STIPULATED ORDER RE: DISCOVERY OF ELECTRONICALLY STORED INFORMATION FOR STANDARD LITIGATION
ERICA P. GROSJEAN, Magistrate Judge.
I. PURPOSE
This Order will govern discovery of electronically stored information ("ESI") in this case as a supplement to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, this Court's Guidelines for the Discovery of Electronically Stored Information, and any other applicable orders and rules.
II. COOPERATION
The parties are aware of the importance the Court places on cooperation and will cooperate in good faith throughout the matter consistent with this Court's Guidelines for the Discovery of ESI.
III. LIAISON
The parties shall identify liaisons to each other who are and will be knowledgeable about and responsible for discussing their respective ESI.
Relator's liaison is Andrea Gold, TYCKO & ZAVAREEI LLP, 1828 L Street NW, Suite 1000, Washington, D. C. 20036, Telephone No.: (202) 973-0900, E-mail: agold@tzlegal.com.
The liaison for Defendants Somnia, Inc., Primary Anesthesia Services, Byron Mendenhall, M.D., Quinn Gee, M.D., and Margaret Vassilev, M.D. ("Somnia Defendants"), is Erin Holyoke, NIXON PEABODY LLP, 300 S. Grand Ave, Suite 4100, Los Angeles, CA 90071, Telephone No. (213) 629-6031, E-mail: eholyoke@nixonpeabody.com.
Each e-discovery liaison will be, or have access to those who are, knowledgeable about the technical aspects of e-discovery, including the location, nature, accessibility, format, collection, search methodologies, and production of ESI in this matter. The parties will rely on the liaisons, as needed, to confer about ESI and to help resolve disputes without court intervention.
IV. PRESERVATION
The preservation of potentially relevant ESI is reasonable and proportionate. To reduce the costs and burdens of preservation and to ensure proper ESI is preserved, the parties agree that:
a) Only ESI created or received between December 1, 2011 and final judgment in this matter will be preserved;
b) The following types of ESI should be preserved and the custodians, or general job titles or descriptions of custodians, for whom they believe ESI should be preserved, e.g., "HR head," "scientist," and "marketing manager":
i. Custodians of Somnia Defendants: Robert Goldstein, Roy Winston, Byron Mendenhall, Quinn Gee, Margaret Vassilev, Kimberly Carriere, Karen Bennett, Brent Sommers, Adam Dorin, Margaret See, Michelle Martinez, Mattie Cantu, Fitz George, Erin Murphy-Haston, Heather Lee, and Thomas Schares ("Somnia Defendants' designated custodians").
ii. Custodians of Relator: Relator Nicolle O'Neill ("Relator's designated custodians").
iii. The parties agree to add or remove custodians as reasonably necessary.
iv. Sources for Somnia Defendants:
— Sources for each Custodian: all document management systems, computer archives, backup tapes or disks, hard drives, and/or electronic mail, or instant messaging.
— Sources not attributable to a Custodian: servers, electronic document repositories, or any other electronic file storage media, relevant shared network folders or repositories which Somnia Defendants identify following a reasonable and diligent investigation as likely to contain responsive ESI.
v. Sources for Relator:
— Sources for each Custodian: all document management systems, computer archives, backup tapes or disks, PDAs, smart phones, personal computers, hard drives, and/or electronic mail, instant messaging, or text messaging accounts.
c) The parties have agreed on the number of custodians per party for whom ESI will be preserved as set forth in paragraph (b) above;
d) These data sources are not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(2)(B) and ESI from these sources will be preserved but not searched, reviewed, or produced: none known at this time;
e) The following sources need not be preserved: backup media created before December 1, 2011, digital voicemail, instant messaging, automatically saved versions of documents;
f) In addition to the agreements above, the parties agree that data from these sources (a) could contain relevant information but (b) under the proportionality factors, should not be preserved: none known at this time;
g) Nothing herein is intended to or does waive any objections based on burden or proportionality that the parties may have with respect to documents or information sought by specific requests.
V. SEARCH
The parties agree that in responding to an initial Fed. R. Civ. P. 34 request, or earlier if appropriate, the parties will meet and confer about methods to search ESI in order to identify ESI that is subject to production in discovery and filter out ESI that is not subject to discovery. The parties have met and conferred in response to the Fed. R. Civ. P. 34 requests propounded to date in this case. The parties have agreed on a list of search terms provided by counsel for Relator and attached to this Agreement as Exhibit A. Defendants shall run the list of search terms against the Sources for each of Somnia Defendants' designated custodians identified above in paragraph 4(b), as well as the Sources not attributable to an designated custodian which Somnia Defendants identify following a reasonable and diligent investigation as likely to contain responsive ESI.
VI. PRODUCTION FORMATS
The parties agree to produce documents in one of the following formats: [X] PDF, [X] TIFF, [X]native and/or []paper file formats or a combination thereof (check all that apply)] file formats. If particular documents warrant a different format, the parties shall cooperate to arrange for the mutually acceptable production of such documents. The parties shall not degrade the searchability of documents as part of the document production process.
