERSES ANTAPLYAN; SARKIS CHRISTOPHER ANTAPLYAN; JAMES ZOHRAB ANTAPLYAN; 10 NICHOLAS ANDREW ANTAPLYAN

11 [Additional Counsel Listed on Signature Page]

13 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

14 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 15 NERSES ANTAPLYAN; SARKIS Case No. 2:22-cv-08117 GW (JEMx) 16 CHRISTOPHER ANTAPLYAN; JAMES 17 ZOHRAB ANTAPLYAN; NICHOLAS Honorable John E. McDermott ANDREW ANTAPLYAN, United States Magistrate Judge 18

19 Plaintiffs, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 20 v. 21 Complaint Filed: Nov. 07, 2022 TRANSAMERICA PREMIER LIFE 22 INSURANCE COMPANY, 23 Defendant. 24

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1 Subject to the approval of this Court, Plaintiffs Nerses Antaplyan, Sarkis 2 Christopher Antaplyan, James Zohrab Antaplyan, and Nicholas Andrew Antaplyan 3 and Defendant Transamerica Premier Life Insurance Company (collectively, the 4 “Parties”), by and through their respective counsel of record, hereby stipulate to the 5 following protective order: 6 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 7 Disclosure and discovery in this Action are likely to involve production of 8 confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from 9 public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this Action 10 may be warranted. Accordingly, the Parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court 11 to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order (“Order”). The Parties 12 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or 13 responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and 14 use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential 15 treatment under the applicable legal principles. The Parties further acknowledge, as 16 set forth in Paragraph 4, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle 17 them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the 18 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party 19 seeks permission from the Court to file material under seal. Nothing in this order 20 shall limit the testimony of Parties or non-parties, or the use of certain documents, at 21 any court hearing or trial. Such determinations will only be made by the Court at the 22 hearing or trial, or upon an appropriate motion. 23 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 24 The Parties acknowledge that information produced in discovery, regardless of 25 its designation under this Order, may contain personally identifiable information or 26 health information subject to the protections of, inter alia, the Health Insurance 27 Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the applicable requirements of the 28 Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information and its 2 Case 2:22-cv-08117-GW-JEM Document 32 Filed 02/22/23 Page 3 of 14 Page ID #:137

1 implementing regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human 2 Services (45 C.F.R. Parts 160-64; HIPAA Privacy Regulations), and California Civil 3 Code §§ 56 et seq., and 1798.82 et seq., which protect the confidentiality of 4 personally identifiable personal and health information. Discovery may also involve 5 trade secrets, customer and pricing lists and other valuable research, development, 6 commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary information for which special 7 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution 8 of this Action is warranted. 9 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 10 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 11 protect information the Parties are entitled or required to keep confidential, to ensure 12 that the Parties are permitted reasonably necessary uses of such material in 13 preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the 14 Action, and to serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is 15 justified in this matter. It is the intent of the Parties that information will not be 16 designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated 17 without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public 18 manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this 19 case. 20 2. DEFINITIONS 21 2.1 Acknowledgement: The “Acknowledgement and Agreement to be 22 Bound” form attached to this Order as Exhibit A. 23 2.2 Action: Nerses Antaplyan, et al. v. Transamerica Premier Life 24 Insurance Company, Case No. 2:22-cv-08117 GW (JEMx). 25 2.3 Challenging Party: A party or non-party that challenges the 26 designation of information or items under this Order. 27 28 3 Case 2:22-cv-08117-GW-JEM Document 32 Filed 02/22/23 Page 4 of 14 Page ID #:138

