PAUL L. ABRAMS, Magistrate Judge.
This Stipulation and Proposed Protective Order is entered into by and between Plaintiffs Jose Raposo and Beverly Raposo ("Plaintiffs"), on the one hand, and Defendant JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ("Chase" or "Defendant"), erroneously sued as JP Morgan Chase, N.A., on the other hand, through their counsel of record herein. Together, Plaintiffs and Defendant, and any other party subsequently added to this action who comply with Section 23 herein, shall be referred to herein as the "Parties."
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 pursuing this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the Parties 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.
This action concerns a residential mortgage loan ("Loan") and claims brought by the Plaintiffs under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227, et seq., relating to calls made in connection with that Loan. In connection with the Plaintiffs' claims, discovery is sought and documents are anticipated to be produced consisting of account records relating to the Loan, among other things. Those records are anticipated to include and reflect the private financial information of consumers (such as account number, payment history, social security numbers and other private identifying information, and financial information submitted in connection with loss mitigation efforts), including that of borrower and plaintiff Jose Raposo, his wife Beverly Raposo, and borrower and non-party Frankie L. Parriera, among others. In addition, discovery is sought and documents are anticipated to be produced that reflect the proprietary and confidential business practices of Defendant, including relating to the system utilized by Defendant to make autodialer calls relating to the Loan.
For these reasons, among others, the Parties respectfully submit that this action is likely to involve private financial information of consumers as well as trade secrets, proprietary information, and other valuable commercial, financial and technical information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, or commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the Parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the Parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the Parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
The Parties further acknowledge that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Local Civil 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. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The Parties' mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not— without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass'n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.
Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
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6.1
6.2 The designation of materials as either "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL" shall be made as follows:
6.2.1. For ESI, whenever possible, by imprinting "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL" on the face of each page of a document so designated. If imprinting on the face of the document is not possible, then by (1) affixing a stamp with "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL" on the medium on which the electronic data is stored when copies are delivered to a Receiving Party; and (2) designating the production as "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL" in the transmittal cover letter.
6.2.2. For produced documents, by imprinting the words "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL" on the face of each page of a document so designated or in a similarly conspicuous location for non-document materials.
6.2.3. For written discovery responses, by imprinting the words "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL" next to or above any response to a discovery request or on each page of a response.
6.2.4. For depositions, by indicating in the record at the deposition which portions of the transcript and/or responses shall be treated as "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL." Alternatively, within thirty (30) days after receipt of the transcript or recording of such deposition or other pretrial or trial proceeding, the offering or sponsoring Party may designate such transcript or recording or any portion or portions thereof as "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL" by notifying all other Parties, in writing, of the specific pages and lines of the transcript or recording that should be treated as Confidential Material or Highly Confidential Material. All transcripts or recordings of depositions shall be treated as "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL" for thirty (30) days after receipt of the transcript or recording or until written notice of a designation is received, whichever occurs first.
6.2.5. For all other Discovery Material, by placing or affixing on each page of such material (in such manner as will not interfere with the legibility thereof) a "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL" designation.
6.3
6.4
6.4.1. Upward designation shall be accomplished by providing written notice to all other Parties and the relevant Disclosing Person identifying (by Bates number or other individually identifiable information) the Discovery Material to be re-designated within thirty (30) days from the discovery by the Party that these Discovery Materials should be upward designated. The upward designated Discovery Material shall be reproduced by the Disclosing Person with the correct designation, and the Parties shall thereafter treat the upward designated Discovery Material as Confidential Discovery Material or Highly Confidential Discovery Material. The Disclosing Party shall take reasonable steps to destroy all prior copies of such upward designated Discovery Material. To the extent such information may have been disclosed to anyone not authorized to receive Confidential Discovery Material or Highly Confidential Discovery Material under the terms of this Stipulation and Order, the Disclosing Party shall make reasonable efforts to retrieve the Discovery Material promptly and to avoid any further disclosure. Failure to upward designate within thirty (30) days, alone, will not prevent a Party from obtaining the agreement of the Disclosing Person to upward designate certain Discovery Material or from moving the Court for such relief.
7.1 This Stipulation and Order is without prejudice to any Disclosing Person's right to assert that any Discovery Material is subject to any applicable claim of privilege or protection, including, but not limited to, the attorney-client privilege and the work product doctrine, or is subject to any federal or state regulations prohibiting the disclosure of such material (including material that constitutes Confidential Supervisory Information or SAR Related Material), and is without prejudice to any Party's right to contest such a claim of privilege or protection.
