1 S. Martin Keleti (Bar # 144208) KELETI LAW 2 E-mail: s.martin.keleti@gmail.com 9903 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 751 3 Beverly Hills, CA 90212-1671 Telephone: 323.308.8489 4 Attorneys for Plaintiffs and the Proposed Class 5 [Additional Counsel appear on signature page]
David L. Schrader, Bar No. 149638 7 david.schrader@morganlewis.com Lisa R. Weddle, Bar No. 259050 8 lisa.weddle@morganlewis.com Evan A. Ormond 9 evan.ormond@morganlewis.com 300 South Grand Avenue 10 Twenty-Second Floor Los Angeles, CA 90071-3132 11 Tel: +1.213.612.2500 | Fax: +1.213.612.2501 12 Attorneys for Defendants Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. and Toyota 13 Motor North America, Inc. [Additional Counsel on Signature Page] 14
15 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 16 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 17 18 YAN DONG, SARA HADI, and JUN Case No. 2:23-cv-09613-JLS-SSC 19 IMAIZUMI, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, [PROPOSED] STIPULATED 20 PROTECTIVE ORDER1 Plaintiffs, 21 Magistrate Judge: Hon. Stephanie S. v. Christensen 22 TOYOTA MOTOR SALES U.S.A., 23 INC., a California corporation; TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH 24 AMERICA, INC., a California corporation, 25 Defendants. 26
27 1 This Stipulated Protective Order is substantially based on the model protective order provided under Magistrate Judge Stephanie S. Christensen’s Procedures as of 28 July 24, 2023. 1 Plaintiffs Yan Dong, Sara Hadi and Jun Imaizumi (“Plaintiffs”) and 2 Defendants Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A, Inc. and Toyota North America, Inc. 3 (collectively “Toyota”), by and through their respective counsel, and pursuant to Rule 4 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, hereby stipulate and agree to the terms 5 of this Stipulated Protective Order (hereinafter “Protective Order” or “Order”). 6 7 1. INTRODUCTION 8 1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to involve 9 production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special 10 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 11 prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby 12 stipulate to and petition the court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. 13 The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all 14 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public 15 disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled 16 to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. 17 1.2 Good Cause Statement. This action is likely to involve trade secrets, 18 valuable research, design, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or 19 proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure and 20 from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such 21 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other 22 things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding 23 confidential business practices, or other confidential research, design, 24 development, or commercial information (including information implicating 25 privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the 26 public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under 27 state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, common law, or any foreign 28 privacy laws. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the 1 prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to 2 adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to 3 ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in 4 preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of 5 the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information 6 is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be 7 designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated 8 without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public 9 manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of 10 this case. 11 1.3 Acknowledgment of Procedure for Filing Under Seal. The parties 12 further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated 13 Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; 14 Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards 15 that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material 16 under seal. 17 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 18 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 19 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and 20 Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips ex rel. Ests. of Byrd 21 v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210–11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. 22 Sony Elecs., Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective 23 orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or 24 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be 25 made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The 26 parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL 27 or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the submission of competent 28 evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal 1 qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good 2 cause. 3 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, 4 which does not include discovery or class certification motions, then compelling 5 reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief sought 6 shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See Pintos v. 7 Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677–79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type 8 of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal in 9 connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must 10 articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for 11 the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application 12 to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration. 13 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 14 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 15 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting 16 only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, 17 shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their 18 entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 19 20 2. DEFINITIONS 21 2.1 Action: above captioned case. 22 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 23 designation of information or items under this Order. 24 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Material: For purposes of this Order, information 25 (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things 26 considered to be “CONFIDENTIAL” Material include any information that a Party 27 believes in good faith to be confidential or sensitive non-public information, 28 including, but not limited to, trade secrets, research, design, development, financial, 1 technical, marketing, planning, personal, or commercial information, as such terms 2 are used in Rule 26(c)(l)(G) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and any 3 applicable case law interpreting Rule 26(c)(l)(G). 