1 2.4 Designating Party: A party or non-party that designates information or 2 items that it produces or that are produced in disclosures or in response to discovery 3 as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 4 2.5 Party: Any party to this Action, including its officers, directors, 5 employees, consultants, retained experts, in-house counsel, and outside counsel of 6 record (and their respective support staff). 7 2.6 Producing Party: A Party or non-party that discloses or produces 8 information in this Action. 9 2.7 Receiving Party: A Party that receives information from a Producing 10 Party. 11 3. DESIGNATION OF “CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL” 12 3.1 For purposes of this Stipulated Protective Order, “Confidential 13 Material” includes the following types of documents and information: 14 a. information that is proprietary or constitutes a trade secret, 15 including, without limitation, information, materials, and other documents reflecting 16 non-public business or financial strategies and confidential competitive information 17 that, if disclosed, could result in prejudice or harm to the disclosing party; 18 b. non-public financial or business information; 19 c. information that is otherwise generally unavailable to the public; 20 d. policyholder-specific information, including private medical 21 information of the policyholder or third parties. 22 3.2 Any copies or reproductions, excerpts, summaries, or other documents 23 or media that contain or incorporate Confidential Material as defined above will also 24 be treated as Confidential Material under this Order. 25 3.3 Nothing in this Stipulated Protective Order will be construed as 26 requiring Defendant to produce any personal or identifying information regarding any 27 individual or any other policyholder, nor policyholder information that is protected 28 from disclosure under applicable state or federal law. 4 Case 2:22-cv-08117-GW-JEM Document 32 Filed 02/22/23 Page 5 of 14 Page ID #:139

1 3.4 A Party or nonparty may designate documents or information as 2 “Confidential Material” as follows: 3 a. In the case of documents and information contained in 4 documents, designation must be made by prominently placing the following legend 5 on each page of the document before production: 6 “CONFIDENTIAL SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” OR 7 “CONFIDENTIAL”

8 b. In the case of discovery responses and information contained in 9 discovery responses, designation must be made by (i) placing a statement at the start 10 or end of the responses specifying that the responses, or part of the responses, are 11 designated Confidential Material, and (ii) placing the following legend on each page 12 (including the caption page) of any discovery response containing designated 13 Confidential Material: 14 “CONFIDENTIAL SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” OR 15 “CONFIDENTIAL”

16 c. In the case of depositions and hearings, designation of the 17 portions of the transcript (including exhibits) that contain Confidential Material must 18 be made by the Designating Party by: (i) making a statement to that effect on the 19 record in the course of the deposition or hearing; or (ii) sending a letter to all counsel 20 within the time permitted for the review and signing of the deposition by the witness 21 (in the event of a deposition) or within 45 days of receipt of the transcript of the 22 hearing (in the event of a hearing). Once designated, the original and each copy of 23 the transcript that contains Confidential Material must bear (or must be modified by 24 counsel to bear) the following legend on its cover: 25 “CONFIDENTIAL SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” OR 26 “CONFIDENTIAL” 27 28 5 Case 2:22-cv-08117-GW-JEM Document 32 Filed 02/22/23 Page 6 of 14 Page ID #:140

1 4. USE AND DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL 2 4.1 Confidential Material may be used solely for purposes relating to the 3 prosecution, defense, appeal, or settlement of this Action and not for any other 4 purpose whatsoever. For purposes relating to the prosecution, defense, appeal, or 5 settlement of this Action, Confidential Material may be used by, copied by, exhibited 6 to, or disclosed to the following persons or entities only: 7 a. The Parties to this Action, including officers, directors, employees, 8 or third-party administrators to whom disclosure is reasonably 9 necessary; 10 b. The Parties’ in-house and outside counsel and their respective 11 employees; 12 c. Any witness from whom testimony is taken or will be taken in this 13 Action, except that the witness may be shown copies of Confidential 14 Material only during his or her testimony and in preparation for the 15 testimony, and only to the extent relevant to the testimony. The 16 witness may not retain any Confidential Material; 17 d. Consultants, experts, translators/interpreters, and investigators 18 employed by the Parties or their attorneys in the prosecution or 19 defense of any aspect of this Action; 20 e. Court reporters used in connection with this Action and their 21 employees; 22 f. The jury, if any, in the trial of this case; 23 g. any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 24 mutually agreed upon by the Parties engaged in settlement 25 discussions; and 26 h. The Court, persons employed by the Court, and stenographers 27 transcribing the testimony or argument at a hearing, trial, or other 28 proceeding in this Action or any appeal therefrom. 6 Case 2:22-cv-08117-GW-JEM Document 32 Filed 02/22/23 Page 7 of 14 Page ID #:141

