ALICIA G. ROSENBERG, Magistrate Judge.
IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED, by and among Lead Plaintiff, Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirements Fund ("Lead Plaintiff") and Defendant TrueCar, Inc. and the Individual Defendants, (each of whom individually is referred to herein as a "Party," and collectively, the "Parties"), by and through their undersigned counsel, pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Rule 502 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, that:
Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting and defending this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the Parties to this action hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The Parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a Party seeks permission from the Court to file material under seal.
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.9
2.10
2.11
2.12
2.13
2.14
The protections conferred by this Stipulated Protective Order cover not only Protected Material (as defined above), but also: (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. However, the protections conferred by this Stipulated Protective Order do not cover the following information: (a) any information that is in the public domain at the time of disclosure to a Receiving Party or becomes part of the public domain after its disclosure to a Receiving Party as a result of publication not involving a violation of this Order, including becoming part of the public record through trial or otherwise; and (b) any information known to the Receiving Party prior to the disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the disclosure from a source who obtained the information lawfully and under no obligation of confidentiality to the Designating Party. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by a separate agreement or order.
Nothing in this Protective Order shall prevent or restrict a Producing Party's own disclosure or use of its own Disclosure or Discovery Material for any purpose. However, Disclosure and Discovery Material shall be used by a Receiving Party solely for prosecuting or defending this case, and shall not be used directly or indirectly for any other purpose whatsoever.
Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this action, including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.
5.1
5.2
(a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but excluding native files, or transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix the legend "CONFIDENTIAL" to each page that contains Protected Material. A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or materials available for inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which material it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed "CONFIDENTIAL." After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the "CONFIDENTIAL" legend to each page that contains Protected Material.
(b) Native Files. Where electronic files and documents are produced in native electronic format without corresponding TIFF images, such electronic files and documents shall be designated for protection under this Order by appending to the file names information indicating whether the file contains "CONFIDENTIAL" material, or as otherwise agreed between the parties. When native electronic files or documents are printed for use at deposition, in a court proceeding, or for provision in printed form to an Expert, the party printing the native electronic files or documents shall affix a legend to the printed document corresponding to the designation of the Designating Party and including the production number and designation associated with the native file.
(c) Parties or testifying persons or entities may designate all or portions of depositions and other testimony with the appropriate designation by indicating on the record at the time the testimony is given or by sending written notice of which portions of the transcript of the testimony is designated within thirty (30) days of receipt of the final transcript of the testimony. Any Discovery Material designated "CONFIDENTIAL" that is used in the taking of a deposition shall remain CONFIDENTIAL, and subject to the provisions of this Stipulated Protective Order, along with the transcript pages of the deposition testimony dealing with such Discovery Material. In such cases the court reporter shall be informed of this Order. In the event the deposition is videotaped, the original and all copies of the videotape shall be marked by the video technician to indicate that the contents of the videotape are subject to this Stipulated Protective Order, substantially along the lines of: "This videotape contains confidential testimony used in this case and is not to be viewed or the contents thereof to be displayed or revealed except by order of the Court, or pursuant to written stipulation of the parties." Counsel for any Producing Party shall have the right to exclude from oral depositions, other than the deponent, deponent's counsel, the reporter and videographer (if any), any person who is not authorized by this Stipulated Protective Order to receive or access Protected Material based on the designation of such Protected Material. Such right of exclusion shall be applicable only during periods of examination or testimony regarding such Protected Material.
(d) For information produced in some form other than documentary and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information or item is stored the legend "CONFIDENTIAL." If only a portion or portions of the information or item warrant protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
5.3
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6.2
6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating Party. All Parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party's designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
7.1
Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under this Order.
7.2
(a) the Receiving Party's Outside Counsel of Record in this action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record;
(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including In-House Counsel) of the Receiving Party;
(c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party who have signed the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" (Exhibit A);
(d) the Court and its personnel;
(e) mediators and their staff who have signed the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to be Bound" (Exhibit A);
(f) court reporters and their staff;
(g) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional Vendors who have signed the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" (Exhibit A);
(h) witnesses providing testimony during their depositions in this action; provided, however: (i) a Non-Party witness who, at the time he or she sits for deposition, is or anticipates becoming a director, officer or employee of a TrueCar affinity group marketing partner, or an automobile manufacturer (OEM) that has a contractual arrangement with TrueCar, or a TrueCar Certified Dealer (collectively, "TrueCar Business Partner") shall not be shown Protected Material that was internal-only to TrueCar or that concerns another TrueCar Business Partner, unless a) the Non-Party witness or someone at the witness's current or prospective employer received the Protected Material, b) TrueCar consents, which consent shall not unreasonably be withheld, or c) otherwise ordered by the Court;
(i) the author, recipient or custodian of a document containing Protected Material; provided, however, that such person signs the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" (Exhibit A) prior to the disclosure of any Protected Material, unless otherwise ordered by the Court.
