JEFFREY S. WHITE, District Judge.
Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are 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 this litigation may be warranted. Specifically, Plaintiff Robert Henley's ("Plaintiff") claim for race discrimination has put Plaintiff's employment, and any related personal information, at issue. Consequently, discovery in this action will necessarily involve the disclosure of Plaintiff's confidential, non-public, and personal information, including without limitation job history and performance, discipline, and personal data. In addition, Plaintiff's allegation that he was not terminated for cause has put many confidential and proprietary aspects of Defendant Heineken USA Incorporated's ("Defendant") business at issue. Consequently, discovery in this action will necessarily involve the disclosure of Defendant's confidential, non-public, proprietary, or trade secret information, including without limitation employment policies and procedures, personnel details, information regarding marketing, and customers, and proprietary know-how.
Plaintiff and Defendant (collectively, the "Parties") agree that although discovery of and access to some of the Parties' personal, confidential, proprietary, and/or trade secret information may be required during the course of discovery during this litigation, public disclosure of such information may prejudice Plaintiff and/or Defendant's rights by, among other things, harming their reputation, employment prospects, intellectual property, and competitive positions. Said documents, information, and other materials may contain both relevant and irrelevant information, and information that may be protected by state and federal statutes, common law, the United States Constitution, the California Constitution, and intellectual property and trade secret laws protecting privacy and proprietary, confidential, and trade secret information. Accordingly, the Parties hereby stipulate to and request the court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order, the purpose of which is to protect the confidentiality, proprietorship, and/or privacy of the information that may be produced and/or disclosed during the course of discovery during this litigation and limit the use of such information.
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 Paragraph 12.4, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 and General Order 62 set 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
2.15
The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected Material, 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 presentation by parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. However, the protections conferred by this Stipulation and 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.
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
Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber or retard the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
If it comes to a Designating Party's attention that information or items that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, the Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.
5.2
Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
(a)
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 — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY." 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" or "CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" legend to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualified for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
(b)
(c)
5.3
6.1
6.2
6.3
The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating Party. Unless the Designating Party has waived the confidentiality designation by failing to file a motion to retain confidentiality as described above, 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 or until the Designating Party withdraws such designation in writing or publicly discloses the Disclosure or Discovery Material by filing it with the court without seeking an order to file under seal.
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) To the Court and court personnel, subject to Paragraph 12.4 below. The Court and court personnel are not required to sign a confidentiality agreement or written acknowledgement of this Protective Order;
(b) The Outside Counsel of Record for the Parties to this litigation (K&L Gates LLP and Brownstein Thomas, LLP), their respective associates, partners, clerks, paralegals, legal assistants, secretaries, and other support staff who are actively engaged in assisting such attorneys in the prosecution or defense of this litigation or the related litigation. These persons are not subject to Paragraph 7.4 below;
(c) Parties to this litigation, Party employees, or House Counsel who have responsibility for maintaining, defending or evaluating this litigation, to the extent that their respective Outside Counsel of Record determines that such disclosure is necessary for the prosecution or defense of this litigation;
(d) Independent experts retained or consulted by any party or their counsel as required to assist in the conduct of this litigation, to the extent that Outside Counsel of Record determines that disclosure is necessary for the prosecution or defense of this litigation, provided that prior to disclosure, any such expert is provided with a copy of this Protective Order and acknowledges in writing that he or she agrees to be bound by these terms;
(e) Clerical or ministerial service providers, including outside copying services and court reporters, retained by a Party's counsel to assist such counsel in connection with this litigation;
(f) Authors, addressees, or recipients of the Confidential Information;
(g) During their depositions, witnesses in the action other than the persons identified in Paragraph 7.2(c) to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary and who have signed the "Agreement to Be Bound by Protective Order," attached hereto as Exhibit 1; and
(h) To such other persons, as hereafter may be designated by further order of the Court.
7.3
(a) There shall be no access by the persons identified in Paragraph 7.2(c) (as it pertains to the Receiving Party) to Confidential — Attorneys' Eyes Only Information.
(b) To the Court and court personnel, subject to Paragraph 12.4 below. The Court and court personnel are not subject to Paragraph 7.4 below and are not required to sign a confidentiality agreement or written acknowledgement of this Protective Order;
(c) The Outside Counsel of Record for the Parties to this litigation (K&L Gates LLP and Brownstein Thomas, LLP), their respective associates, partners, clerks, paralegals, legal assistants, secretaries, and other support staff who are actively engaged in assisting such attorneys in the prosecution or defense of this litigation or the related litigation. These persons are not subject to Paragraph 7.4 below;
(d) The author of the document or Material and to anyone shown on the document or Material as having received it in the ordinary course of business;
(e) Access by persons identified in Paragraphs 7.2(d), (e), (g), and (h) of this Protective Order shall be restricted to the retained independent consultants or experts for each party whose duties and responsibilities require access to material designated as "CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY," and who have complied with the provisions of Paragraph 7.4. Individual staff, stenographic, and clerical employees of each such consultant or expert who has complied with the provisions of Paragraph 7.4 need not comply with that paragraph. However, persons identified in Paragraphs 7.2(d), (e), (g), and (h) must make reasonable efforts to insure their staff, stenographic, and clerical employees do not violate any provision of this Protective Order;
(f) To such other persons, including retained expert witnesses, as hereafter may be designated by further order of the Court.
7.4
The persons identified in Paragraphs 7.2(c), (d), (e), (f), (g), and (h) shall be allowed access to Confidential Information and the persons identified in Paragraphs 7.3(d), (e), and (f) shall be allowed access to Confidential Attorneys' Eyes Only Information, subject to the limitations set forth above, only after complying with the following procedure:
(a) Before receiving any Confidential Information or Confidential Attorneys' Eyes Only Information, the person shall be furnished with a copy of this Protective Order and shall acknowledge, by executing the "Agreement to Be Bound by Protective Order" (Exhibit 1), that he or she has read this Protective Order, understands it, and agrees to be bound by it, and also expressly consents to the jurisdiction of this Court in connection with any proceeding or hearing relating to the enforcement of this Protective Order. House Counsel or employees authorized to receive Confidential Information shall not be required to execute the "Agreement to Be Bound by Protective Order" (Exhibit 1), but shall otherwise be bound by its terms; and
(b) Outside Counsel of Record for each Receiving Party shall retain a copy of each signed "Agreement to Be Bound by Protective Order" (Exhibit 1).
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" or "CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY," the 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 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" or "CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" 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.
(a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in this action and designated as "CONFIDENTIAL" or "CONFIDENTIAL — ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY." 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.
(b) 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:
(1) 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;
(2) 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
(3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party.
(c) If the Non-Party fails to object or seek a protective order from this court within fourteen (14) days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party's confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving 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.
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 "Agreement to Be Bound By Protective Order" that is attached hereto as Exhibit 1.
When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the Parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the Parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
12.1
12.2
12.3
12.4
12.5
Within sixty (60) days after the final disposition of this action, as defined in paragraph 4, 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 sixty (60) 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 Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).
I, Nancy C. Hagan, attest that the concurrence in the filing of this document has been obtained from each of the other signatories pursuant to Northern District of California Local Rule 5-1(i)(3).
I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on [date] in the case of Robert Henley, an individual v. Heineken USA, a New York corporation, and Does 1-50, Case No. C 12-04835 JSW. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action.
I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of _______________________________________ [print or type full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.