1 4.2. No disclosure may be made to any person under Paragraphs 4(c), (d), 2 (e), and (g) until that person has executed an “Understanding and Agreement” in the 3 form attached as Exhibit A. With respect to consultants, experts, 4 translators/interpreters, and investigators employed by the Parties to this Action, 5 Exhibit A must be fully executed by the consultant, expert, translators/interpreters, or 6 investigator and retained by counsel for the party employing the consultant, expert, 7 translators/interpreters, or investigator. In the event that any consultant, expert, 8 translators/interpreters, or investigator employed by the Parties to this Action ceases 9 to be engaged in the preparation of this Action, access by such person to discovery 10 material designated as Confidential shall be terminated. Any such material in the 11 possession of any such person shall be returned or destroyed, and any such person 12 shall submit a written certification affirming that no copies, abstracts, compilations, 13 summaries, or any other format of the material have been retained. The provisions of 14 this Order and the obligations not to disclose any portions of such material shall 15 remain in full force and effect as to all such persons. 16 4.3. All persons described in Paragraphs 4(a) through (g) above are 17 prohibited from disclosing any portion of Confidential Material to any other person, 18 or from using any information obtained from the Confidential Material, except as 19 permitted by this stipulation. 20 4.4. Nothing in this Stipulated Protective Order prevents the use of 21 information that is publicly available. 22 4.5. Any motion papers, briefs, memoranda, affidavits, declaration, exhibits, 23 transcripts, or other papers filed with the Clerk of the Court that contain any 24 Confidential Material must be accompanied by an application to file the papers – or 25 the confidential portion thereof – under seal in compliance with Local Rule 79-5. The 26 application shall be directed to the judge to whom the papers are directed. Pending the 27 ruling on the application, the papers or portions thereof subject to the sealing 28 application shall be lodged under seal. 7 Case 2:22-cv-08117-GW-JEM Document 32 Filed 02/22/23 Page 8 of 14 Page ID #:142

1 4.6. If any party or nonparty bound by this Stipulated Protective Order 2 intends to disclose, discuss, or otherwise refer to any Confidential Material in open 3 court at any hearing or trial, that person must notify the Court, the Designating Party, 4 and all other Parties to this Action of its intention to do so, and must not disclose, 5 discuss, or otherwise refer to the Confidential Material until permitted by the Court. 6 5. INADVERTENT FAILURE TO DESIGNATE CONFIDENTIAL 7 MATERIAL

8 5.1 A party’s inadvertent failure to designate disclosed materials as 9 Confidential Material does not waive its right to do so and may be remedied by 10 prompt written notice upon discovery of the error, in which case the material in 11 question will be subject to the protections of this Order. 12 5.2 The inadvertent, unintentional, or in camera disclosure of Confidential 13 Material shall not be deemed a waiver in whole or in part of any party’s claims of 14 confidentiality. 15 6. INADVERTENT DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION SUBJECT TO THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE, WORK PRODUCT 16 PROTECTIONS, OR OTHER PRIVILEGES OR IMMUNITIES