4 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and In-House Counsel (as well as 5 their support staff). 6 2.5 Court: Any federal Court having jurisdiction over any aspect of the 7 within Action, including attorneys, employees, judges, magistrates, secretaries, 8 special masters, stenographic reporters, staff, transcribers and all other personnel 9 necessary to assist the Court in its function, and the jury. 10 2.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 11 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 12 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL.” 13 2.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 14 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 15 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced 16 or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 17 2.8 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 18 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 19 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 20 2.9 Final Disposition: the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses 21 in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the 22 completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of 23 this Action, including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for 24 extension of time pursuant to applicable law. 25 2.10 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” Material: for purposes of this Order, 26 information (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible 27 things considered to be “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” Materials includes non- 28 public product design and testing information or extremely sensitive, highly 1 confidential, non-public information, consisting either of trade secrets, proprietary, 2 or other highly confidential business, financial, regulatory, or strategic information 3 (including information regarding business plans, technical data, and non-public 4 designs), the disclosure of which would create a substantial risk of competitive or 5 business injury to the Producing Party. HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL shall also 6 include materials containing “Personally Identifiable Information.” 7 2.11 In-House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this 8 Action. In-House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other 9 outside counsel. 10 2.12 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, 11 or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 12 2.13 Outside Counsel of Record: counsel of record for the Parties, 13 including all partners, members, and associate attorneys of such counsel’s law firms 14 who are assisting in the personnel of such counsel who may be assisting counsel of 15 record for the parties in the conduct of the Action, and all clerks, employees, 16 independent contractors, consultants, investigators, paralegals, assistants, 17 secretaries, staff and stenographic, computer, audio-visual and clerical employees 18 and agents thereof when operating under the supervision of such partners or 19 associate attorneys. 20 2.14 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 21 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 22 support staffs). 23 2.15 Personally Identifiable Information: any information that a party 24 believes in good faith to be subject to federal, state or foreign data protection laws 25 or other privacy obligations. Examples of such data protection laws include but are 26 not limited to The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 15 U.S.C. § 6801 et seq. (financial 27 information); The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, 45 CFR Part 28 160 and Subparts A and E of Part 164 (medical information); the General Data 1 Protection Regulation (GDPR): Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European 2 Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons 3 with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such 4 data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), OJ 5 2016 L 119/1; Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act 6 (PIPEDA), S.C. 2000, c. 5 (Canada personal information); The Federal Law on 7 Protection of Personal Data held by Private Parties (published July 5, 2010) 8 (Mexico personal information); and Act on the Protection of Personal Information 9 (Japan personal information) and Japan’s Protection of Personal Information Act 10 (2023). Any party may redact Personally Identifiable Information that it claims, in 11 good faith, requires protections under the terms of this Order. Personally 12 Identifiable Information , however, shall not be redacted from Discovery Material 13 to the extent it directly relates to or identifies an individual named as a party in this 14 Litigation. Personally Identifiable Information of an individual named as a party 15 shall otherwise receive the same protections and treatment afforded to other 16 Protected Material under this Protective Order. 17 2.16 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 18 Discovery Material in this Action. 19 2.17 Professional Vendors: persons or entities, and their employees and 20 subcontractors, that provide litigation-support services, including outside copying 21 services, court reporters, stenographers, videotaping services, translating services, 22 services to prepare exhibits or demonstrations, or companies engaged in the 23 business of supporting computerized or electronic litigation discovery or trial 24 preparation, that are retained by a Party or its counsel. 25 2.18 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 26 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL,” or which 27 contains Personally Identifiable Information. 28 1 2.19 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 2 Material from a Producing Party. 3 4 3. SCOPE 5 This Stipulated Protective shall govern for pre-trial purposes the handling of 6 all Disclosure or Discovery Material, including documents, depositions, deposition 7 exhibits, interrogatory responses, responses to requests for admissions, responses to 8 requests for production of documents, and all other discovery obtained pursuant to 9 the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure by or from a Party in connection with the 10 Action. 11 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 12 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 13 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 14 compilations of Protected Material that might reveal Protected Material; (3) any 15 testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might 16 reveal Protected Material; and (4) any notes, lists, memoranda, indices, 17 compilations, data analyses, or other information prepared or based on an 18 examination of Protected Material, that quote from or paraphrase Protected Material 19 with such specificity that the Protected Material can be identified shall be accorded 20 the same status of confidentiality as the underlying Protected Material from which 21 they are made, shall be designated with the appropriate confidentiality legend, and 22 shall be subject to all of the terms of this Protective Order. 