7.2 Consistent with Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d), if a Party or non-party notifies any other Party that it disclosed Discovery Material that is (a) protected from disclosure under the attorney-client privilege, the work product doctrine, any other applicable privilege or immunity, or that is subject to any federal or state regulations prohibiting the disclosure of such material (including material that constitutes Confidential Supervisory Information or SAR Related Material) ("Privileged Material") or (b) Foreign Law Restricted Material and requests that such Discovery Material be returned, redacted, or destroyed, the disclosure shall not by itself be deemed a waiver in whole or in part of the applicable privilege or protection, either as to the specific material or information disclosed or as to any of the material or information relating thereto or on the same or related subject matter.
7.3 If a Disclosing Person believes that Privileged Material or Foreign Law Restricted Material was inadvertently produced, that Disclosing Person shall notify in writing any Party to which it produced the material of the claim of privilege or protection and the basis for such claim to the extent required by [applicable local rules, such as Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26] (a "Privileged Material Notice"). When appropriate, the Disclosing Person will produce a redacted version of such Discovery Material to the Receiving Party. Within ten (10) business days of receipt of a Privileged Material Notice, any Party to which the Privileged Material or Foreign Law Restricted Material was produced shall provide a certification that all such disclosed Discovery Material (and any copies thereof) has been returned or destroyed, and shall not use such items for any purpose until further order of the Court.
7.3.1. If the Receiving Party determines that it has received Discovery Material that constitutes Privileged Material or Foreign Law Restricted Material, the Receiving Party shall destroy or return all copies of such Discovery Material to the Disclosing Person within ten (10) business days of the discovery of such information and after Disclosing Person has produced a redacted version of such Discovery Material, shall provide a certification of Counsel that all such disclosed Discovery Material (and any copies thereof) has been returned or destroyed, and shall not use such items for any purpose until further order of the Court. When appropriate, the Disclosing Person will provide a redacted version of such Discovery Material to the Receiving Party.
8.1
8.1.1. The Court and court personnel in the Action and any appellate court in the Action.
8.1.2. The Receiving Party's Outside Counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for the Action and their legal, clerical, or support staff, including temporary or contract staff.
8.1.3. The Receiving Party's In-House Counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for the Action.
8.1.4. The Parties' insurers and insurers' counsel participating in matters relating to the Action and their legal, clerical, or support staff, including temporary or contract staff.
8.1.5. The Receiving Party's Principals.
8.1.6. Professional court reporters, their staffs, video operators transcribing depositions or testimony in the Action, and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for the Action.
8.1.7. Persons who Counsel have a good faith basis to believe are authors or recipients (including those referenced as "cc" or "bcc" recipients on a document (collectively, "cc's")) of the Confidential Discovery Material or who had access to or the authority to access or obtain such Confidential Discovery Material in the normal or authorized course of business (including but not limited to such Person's supervisor(s) at or after the time the material was created).
8.1.8. Any person who is a current employee of the Disclosing Person.
8.1.9. Any witness who is called, or who Counsel for a Party in good faith believes may be called, to testify at trial or deposition in the Action, provided that (1) the testimony of such person has been duly noticed, or such person has been identified as a person with knowledge in a party's initial disclosures or responses to interrogatories, or has been listed on a party's pre-trial witness list; and (2) such person has executed the Acknowledgment.
8.1.10. Any Expert to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for the Action, provided that the Expert has first executed the Acknowledgment, and further provided that any report created by such Expert that relies on or incorporates Confidential Discovery Material in whole or in part shall be designated as "CONFIDENTIAL" by the party responsible for its creation.
8.1.11. Any mediator or arbitrator engaged by the Parties to the Action, provided such person has first executed the Acknowledgment.
8.1.12. Any other person or entity who Counsel for the Disclosing Person agrees, after conferring in good faith, should have access to Confidential Discovery Material or who, upon motion with good cause shown, or upon application made by a Party (including by application made in the course of a deposition where the ability to show such material to the deponent is at issue), the Court orders may have access.
8.1.13. Any disclosure permitted by this Section may be made only to the extent reasonably necessary to prosecute or defend the Action.
8.2
8.2.1. The Court and court personnel in the Action and any appellate court in the Action.
8.2.2. The Receiving Party's Outside Counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for the Action and their legal, clerical, or support staff, including temporary or contract staff.
8.2.3. The Receiving Party's In-House Counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for the Action.
8.2.4. The Parties' insurers and insurers' counsel participating in matters relating to the Action and their legal, clerical, or support staff, including temporary or contract staff.
8.2.5. Professional court reporters, stenographers, video operators transcribing depositions or testimony in the Action, and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for the Action.