8.
If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as "CONFIDENTIAL," that Party must:
(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as "CONFIDENTIAL" before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party's permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material — and nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
9.
9.1 The terms of this Order also are applicable to information produced and designated as "CONFIDENTIAL" by a Non-Party in this action. Such information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
9.2 In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce a Non-Party's confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party's confidential information, then the Party shall:
(a) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
(b) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective Order in this litigation, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the information requested; and
(c) to the extent practicable, make the information requested (or a sample thereof) available for inspection by the Non-Party.
9.3 If the Non-Party consents to production of the requested information or fails to object or seek a protective order from this Court within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information the Producing Party may produce the Non-Party's confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Producing Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court. Absent a Court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this Court of its Protected Material.
9.4 For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of Section 9 do not prevent all Parties from promptly providing all documents produced in this action by any Non-Party pursuant to subpoena duces tecum to all other Parties in accordance with their obligations under the Federal Rules.
10.
If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately: (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures; (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material; (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order; and (d) request such person or persons to execute the "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
Unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure by the Receiving Party does not change the status of Discovery Material or waive the right to hold the disclosed document or information as Protected Material.
11.
11.1 The Parties agree that this Order is an Order entered under Rule 502(d) of the Federal Rules of Evidence and thus the disclosure of privileged materials in this action is not a waiver of the privilege in any other federal or state proceeding. The Parties further agree that inadvertent production of documents in this action (including both paper documents and electronically stored information) subject to protection by the attorney-client privilege, the attorney work product doctrine, joint defense or other similar doctrine, or by another legal privilege or immunity protecting information from discovery, shall not constitute a waiver of any privilege or other protection that the Producing Party would otherwise be entitled to assert in this action with respect to the documents or information (or the subject matter thereof); provided that, a request for return of such inadvertently produced Discovery Material is made promptly after the Producing Party first learns of its inadvertent production.
11.2 If the Producing Party notifies the Receiving Party of the inadvertent production of materials that are subject to a claim of privilege or of protection as trial-preparation material as provided in Section 11.1 hereof (the "Identified Materials"), the obligations of the Receiving Party and Producing Party are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B).
11.3 The contents of the Identified Materials shall not be disclosed to anyone who was not already aware of the contents of them before the notice was made.
11.4 If any Receiving Party is in receipt of a document from a Producing Party which the Receiving Party has reason to believe is privileged, the Receiving Party shall promptly notify the Producing Party of the production of that document so that the Producing Party may make a determination of whether it wishes to claim that the information is subject to a claim of privilege or of protection as trial-preparation material.
11.5 The stipulated agreement set forth in Section 11 and its subparts of this Order does not constitute a concession by any Party that any documents are subject to protection by the attorney-client privilege, the attorney work product doctrine or any other potentially applicable privilege, doctrine or immunity. This agreement also is not 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 stated in the agreement.
12.1
12.2
12.3
Within 90 days after the final disposition of this action, as defined in Section 4 of this Order, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, "all Protected Material" includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 90 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and Expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Stipulated Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).
IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
IT IS SO ORDERED, this 11th day of April, 2019.
I, ____________________, a _________________ of ______________________, hereby certify that I have read the attached Stipulated Protective Order, dated ___________________. I hereby agree to be bound by the terms of the Stipulated Protective Order. For purposes of enforcing the Stipulated Protective Order, I hereby agree to be subject to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. I understand that violation of the Stipulated Protective Order is punishable by contempt of Court.
Affinity Auto Group
Amazon
Autobytel/Autoweb
CarGurus
Carsaver
Cars.com
Carvana
Costco Wholesale Auto Buying Group
Cox Automotive and subsidiaries (including but not limited to Autotrader and
Kelley Blue Book)
eBay Motors
Edmunds
I, Justin B. Farar, attest that concurrence in the filing of this document has been obtained from the other signatories. I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed this 26th day of March, 2019, at Los Angeles, California.
I HEREBY CERTIFY that, on March 26, 2019, I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of Court using the CM/ECF system, which will send a notice of electronic filing to all registered users. I certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed this 26th day of March, 2019, at Los Angles, California.