23 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 24 trial judge. This Stipulated Protective Order does not govern the use of Protected 25 Material at trial. 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// 1 4. TRIAL AND DURATION 2 The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order apply through Final Disposition 3 of the Action. 4 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 5 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this Stipulated Protective Order and 6 used or introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively 7 available to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling 8 reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the 9 trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180–81 10 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery 11 from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of 12 court record). Accordingly, for such materials, the terms of this Stipulated 13 Protective Order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial. 14 Even after Final Disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 15 imposed by this Stipulated Protective Order shall remain in effect until a 16 Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. 17 18 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 19 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 20 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under 21 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 22 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for 23 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written 24 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, 25 or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably 26 within the ambit of this Order. 27 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 28 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 1 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 2 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 3 Party to sanctions. 4 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 5 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 6 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 7 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 8 this Stipulated Protective Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) 9 below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that 10 qualifies for protection under this Stipulated Protective Order must be clearly so 11 designated before the material is disclosed or produced. Designation in conformity 12 with this Stipulated Protective Order requires: 13 For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but 14 excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the 15 Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 16 CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains protected material. If only a portion or 17 portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also 18 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings 19 in the margins) to include: 20 a. TIFF Documents. In the case of documents or other materials (apart 21 from depositions or other pre-trial testimony), designation shall be made 22 by affixing the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 23 CONFIDENTIAL” to all pages in each document containing any 24 Confidential Material or Highly Confidential Material, respectively. 25 b. Native Documents. With respect to documents or materials containing 26 Covered Information produced in Native Format, the Designating Party 27 shall include the highest level of confidentiality designation in the 28 filename. 1 c. Non-Written Materials. Any non-text Covered Information (e.g., 2 videotape, audio tape, computer disk, etc.) may be designated as such by 3 labeling the outside of such material as “CONFIDENTIAL” or 4 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL.” In the event a Receiving Party generates 5 any “hard copy” transcription or printout from any such designated non- 6 written materials, the person who generates such “hard copy” 7 transcription or printout shall take reasonable steps to maintain the 8 confidentiality of such materials and properly identify and stamp each 9 page of such material as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 10 CONFIDENTIAL” consistent with the original designation by the 11 Producing Party. 12 With respect to any deposition, confidential treatment may be invoked by 13 designating specific pages and/or lines as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 14 CONFIDENTIAL” on the record at the deposition, or by serving such designations 15 within 30 days after receipt of the transcript of the deposition in which the 16 designations are made. All deposition transcripts shall be treated as HIGHLY 17 CONFIDENTIAL for 30 days following receipt of the transcript. 18 For information produced in some form other than documentary and for any 19 other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 20 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the 21 “CONFIDENTIAL” legend. If only a portion or portions of the information 22 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the 23 protected portion(s). 24 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 25 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 26 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 27 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 28 1 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 2 Stipulated Protective Order. 3 5.4 Disclosure Of Protected Material. The failure to designate Protected 4 Material does not constitute a waiver of such claim and may be remedied by prompt 5 supplemental written notice upon discovery of the disclosure, with the effect that 6 such Protected Material will be subject to the protections of this Order. The 7 Receiving Party shall exercise good faith efforts to ensure that copies made of 8 Protected Material produced to it, and copies made by others who obtained such 9 Protected Material directly or indirectly from the Receiving Party, include the 10 appropriate confidentiality legend, to the same extent that the Protected Material 11 has been marked with the appropriate confidentiality legend by the Producing Party. 12 5.5 Materials Prepared Based Upon Protected Material. Any notes, lists, 13 memoranda, indices, compilations, or other materials prepared or based on an 14 examination of Protected Material, that quote from or paraphrase Protected Material 15 with such specificity that the Protected Material can be identified shall be accorded 16 the same status of confidentiality as the underlying Protected Material from which 17 they are made, shall be designated with the appropriate confidentiality legend, and 18 shall be subject to all of the terms of this Protective Order. 