8.2.6. Any person who Counsel has a good faith basis to believe authored or previously received the Highly Confidential Discovery Material (including "cc's"), or who had access to such Highly Confidential Discovery Material in the normal course of business in their capacity as a co-worker in the same business unit or as a direct or indirect supervisor of or compliance monitor of an author, recipient, or "cc" of such material.
8.2.7. For employee personnel files and compensation information, the employee to whom the personal documents and information relates.
8.2.8. During the conduct of or in preparation for their depositions, to anyone who is a former or current employee of the Disclosing Person, provided that such person has executed the Acknowledgment;
8.2.9. Any Expert to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for the Action, provided that the Expert has first executed the Acknowledgment, and further provided that any report created by such Expert that relies on or incorporates Highly Confidential Discovery Material in whole or in part shall be designated as "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL" by the party responsible for its creation.
8.2.10. Any mediator or arbitrator engaged by the Parties to the Action, provided such person has first executed the Acknowledgment.
8.2.11. Any person or entity who Counsel for the Disclosing Person agrees, after conferring in good faith, should have access to Highly Confidential Discovery Material or who, upon motion with good cause shown, or upon application made by a Party (including by application made in the course of a deposition where the ability to show such material to the deponent is at issue), the Court orders may have access.
8.2.12. Any disclosure permitted by this section may be made only to the extent reasonably necessary to prosecute or defend the Action.
8.3
12.1 If, at any time, any Discovery Material governed by this Stipulation and Order are subpoenaed from any Party by any court, administrative or legislative body, or by any other person or entity purporting to have authority to require the production thereof, the Party to which the subpoena is directed shall, to the extent permitted by applicable law and the rules and requirements of any relevant governmental or regulatory authority, promptly, and in no event more than five (5) business days after receipt of the subpoena, if reasonably practicable, give written notice to the relevant Disclosing Person and must include a copy of the subpoena or request
12.2 To the extent permitted by law, the Party to which the subpoena is directed shall not produce material for at least ten (10) business days after notice of the subpoena is provided to the Disclosing Person in order to provide the Disclosing Person a reasonable period of time in which to seek to quash, limit or object to the subpoena, or to move for any protection for the Discovery Material.
12.3 If the Party to which the subpoena is directed is compelled by applicable law or a court order to respond to the subpoena or request in less than ten business (10) days, the Party to whom the subpoena is directed shall, to the extent permitted by law, notify the Disclosing Person of this fact. In no event shall such Discovery Material subject to this Order and Stipulation be produced to a third party by a Party pursuant to a subpoena without providing the Disclosing Person an opportunity to quash, limit or object, absent a court order to do so or as otherwise required by law. In the event that Discovery Material designated as "Confidential" or "Highly Confidential" under this Order and Stipulation is produced in response to a subpoena, the recipient of the subpoena shall take commercially reasonable steps to ensure that the protections afforded under this Order and Stipulation shall continue to apply to such Discovery Material.
13.1 Entry of this Stipulation and Order shall be without prejudice to any Party's motion for relief from or the modification of the provisions hereof or to any other motion relating to the production, exchange, or use of any document or ESI, or other information in the course of the Action. If, at any time, a Party objects to a designation or upward designation of Discovery Material as "Confidential" or "Highly Confidential," that Party shall notify the Disclosing Person (or the designating Party, as applicable), in writing, of its disagreement and specifically identify the information in dispute.
13.2 Following receipt of the written notification under section 13.1 of this Stipulation and Order, counsel for the Disclosing Person (or the designating Party, as applicable) and the Party challenging the designation shall meet and confer in an effort to resolve any disagreement. If, despite their good faith effort, the Parties do not resolve their disagreement within ten (10) days of the Disclosing Person's or Receiving Party's receipt of the written notice, any Party contesting the designation may thereafter apply to the Court on notice, consistent with the governing local rules and individual practices of the assigned judge, on the propriety of the designation. Local Rule 37 shall govern any such disagreement.
13.3 Where a Party challenges a designation of "Confidential" or "Highly Confidential" as a result of such a designation, the challenging Party must initiate the motion before the Court, but it is the burden of the Disclosing Person (or the designating Party, as applicable) seeking protection under this order to demonstrate that the designation is appropriate.
13.4 Until the Receiving Party applies to the Court for a ruling on the designation and until the Court rules on that motion, the Discovery Material in question will be treated as "Confidential" or "Highly Confidential" under this Stipulation and Order, and a challenge under this section shall not affect a Party's right of access to "Confidential" or "Highly Confidential" Discovery Material or to disclose information as provided for in this Stipulation and Order. A Party does not by itself waive its right to challenge a "Confidential" or "Highly Confidential" designation by not electing to mount a challenge promptly after the original designation is made.