17 6.1 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence § 502(d), the production and/or 18 disclosure of information containing material subject to a claim of attorney-client 19 privilege, work product protection, or other privileges or immunities shall not 20 constitute a waiver of the attorney-client privilege, work product protection, or other 21 privileges or immunities applicable to such material, in this or any other proceeding, 22 unless (a) the production or disclosure was made with the expressed intent by the 23 producing party to waive the attorney-client privilege or work product protection or 24 (b) the party making the production or disclosure has affirmatively used or relied on 25 the specific material that is subject to the claim of attorney-client privilege or work 26 product protection. 27 6.2 When a Producing Party provides notice to a Receiving Party that 28 information subject to a claim of attorney-client privilege, work product protection, or 8 Case 2:22-cv-08117-GW-JEM Document 32 Filed 02/22/23 Page 9 of 14 Page ID #:143

1 other privileges or immunities has been inadvertently disclosed and/or produced, the 2 obligations of the Receiving Party are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 3 Procedure § 26(b)(5)(B). 4 6.3 In the event that only portions of the information or document that has 5 been inadvertently disclosed or produced contains privileged subject matter, the 6 Producing Party shall substitute a redacted version of the document at the time of 7 making the request for the return of the requested document. 8 7. CHALLENGING DESIGNATION OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL 9 7.1 A party is not obligated to challenge the propriety of a confidentiality 10 designation at the time it is made. Failure to do so does not preclude a subsequent 11 challenge to the designation. In the event of a dispute regarding the designation of 12 confidential information, the procedure for obtaining a decision from the Court is set 13 forth in Local Rule 37. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution 14 process under Local Rule 37-1, et seq. Any discovery motion must strictly comply 15 with the procedures set forth in Local Rules 37-1, 37-2, and 37-3. The burden of 16 persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating Party. 17 Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality 18 designation, all Parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of 19 protection to which it is entitled under the designation until the Court rules on the 20 challenge. 21 8. INADVERTENT DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL 22 8.1 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has 23 disclosed Confidential Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized 24 under this Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the 25 Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosure, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all 26 unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to 27 whom authorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request 28 such person or persons to execute the Acknowledgement. 9 Case 2:22-cv-08117-GW-JEM Document 32 Filed 02/22/23 Page 10 of 14 Page ID #:144

1 8.2 Nothing herein shall be deemed to waive any applicable privilege or 2 work product protection, nor shall an inadvertent disclosure of material protected by 3 privilege or work product protection constitute a waiver of such privilege or 4 protection. 5 9. UNRESTRICTED USE OF CERTAIN INFORMATION 6 9.1. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Stipulated Protective 7 Order, any party may use the following documents or information without restriction, 8 regardless of whether they have been designated as Confidential Material: 9 a. its own documents or information; 10 b. documents that the party has previously received or sent, 11 including final versions of letters and emails listing the party as a recipient or sender; 12 and 13 c. documents or information developed or obtained independently 14 of discovery, including party and non-party discovery, in this Action. 15 10. FINAL DISPOSITION 16 10.1 Within sixty days of final disposition of this Action, or sooner if so 17 ordered by this Court, counsel for the Receiving Party of any Confidential Material 18 must return all Confidential Material (including all copies) to counsel for the 19 Designating Party and/or destroy such material, and in either case must submit a 20 written certification to the Designating Party by the sixty day deadline that (a) 21 identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Confidential Material that was 22 returned or destroyed and (b) affirms that the Receiving Party of the Confidential 23 Material has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other 24 format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Final disposition shall 25 be deemed to be the later of: (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this action, 26 with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and 27 exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trial, or reviews of this Action, 28 10 Case 2:22-cv-08117-GW-JEM Document 32 Filed 02/22/23 Page 11 of 14 Page ID #:145