19 20 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 21 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 22 designation of confidentiality within 60 days of the Producing Party indicating that 23 its production of documents pursuant to the document request in which the pertinent 24 document was produced, is completed . 25 6.2 Challenge. A Party challenging the designation of any material as 26 Confidential or Highly Confidential shall give written notice to the Designating 27 Party. The Receiving Party must make de-designation requests in good faith. Mass, 28 indiscriminate, or routinized requests for de-designation are prohibited. No Party is 1 obliged to challenge the disclosure, or designation thereof, and a failure to do so 2 shall not preclude a subsequent challenge. 3 6.3 Meet and Confer. Upon receipt of the written objection, counsel for 4 the Designating Party shall, within ten (10) business days, provide a written 5 response to the objecting Party explaining the basis and supporting authority for the 6 designation. The Parties shall meet and confer in good faith to attempt to resolve 7 the dispute without resort to Court intervention. The burden of persuasion in any 8 such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating Party. As part of that 9 process, the Designating Party must assess whether designation of a portion of the 10 material as “Confidential” is a viable alternative to designation of the entire 11 document. 12 6.4 Discovery Motion. If no agreement is reached, the Producing Party 13 shall have thirty (30) days from the date the challenge was made to commence the 14 pre-motion conference outlined in the Hon. Stephanie S. Christensen’s Procedures 15 and Schedules, available at http://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/judges-schedules- 16 procedures. If authorized to do so following a pre-motion conference, the Producing 17 Party shall file and serve a motion pursuant to United States District Court Central 18 District of California Local Rule 37-2 seeking an order prohibiting disclosure of the 19 disputed material other than as permitted by this Protective Order. If the Producing 20 Party does not initiate the pre-discovery motion conference process under Local 21 Rule 37-2 within thirty (30) days of a challenge, the subject Confidential Material 22 or Highly Confidential Material designation is effectively withdrawn. 23 6.5 Status of Challenged Designation Pending Judicial Determination. 24 Any document or testimony as to which such a motion challenge is made shall 25 continue to be treated as confidential until the Court renders a decision or the 26 motion is otherwise resolved. In the event the Court rules that the challenged 27 material is not Confidential or Highly Confidential, the Designating Party shall 28 1 reproduce copies of all materials so designated without the Confidential or Highly 2 Confidential label at the Designating Party’s expense within ten business days. 3 6.6 Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to 4 harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose 5 the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or 6 withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the 7 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the 8 Producing Party’s designation until the court rules on the challenge. 9 10 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 11 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 12 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 13 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such 14 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 15 conditions described in this Order. When the Action reaches a Final Disposition, a 16 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below. 17 7.2 Disclosure of CONFIDENTIAL Information or Items. 18 Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating 19 Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 20 “CONFIDENTIAL” only: 21 a. the Parties; 22 b. to the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, 23 as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it 24 is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 25 c. to the officers, directors, and employees (including In-House 26 Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably 27 necessary for this Action; 28 1 d. to Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to 2 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who 3 have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 4 (Exhibit A); 5 e. to the court and its personnel; 6 f. to court reporters and their staff; 7 g. to professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and 8 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary 9 for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and 10 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 11 h. to the author or recipient of a document containing the information 12 or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the 13 information; 14 i. during their depositions, to witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, 15 in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary, 16 provided: (1) the deposing party requests that the witness sign the 17 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); and 18 (2) the witness will not be permitted to keep any confidential 19 information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement 20 to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the 21 Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 22 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected 23 Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not 24 be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated 25 Protective Order; and 26 j. to any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting 27 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in 28 settlement discussions. 1 7.3 Persons Authorized to Receive “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” 2 Material. Except as specifically provided for in this or subsequent Court orders, 3 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” Materials or their contents may be disclosed, 4 summarized, described, or otherwise communicated or made available in whole or 5 in part only to the persons identified and conditions set forth in Paragraphs 7.2 (a)- 6 (g) and (i); and (2) who has signed executing Exhibit A as described in herein. 7 Notwithstanding, the foregoing counsel may disclose Highly Confidential 8 Material while on the record in a deposition taken in this Action to a witness 9 provided; (i) counsel in good faith believes the witness has knowledge of the 10 matters contained in the Highly Confidential Material (but only as to the subject 11 matter to which the witness is reasonably believed to have knowledge; and (ii) 12 counsel in good faith deems it necessary for the prosecution or defense of this 13 Action to show the Highly Information to the witness. The witness shall sign the 14 Exhibit A as described in herein before the material is disclosed. If a dispute arises 15 regarding whether it is necessary for the prosecution or defense of the Action to 16 show Highly Confidential Material to the witness, counsel for the parties present at 17 the deposition shall meet and confer during the deposition in an attempt to resolve 18 the dispute. If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute, the Highly Confidential 19 Material shall not be disclosed to the witness until such time that the Court can 20 resolve the dispute. 