VII. DOCUMENTS PROTECTED FROM DISCOVERY
a) Pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 502(d), the production of a privileged or work-product-protected document, whether inadvertent or otherwise, is not a waiver of privilege or protection from discovery in this case or in any other federal or state proceeding. For example, the mere production of privileged or work-product-protected documents in this case as part of a mass production is not itself a waiver in this case or in any other federal or state proceeding.
b) Communications involving trial counsel and in-house counsel managing this litigation that post-date the filing of the complaint need not be placed on a privilege log. Communications may be identified on a privilege log by category, rather than individually, if appropriate.
VIII. MODIFICATION
This Stipulated Order may be modified by a Stipulated Order of the parties or by the Court for good cause shown.
ORDER
The above stipulation of the parties is hereby adopted as modified in section VI. IT IS SO ORDERED.
EXHIBIT A
Search Terms — United States ex rel. O'Neill, Case No. 1:15-cv-00433-DAD-EPG
chart! /20 "medical direction"
chart! /20 "medical supervision."
MD /20 practic* /10 "independent* anesthes*" /20 "medic* direct*"
anesthes! /20 "medic! supervis!"
TEFRA! /20 "medic! direct!"
TEFRA! /20 "medic! supervis!"
criteria /20 "medic! direct!"
criteria /20 "medic! supervis!"
fals! /20 "medic! direct!"
fals! /20 "medic! supervis!"
overpay! /20 "medic! direct!"
overpay! /20 "medic! supervis!"
Medicare /20 "medic! direct!"
Medicare /20 "medic! supervis!"
Medi-Cal /20 "medic! direct!"
Medi-Cal /20 "medic! supervis!"
CMS /20 "medic! direct!"
CMS /20 "medic! supervis!"
Nicolle /20 "medic! direct!"
Nicolle /20 "medic! supervis!"
Nicolle /20 resign!
ONeill /20 "medic! direct!"
ONeill /20 "medic! supervis!"
ONeill /20 resign!
"concurrent" /20 "medic! direct!"
"concurrent" /20 "medic! supervis!"
"alone" /20 "medic! direct!"
"alone" /20 "medic! supervis!"
"lunch" /20 "medic! direct!"
"lunch" /20 "medic! supervis!"
"absent" /20 "medic! direct!"
"absent" /20 "medic! supervis!"
"golf" /20 "medic! direct!"
"golf" /20 "medic! supervis!"
immediat! avail! /20 "medic! direct!"
immediat! avail! /20 "medic! supervis!"
"mendenhall" /20 "medic! direct!"
"mendenhall" /20 "medic! supervis!"
"mendenhall" /20 "golf"
"mendenhall" /20 "lunch"
"mendenhall" /20 "absent"
"mendenhall" /20 "alone"
"mendenhall" /20 "TEFRA"
"mendenhall" /20 "criteria"
"mendenhall" /20 chart! /10 sign!
"gee" /20 "medic! direct!"
"gee" /20 "medic! supervis!"
"gee" /20 "lunch"
"gee" /20 "absent"
"gee" /20 "alone"
"gee" /20 "TEFRA"
"gee" /20 "criteria"
"gee" /20 chart! /10 sign!
"roy" /20 "medic! direct!"
"roy" /20 "medic! supervis!"
"roy" /20 "golf"
"roy" /20 "lunch"
"roy" /20 "absent"
"roy" /20 "alone"
"roy" /20 "TEFRA"
"roy" /20 "criteria"
"roy" /20 chart! /10 sign!
"vassilev" /20 "medic! direct!"
"vassilev" /20 "medic! supervis!"
"vassilev" /20 "golf"
"vassilev" /20 "lunch"
"vassilev" /20 "absent"
• "vassilev" /20 "under-staff*" w/20 "O.R." OR "oper*"
"alone"
"vassilev" /20 "TEFRA"
"vassilev" /20 "criteria"
"vassilev" /20 chart! /10 sign!
criteria /20 "medic! direct!"
criteria /20 "medic! supervis!"
criteria /20 "QZ"
staff! /20 "upcod!"
staffing /20 "medic! direct!"
staffing /20 "medic! supervis!"
TEFRA /20 "staff!"
"short-staff!" /20 "medic! direct!"
"short-staff!" /20 "medic! supervis!"
"short-staff!" /20 "TEFRA"
"short-staff!" /20 "concurrent"
"short-staff!" /20 "Medicare"
"short-staff!" /20 "upcod!"
"short-staff!" /20 "overpay!"
"under-staff!" /20 CRNA
"under-staff!" /20 MD
"under-staff!" w/20 "O.R." OR "oper!"
fraud! /20 bill!
bill! /20 irregular!
EMR /20 chang!
"electronic medical record" /20 chang!
ratio! /20 supervis!
ratio! /20 MD
ratio! /20 CRNA
chart! /20 MD
"chart* w/20 "O.R." OR "oper!"
chart! /20 CRNA
"Economics of Somnia"