1 including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extensions of time 2 pursuant to applicable laws. 3 10.2 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 4 “CONFIDENTIAL SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” or “CONFIDENTIAL” 5 or maintained pursuant to the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order that was used 6 or introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available 7 to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported 8 by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the district judge in 9 advance of the trial. See, e.g., Evo Brands, LLC v. Al Khalifa Grp. LLC, No. 2:22-cv- 10 03909-AB-MAR, 2022 WL 14744622, at *3 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 24, 2022); Hagestad v. 11 Tragesser, 49 F.3d 1430, 1434 (9th Cir. 1995); San Jose Mercury News, Inc. v. U.S. 12 District Court - Northern District, 187 F.3d 1096, 1102 (9th Cir. 1999); Kamakana v. 13 City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing 14 “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery and attached to 15 non-dispositive motions from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related 16 documents are part of the judicial record). Accordingly, for such materials, the terms 17 of this Stipulated Protective Order do not extend beyond the commencement of the 18 trial. 19 11. MISCELLANEOUS 20 11.1 If any party has obtained Confidential Material under the terms of this 21 Stipulated Protective Order and receives a request to produce such Confidential 22 Material by subpoena or other compulsory process commanding the production of 23 such Confidential Material, the party must promptly (within 2 business days) notify 24 the Designating Party via electronic mail. The notice shall identify the Confidential 25 Material sought, the date set for the production of such subpoenaed information, and 26 unless prohibited by applicable law, a copy of the subpoena or other compulsory 27 process so that the Designating Party, at its sole expense, may take such action as it 28 deems fit to control dissemination of the Confidential Material. If an application for a 11 Case 2:22-cv-08117-GW-JEM Document 32 Filed 02/22/23 Page 12 of 14 Page ID #:146

1 protective order is made promptly and before the return date, the party shall not 2 produce such Confidential Material prior to receiving a court order or the consent of 3 the Designating Party. In the event that Confidential Material is produced to a non- 4 party to this Order, that material shall still be treated as Confidential Material by the 5 Parties to this Order. 6 11.2 This Stipulated Protective Order applies with equal force to any and all 7 copies, extracts, compilations, summaries, and oral recitation of Confidential 8 Material. 9 11.3 By stipulating to the entry of this Stipulated Protective Order, no Party 10 waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any 11 information or item on any ground not addressed in this Order. Similarly, no Party 12 waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material 13 covered by this Protective Order. 14 11.4 Nothing in this Stipulated Protective Order shall prevent a party from 15 seeking modification of this Order. However, the terms of this Stipulated Protective 16 Order cannot be modified without the Court’s approval. 17 18 IT IS SO STIPULATED. 19 20 21 DATED: February 22, 2023 GIANELLI & MORRIS

23 By: /s/ Alexandra H. Gianelli ROBERT S. GIANELLI 24 JOSHUA S. DAVIS 25 ALEXANDRA H. GIANELLI Attorneys for Plaintiffs 26

12 Casg |2:22-cv-08117-GW-JEM Document 32 Filed 02/22/23 Page130f14 Page ID #:147

1|}| DATED: February 22, 2023 McDOWELL HETHERINGTON LLP 3 By: /s/ Renee T. Wilkerson 4 Jarrett E. Ganer Thomas F.A. Hetherington 5 Renee T. Wilkerson Vivian I. Orlando 7 MAYNARD COOPER & GALE LLP g 10100 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 550 9 Los Angeles, CA 90067 10 Attorneys for Defendant 1 TRANSAMERICA PREMIER LIFE 2 INSURANCE COMPANY 13 14 Attestation 15 I, Alexandra H. Gianelli, attest that all other signatories listed, and on whose 16 || behalf this document is submitted, concur in the filing’s content and have authorized 171! the filing. 18 19 /s/ Alexandra H. Gianelli 0 ALEXANDRA H. GIANELLI 21 22 23 24 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 251] DATED: 2/22/2023 Wade 2%6 onorable John E. McDermott 4 nited States Magistrate Judge 28

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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 understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States 6 District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of Antaplyan 7 et al v. Transamerica Premier Life Insurance Company, U.S. District Court Case No. 8 2:22-cv-08117 GW (JEMx). I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms 9 of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to 10 so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of 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 United States District Court 15 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 16 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 17 termination of this Action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [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: _________________________________ Printed name: _______________________________ 24

25 Signature: __________________________________ 26

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