21 7.4 Security of Protected Material. Any person in possession of another 22 Party’s Protected Material shall exercise the same care with regard to the storage, 23 custody, or use of Protected Material as they would apply to their own material of 24 the same or comparable sensitivity. Receiving Parties must take reasonable 25 precautions to protect Protected Material from loss, misuse and unauthorized 26 access, disclosure, alteration and destruction, including but not limited to: 27 a. Protected Material in electronic format shall be maintained in a 28 secure litigation support site(s) that applies standard industry 1 practices regarding data security, including but not limited to 2 application of access control rights to those persons entitled to 3 access Protected Material under this Order; 4 b. An audit trail of use and access to litigation support site(s) shall be 5 maintained while this Litigation, including any appeals, is pending; 6 c. Any Protected Material downloaded from the litigation support 7 site(s) in electronic format shall be stored only on device(s) (e.g. 8 laptop, tablet, smartphone, thumb drive, portable hard drive) that 9 are password protected and/or encrypted with access limited to 10 persons entitled to access Protected Material under this Order. If the 11 user is unable to password protect and/or encrypt the device, then 12 the Protected Material shall be password protected and/or encrypted 13 at the file level. 14 d. Protected Material in paper format is to be maintained in a secure 15 location with access limited to persons entitled to access Protected 16 Material under this Order; and 17 e. Summaries of Protected Material, including any lists, 18 memorandum, indices or compilations prepared or based on an 19 examination of Protected Material, that quote from or paraphrase 20 Protected Material in a manner that enables it to be identified shall 21 be accorded the same status of confidentiality as the underlying 22 Protected Material. 23 f. If the recipient of Protected Material is shipping data in electronic 24 format, the recipient shall encrypt the data prior to shipping and 25 provide the encryption key in separate correspondence. If hard copy 26 documents are shipped, the Receiving Party will ship the 27 documents using secure packaging tape via Federal Express or UPS 28 and retain a tracking number for the materials. If the Receiving 1 Party learns at any time that the Protected Material has been 2 retrieved or viewed by unauthorized parties during shipment, it will 3 immediately notify the Producing Party and take all reasonable 4 measures to retrieve the improperly disclosed materials. 5 g. Absent notice and permission by the producing Party, the Receiving 6 Party shall not use any application, software, or analytical solution 7 that will transmit, transfer or allow access to any person, entity or 8 organization not authorized to have access to Protected Material 9 under the terms of this Order. 10 h. Absent notice to and permission from the producing Party, any 11 person or entity authorized to have access to Protected Material 12 under the terms of this Order shall not use or employ any 13 application, service, or analytical software that will transfer, 14 transmit, send or allow any external access to Protected Material (in 15 whole or in part) unless such application, service or analytical 16 software is containerized (i.e., does not transmit any Protected 17 Material, including parts or summaries thereof) to any external 18 system or network for the purpose of analysis, use or the generation 19 of text outputs in response to queries, has the ability to track all 20 information in the system (including access), and does not 21 otherwise allow access to information by unauthorized persons. For 22 the avoidance of doubt, this restriction expressly applies to the use 23 of public advanced large language models, “generative” AI tools, 24 and other advanced AI systems, including but not limited to public 25 versions of OpenAI GPT, ChatGPT3/4 et seq., Google Gemini, 26 Meta LLAMA, MidJourney, DALL-E, and Stable Diffusion. 27 /// 28 /// 1 8. EXCLUSION OF INDIVIDUALS FROM DEPOSITIONS 2 Counsel shall have the right to exclude any person who is not authorized by 3 this Order to receive documents or information designated as Protected Material 4 from any deposition where testimony regarding Protected Material or the use of 5 Protected Material is likely to arise. 6 7 9. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED 9 If a Receiving Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other 10 litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this 11 Action as Protected Material that Party must: 12 a. promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall 13 include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 14 b. promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to 15 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 16 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification 17 shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 18 c. cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued 19 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 20 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 21 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 22 action as Protected Material before a determination by the court from which the 23 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 24 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 25 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions 26 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action 27 to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 28 1 10. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 3 10.1 Application. The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order are 4 applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in this Action and designated as 5 Protected Material. Such information produced by Non-Parties in connection with 6 this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. 7 Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from 8 seeking additional protections. 9 10.2 Notification. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery 10 request, to produce a Non-Party’s Protected Material in its possession, and the Party 11 is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 12 Protected Material, then the Party shall: 13 (a) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non- 14 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 15 agreement with a Non-Party; 16 (b) make the information requested available for inspection by the 17 Non-Party, if requested. 