KAREN E. SCOTT, Magistrate Judge.
In order to preserve and maintain the confidentiality of certain confidential, commercial, and/or proprietary documents and information produced or to be produced by defendant FORD MOTOR COMPANY ("Ford") or by any party in this action, IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between Ford and plaintiff ACSC MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC., by and through their respective counsel of record, as follows:
1. Documents or information to be produced or provided by Ford or any party in this litigation that contain confidential, commercially sensitive, private personal information, and/or proprietary information may be designated as confidential by marking or placing the applicable notice "Subject to Non-Sharing Protective Order," "Subject to Protective Order," or "Confidential" or substantially similar language on media containing the documents, on the document itself, or on a copy of the document, in such a way that it does not obscure the text or other content of the document.
2. As used in this Order, the terms "documents" or "information" mean all written material, electronic data, videotapes, and all other tangible items, produced in whatever format (e.g., hard copy, electronic, digital, etc.) and on whatever media (e.g., hard copy, videotape, computer diskette, CD-ROM, DVD, by secure electronic transmission, hard drive, or otherwise).
3. Documents or information designated as "Subject to Non-Sharing Protective Order," "Subject to Protective Order," or "Confidential" or substantially similar language in accordance with the provisions of this Order ("Protected Documents" or "Protected Information") shall only be used, shown, or disclosed as provided in this Order. However, nothing in this Order shall limit a party's use or disclosure of his or her own information designated as a Protected Document or Protected Information.
4. If a receiving party disagrees with the "Protected" designation of any document or information, such party must notify the producing party in a written letter identifying the challenged document(s) or information with specificity, including Bates-number(s) where available, the receiving party's position, and the specific grounds for the objection to the designation. The producing party will then respond to each objection in writing and identify why the challenged designation was made. If the parties are unable resolve any disagreements over the challenged document(s) or information in writing, counsel for the parties will meet and confer telephonically or in person pursuant to and in accordance with Central District of California Civil Local Rule ("Local Rule") 37-1. If the parties are unable to resolve the issue of confidentiality regarding the challenged document(s) or information through these meet and confer efforts, the parties will prepare moving papers in accordance with Local Rule 37-2 for the purpose of establishing that the challenged document(s) or information is/are confidential, or may request an informal telephonic conference pursuant to and in accordance with the Court's procedures. For purposes of the joint stipulation required by Local Rule 37-2, the producing party is the moving party. Protected Documents will continue to be treated as such pending determination by the Court as to the confidential status.
5. Protected Documents and any copies thereof shall be maintained confidential by the persons authorized to receive the documents pursuant to Paragraph 6 and shall be used only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this litigation, subject to the limitations set forth herein and subject to applicable federal, local, and Court rules concerning the handling of confidential documents by the Court, the Court's staff, and its personnel.
6. Protected Documents shall be disclosed only to "Qualified Persons." Qualified Persons are limited to:
7. The receiving party must make reasonable efforts to ensure the individuals described in Paragraphs 6(b), 6(c), 6(d), 6(e), and 6(g) above are Qualified Persons.
8. Before receiving access to any Protected Document or the information contained therein, each person described in Paragraphs 6(b), 6(c), 6(d), 6(e), and 6(g) above shall execute a "Written Assurance" in the form contained in Exhibit A, attached hereto. The receiving party shall retain each such executed Written Assurance and shall keep a list identifying (i) all persons described in Paragraphs 6(b), 6(c), 6(d), 6(e), and 6(g) above to whom Protected Documents have been disclosed, and (ii) all Protected Documents disclosed to such persons. Each such executed Written Assurance and list shall be submitted to counsel for Ford at the termination of this litigation or upon order of the Court requiring production, whichever comes first. However, for consulting experts who were not designated as testifying experts, the receiving party may redact the name, address, and signature of the consultant before disclosing the executed Exhibit A and document list for that person. To the extent the "Qualified Persons" described in Paragraph 6(d) and 6(g) above include privileged non-testifying expert consultants, the receiving party shall retain each such executed Exhibit A and shall keep a list identifying (i) all such non-testifying expert consultants described in Paragraphs 6(d) and 6(g) above to whom Protected Documents have been disclosed, and (ii) all Protected Documents disclosed to such persons. In the event that Ford (or the producing party) seeks to compel the production of each unredacted and executed Exhibit A for good cause, the receiving party shall submit each unredacted and executed Exhibit A and list to the Court for in camera inspection. Persons described in Paragraph 6(b) shall be covered under the signature of Counsel of Record.
9. As the Protected Documents may only be distributed to Qualified Persons, Qualified Persons may not post Protected Documents on any website or internet accessible document repository, excepting the Court, the Court's staff, and its personnel subject to the applicable federal, local, and Court rules concerning the handling of confidential documents by the Court and its personnel, and excepting a vendor hosted review platform for the sole purpose of reviewing the information for the subject case and not for any other purpose, and shall not under any circumstance sell, offer for sale, advertise, or publicize either the Protected Documents and the Confidential information contained therein or the fact that such persons have obtained Ford's (or the producing party's) Protected Documents and confidential information.