All provisions of this Stipulation and Order restricting the use of Discovery Material shall continue to be binding after the conclusion of the Action unless otherwise agreed or ordered by the Court. Within ninety (90) days of the conclusion of the Action (whether by entry of a final order of dismissal, judgment, settlement, or disposition on appeal, or otherwise, and where the time for any further appeals has expired), all Parties in receipt of Discovery Material in the Action shall make commercially reasonable efforts to either return such materials and copies thereof to the Disclosing Person or destroy such materials and certify that fact. The Receiving Party is not required to return or destroy Discovery Material that (i) is stored on backup storage media made in accordance with regular data backup procedures for disaster recovery purposes; (ii) is located in the email archive system or archived electronic files of departed employees; (iii) must be retained pursuant to the Receiving Party's legal or regulatory retention obligations or (iv) is subject to legal hold obligations; provided however, that these materials continue to be subject to the terms of this Stipulation and Order. Backup storage media will not be restored for purposes of returning or certifying destruction of Discovery Material but such retained information shall continue to be treated in accordance with the Stipulation and Order. Counsel of record shall also be permitted to keep a copy of Discovery Material to the extent that it is incorporated into any pleadings, motions, or other work product. In that case, counsel of record shall continue to treat the Discovery Material in accordance with this Stipulation and Order. Upon request, counsel of record shall certify in writing that they have complied with this section.
18.1 The recipient of any Discovery Material shall maintain such material in a secure and safe area and shall exercise a standard of due and proper care with respect to the storage, custody, use, and/or dissemination sufficient to safeguard against unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of such material. Discovery Material shall not be copied, reproduced, extracted or abstracted, except to the extent that such copying, reproduction, extraction or abstraction is reasonably necessary for the conduct of the Action. All such copies, reproductions, extractions, and abstractions shall be subject to the terms of this Stipulation and Order and labeled in the same manner as the designated material on which they are based.
18.2 In addition, the recipient of "Confidential" or "Highly Confidential" Discovery Materials shall protect these materials with the same degree of care that they use to protect and safeguard their own like information. Such measures shall include, but are not limited to, restricting access to the data to persons employed by Counsel or Experts who are actively assisting Counsel and Experts in the Action, and ensuring that the data is not copied, reproduced, extracted or abstracted except to the extent that such acts are reasonably necessary for the conduct of the Action. Any such copies, reproductions, extractions or abstractions are "Confidential" or "Highly Confidential" Discovery Materials and are subject to the same restrictions and controls.
22.1 The Parties shall serve a copy of this Stipulation and Order simultaneously with any subpoena or other request for documents or information issued to any non-party in connection with the Action. Any Party may petition the Court to seek to enforce compliance with any non-party subpoena served in this matter by any other Party, provided that nothing herein shall be construed to prevent or limit any non-party from opposing such petition or from petitioning or applying to the Court or other authorities for protective measures in connection with such non-party subpoenas.
22.2 A non-party from which discovery is sought by one or more Parties to the Action may designate Discovery Material that it produces as "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL" consistent with Section 3 and the other terms of this Stipulation and Order. Under such circumstances, Discovery Material designated "CONFIDENTIAL" or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL" by a non-party shall be assigned the same protection as Discovery Material so designated by a party that is a Disclosing Person, and all duties applicable to a Party that is a Disclosing Person under this Stipulation and Order shall apply to the non-party Disclosing Person.
I, _________________, state that:
1. My business address is _________________________________________ .
2. My present employer is _________________________________________.
3. My present occupation or job description is __________________________ ________________________________________________________________________.
4. I have received a copy of the Stipulation and Order (the "Stipulation") entered in the above-caption action (the "Action") on ____________________.
5. I have carefully read and understand the provisions of the Stipulation.
6. I will comply with all of the provisions of the Stipulation.
7. I will hold in confidence, will not disclose to anyone not qualified under the Stipulation, and will use only for purposes of this Action, any Confidential or Highly Confidential Material that is disclosed to me.
8. At the conclusion of my work on this matter, I will return or destroy, to the extent permitted by law, all Confidential or Highly Confidential Material that comes into my possession, and documents or things that I have prepared relating thereto, to counsel for the Party by whom I am employed or retained, or to counsel from whom I received the Confidential or Highly Confidential Material.
9. I hereby submit to the jurisdiction of this Court for the purpose of enforcement of the Stipulation in this Action.
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.