18 10.3 Conditions of Production. If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective 19 order from this court within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying 20 information, the Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s Protected Material 21 responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective 22 order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or 23 control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a 24 determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall 25 bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected 26 Material. 27 /// 28 /// 1 11. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 2 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise (including 3 breach of the security provisions set forth above), it has disclosed Protected 4 Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated 5 Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the 6 Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve 7 all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons 8 to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) 9 request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to 10 Be Bound” (Exhibit A). 11 12 12. MISCELLANEOUS 13 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Stipulated Protective Order 14 abridges the right of any person to seek its modification by the court in the future. 15 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 16 Stipulated Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to 17 object to disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not 18 addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right 19 to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this 20 Stipulated Protective Order. 21 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 22 Protected Material must comply with Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only 23 be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific 24 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal 25 is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the 26 public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 27 /// 28 /// 1 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 2 After the Final Disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 2.8, within 3 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must 4 return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As 5 used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, 6 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 7 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the 8 Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if 9 not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that 10 (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was 11 returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any 12 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or 13 capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel is 14 entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, 15 and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial 16 exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work 17 product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies 18 that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order 19 as set forth in Section 4. 20 21 14. PROTECTIVE ORDER REMAINS IN FORCE 22 This Protective Order shall remain in force and effect until modified, 23 superseded, or terminated. Unless otherwise ordered or agreed upon by the Parties, 24 this Protective Order shall survive the termination of this Action. The Court retains 25 jurisdiction even after termination of this Action to enforce this Protective Order 26 and to make such amendments, modifications, deletions and additions to this 27 Protective Order as the Court may from time to time deem appropriate. 28 1 15. VIOLATION 2 Any violation of this Stipulated Protective Order may be punished by any and 3 all appropriate measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or 4 monetary sanctions. 5 7 Dated: November 6, 2024 /s/ S. Martin Keleti 8 S. Martin Keleti (Bar #144208) 9903 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 751 10 Beverly Hills, California 90212-1671 TELEPHONE: 323.308.8489 11 E-Mail: s.martin.keleti@gmail.com
12 Gary S. Graifman* KANTROWITZ GOLDHAMER & 135 Chestnut Ridge Road, Suite 200 14 Montvale, New Jersey 07645 TELEPHONE: 201.391.7000 15 E-Mail: ggraifman@kgglaw.com
16 Thomas P. Sobran* THOMAS P. SOBRAN, P.C. 17 7 Evergreen Lane Hingham, Massachusetts 02043 18 TELEPHONE: 781.741.6075 E-Mail: tsobran@sobranlaw.com 19 *Admitted Pro Hac Vice 20 Attorneys For Plaintiffs 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 || Dated: November 6, 2024 MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP Lisa R. Weddle 2 David L. Schrader Evan A. Ormond 3 Matthew Papkin 4 5 By /s/ Lisa R. Weddle Lisa R. Weddle 6 Attorneys for Defendants Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. and 7 Toyota Motor North America, Inc. 8 9
1] || Dated: November 7, 2024 Z ~ HON. STEPHANIE S. CHRISTENSEN 12 United States Magistrate Judge 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 & 04 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER AT LAW 9-92_CV_0961 □□□□ □□□□□
3 I, _______________________, [print or type full name], of 4 ___________________________________________ [print or type full address], 5 declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the 6 Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for 7 the Central District of California on [date] in the case of _____________________ 8 __________________________________________ [insert formal name of the 9 case and the number and initials assigned to it by the court]. I agree to comply 10 with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I 11 understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions 12 and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not 13 disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated 14 Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the 15 provisions of this Order. 16 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 17 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 18 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 19 termination of this action. I hereby appoint _______________________, [print or 20 type full name], of ___________________________________________ [print or 21 type full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 process in connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of 2 this Stipulated Protective Order. 3 Dated: ___________________________ 4 City and State where sworn and 5 6 signed: ___________________________ 7 Printed name: ______________________ 8 9 Signature: ___________________________ 10
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