10. To the extent that Protected Documents or information obtained therefrom are used in the taking of depositions (including exhibits) or other pretrial testimony, such documents or information shall remain subject to the provisions of this Order, along with the transcript pages of the testimony dealing with, referring to, or referencing the Protected Documents or information. Designation of the portion of the transcript (including exhibits) which contains references to Protected Documents or information shall be made (i) by a statement to such effect on the record during the proceeding in which the testimony is received, or (ii) by written notice served on counsel of record in this Litigation within thirty (30) business days after the receipt of the draft or final transcript (whichever is received earlier) of such proceeding (as used herein, the term "draft transcript" does not include an ASCII or rough transcript). However, before such thirty (30) day period expires, all testimony, exhibits, and transcripts of depositions or other testimony shall be treated as Protected Documents. All portions of transcripts not designed as Confidential within the time frame provided herein shall be deemed not confidential.
11. If any party disagrees with the designation of all or part of a deposition transcript designated as "Protected" pursuant to Paragraph 10 above, such party must notify the designating party in a written letter identifying the testimony (by line and page designation), the objecting party's position, and the specific grounds for the objection to the designation. The designating party will then respond to each objection in writing and identify why the challenged designation was made. If the parties are unable resolve any disagreements over the challenged designation in writing, counsel for the parties will meet and confer telephonically or in person pursuant to and in accordance with Local Rule 37-1. If the parties are unable to resolve the issue of confidentiality regarding the challenged deposition testimony through these meet and confer efforts, the parties will prepare moving papers for the purpose of establishing if the challenged deposition testimony is confidential in accordance with Local Rule 37-2, or may request an informal telephonic conference pursuant to and in accordance with the Court's procedures. For purposes of the joint stipulation required by Local Rule 37-2, the designating party is the moving party. The designated deposition testimony at issue, and any related exhibits, will continue to be treated as a Protected Document, in accord with its respective designation, pending determination by the Court as to the confidential status.
12. Before filing any Protected Documents or Protected Information with the Court, the filing party and the party producing the Protected Documents or Protected Information must confer regarding redaction as required by Local Rule 79-5. If an agreement regarding redaction cannot be reached, the filing party shall file an Application for Leave to File Under Seal in accordance with Local Rule 79-5 and any other applicable Federal or Local Rules. Absent written permission from the producing party, a ruling from the Court, or a Court order denying an Application for Leave to Seal, a receiving party may not file in the public record any Protected Documents or Protected Information.
13. To the extent Ford (or the producing party) is requested to produce documents it has determined should not be subject to the sharing provision of this Protective Order in Paragraph 6(g), Ford (or the producing party) will designate such documents as "Non-Sharing." Documents designated as "Non-Sharing" shall not be shared under Paragraph 6(g).
14. With respect to Protected Documents designated as "Non-Sharing," within one hundred and twenty (120) days after the conclusion of this case, counsel for the parties who received Protected Documents, including any documents that any such party disclosed to any person described in Paragraph 6(b) or (c) above, shall either (i) return to Ford (or the producing party) the Protected Documents, or (ii) securely destroy the Protected Documents and certify such destruction to Ford (or the producing party) within one hundred and fifty (150) days after the conclusion of this case.
15. With respect to documents designated as "Sharing" or "Subject to Protective Order," Counsel for the parties shall not be required to return the Protected Documents to Ford after the conclusion of this case and may retain the documents pursuant to the terms of this Order.
16. Submission to regulatory agency or governmental entity:
17. Inadvertent or unintentional production of documents or information containing confidential information that should have been designated as Protected Document(s) shall not be deemed a waiver in whole or in part of the party's claims of confidentiality.
18. The parties may disclose and produce responsive documents to each other in this litigation, and seek to do so without risking waiver of any attorney-client privilege, work product, or other applicable privilege or protection. As such, the parties will adhere to the following procedures with regard to the production of privileged or protected material, should that occur:
19. No provision of this stipulated Order shall constitute a concession by any party that any documents are subject to protection by the attorney-client privilege, the work product doctrine, or any other potentially applicable privilege or doctrine. No provision of this stipulated Order is intended to waive or limit in any way either party's right to contest any privilege claims that may be asserted with respect to any of the documents produced except to the extent set forth herein.
20. In the event that a party produces a document without a confidentiality designation as permitted by this Order, the following procedures shall apply:
21. This Protective Order may not be waived, modified, abandoned, or terminated, in whole or part, except by court order. If any provision of this Protective Order shall be held invalid for any reason whatsoever, the remaining provisions shall not be affected thereby.
22. After termination of this litigation, the provisions of this Order shall continue to be binding and any party may enforce the provisions of this Order in any court of competent jurisdiction. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings or monetary sanctions.
23. This Protective Order shall be binding upon the parties hereto, upon their attorneys, and upon the parties' and their attorneys' successors, executors, personal representatives, administrators, heirs, legal representatives, assigns, subsidiaries, divisions, employees, agents, independent contractors, or other persons or organizations over which they have control.
IT IS SO STIPULATED.
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWING, IT IS SO ORDERED.
AFFIDAVIT OF ________________________________________________, being duly sworn and personally appearing before the undersigned attesting officer, duly authorized by law to administer oaths, deposes and says that the within statements are true and correct:
1. I have read the Stipulated Sharing and Non-Sharing Protective Order attached hereto, and I understand its terms and meanings.
2. I agree that my signature below submits me to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, in the above-captioned case, and binds me to the provisions of the Stipulated Sharing and Non-Sharing Protective Order, including to all promises undertaken in the Order, as if originally agreed by me.
Further Affiant sayeth not.
This _____ day of ___________________________, 20____.
