LBF Travel Management Corp. et al v. DeRosa et al, No. 3:2020cv02404 - Document 49 (S.D. Cal. 2021)
Court Description: ORDER Granting 48 Motion and Stipulated Protective Order. Signed by Magistrate Judge Andrew G. Schopler on 9/28/2021. (tcf)
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LBF Travel Management Corp. et al v. DeRosa et al Doc. 49 1 2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 8 LBF TRAVEL MANAGEMENT CORP., and Michael Thomas, an 9 individual, 10 Case No. 3:20-cv-02404-MMA-AGS ORDER GRANTING MOTION (ECF 48) AND STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Plaintiffs, 11 v. 12 Thomas DEROSA, an individual, and Does 1 through 10, 13 Defendant. 14 Thomas DEROSA, 15 Counter-Claimant, 16 v. 17 LBF TRAVEL MANAGEMENT 18 CORP.; Michael Thomas; LBF Travel, Inc.; LBF Travel Holdings, LLC; 19 Mondee Holdings, LLC; Mondee, Inc.; Prasad Gundumogula, 20 Counter-Defendants. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 PROTECTIVE ORDER CASE NO. 3:20-CV-02404-MMA-AGS Dockets.Justia.com 1 The Court recognizes that at least some of the documents and information 2 ("materials") being sought through discovery in the above-captioned action are, for 3 competitive reasons, normally kept confidential by the parties. The parties have agreed 4 to be bound by the terms of this Protective Order (“Order”) in this action. 5 The materials to be exchanged throughout the course of the litigation between 6 the parties may contain trade secret or other confidential research, technical, cost, 7 price, marketing or other commercial information, as is contemplated by Federal Rule 8 of Civil Procedure 26(c)(1)(G). The purpose of this Order is to protect the 9 confidentiality of such materials as much as practical during the litigation. 10 THEREFORE: DEFINITIONS 11 12 1. The term "confidential information" will mean and include information 13 contained or disclosed in any materials, including documents, portions of documents, 14 answers to interrogatories, responses to requests for admissions, trial testimony, 15 deposition testimony, and transcripts of trial testimony and depositions, including data, 16 summaries, and compilations derived therefrom that is deemed to be confidential 17 information by any party to which it belongs. 18 2. The term "materials" will include, but is not be limited to: documents; 19 correspondence; memoranda; bulletins; blueprints; specifications; customer lists or 20 other material that identify customers or potential customers; price lists or schedules 21 or other matter identifying pricing; minutes; telegrams; letters; statements; cancelled 22 checks; contracts; invoices; drafts; books of account; worksheets; notes of 23 conversations; desk diaries; appointment books; expense accounts; recordings; 24 photographs; motion pictures; compilations from which information can be obtained 25 and translated into reasonably usable form through detection devices; sketches; 26 drawings; notes (including laboratory notebooks and records); reports; instructions; 27 disclosures; other writings; models and prototypes and other physical objects. 28 2 PROTECTIVE ORDER CASE NO. 3:20-CV-02404-MMA-AGS 1 3. The term "counsel" will mean outside counsel of record, and other 2 attorneys, paralegals, secretaries, and other support staff employed in the law firms 3 identified below: (1) Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker LLP, attorneys of 4 record for Plaintiffs Michael Thomas and LBF Travel Management Corp.; (2) The 5 Watkins Firm, APC, attorneys of record for Defendant, Counterclaimant and Third6 Party Plaintiff Thomas DeRosa; (3) Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP, attorneys 7 of record for Counter-Defendants Michael Thomas and LBF Travel Management 8 Corp.; and (4) Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch, LLP, attorneys of record for 9 Third-Party Defendants Mondee Holdings, LLC, Mondee, Inc., Prasad Gundumogula, 10 LBF Travel Holdings, LLC and LBF Travel, Inc. GENERAL RULES 11 12 4. Each party to this litigation that produces or discloses any materials, 13 answers to interrogatories, responses to requests for admission, trial testimony, 14 deposition testimony, and transcripts of trial testimony and depositions, or information 15 that the producing party believes should be subject to this Protective Order may 16 designate the same as "CONFIDENTIAL" or "CONFIDENTIAL - FOR COUNSEL 17 ONLY." 18 a. Designation as "CONFIDENTIAL": Any party may designate 19 information as "CONFIDENTIAL" only if, in the good faith belief of such party and 20 its counsel, the unrestricted disclosure of such information could be potentially 21 prejudicial to the business or operations of such party. 22 b. Designation as "CONFIDENTIAL - FOR COUNSEL ONLY": Any party 23 may designate information as "CONFIDENTIAL - FOR COUNSEL ONLY" only if, 24 in the good faith belief of such party and its counsel, the information is among that 25 considered to be most sensitive by the party, including but not limited to trade secret 26 or other confidential research, development, financial or other commercial 27 information. 28 3 PROTECTIVE ORDER CASE NO. 3:20-CV-02404-MMA-AGS 1 5. In the event the producing party elects to produce materials for 2 inspection, no marking need be made by the producing party in advance of the initial 3 inspection. For purposes of the initial inspection, all materials produced will be 4 considered as "CONFIDENTIAL - FOR COUNSEL ONLY," and must be treated as 5 such pursuant to the terms of this Order. Thereafter, upon selection of specified 6 materials for copying by the inspecting party, the producing party must, within a 7 reasonable time prior to producing those materials to the inspecting party, mark the 8 copies of those materials that contain confidential information with the appropriate 9 confidentiality marking. 10 6. Whenever a deposition taken on behalf of any party involves a disclosure 11 of confidential information of any party: 12 a. the deposition or portions of the deposition must be designated as 13 containing confidential information subject to the provisions of 14 this Order; such designation must be made on the record whenever 15 possible, but a party may designate portions of depositions as 16 containing confidential information after transcription of the 17 proceedings; [A] party will have until fourteen (14) days after 18 receipt of the deposition transcript to inform the other party or 19 parties to the action of the portions of the transcript to be 20 designated "CONFIDENTIAL" or "CONFIDENTIAL - FOR 21 COUNSEL ONLY.” 22 b. the disclosing party will have the right to exclude from attendance 23 at the deposition, during such time as the confidential information 24 is to be disclosed, any person other than the deponent, counsel 25 (including their staff and associates), the court reporter, and the 26 person(s) agreed upon pursuant to paragraph 8 below; and 27 28 c. the originals of the deposition transcripts and all copies of the deposition must bear the legend "CONFIDENTIAL" or 4 PROTECTIVE ORDER CASE NO. 3:20-CV-02404-MMA-AGS 1 "CONFIDENTIAL - FOR COUNSEL ONLY," as appropriate, and 2 the original or any copy ultimately presented to a court for filing 3 must not be filed unless it can be accomplished under seal, 4 identified as being subject to this Order, and protected from being 5 opened except by order of this Court. 6 7. All confidential information designated as "CONFIDENTIAL" or 7 "CONFIDENTIAL FOR COUNSEL ONLY" must not be disclosed by the receiving 8 party to anyone other than those persons designated within this order and must be 9 handled in the manner set forth below and, in any event, must not be used for any 10 purpose other than in connection with this litigation, unless and until such designation 11 is removed either by agreement of the parties, or by order of the Court. 12 8. Information designated "CONFIDENTIAL - FOR COUNSEL ONLY" 13 must be viewed only by counsel (as defined in paragraph 3) of the receiving party, and 14 by independent experts under the conditions set forth in this Paragraph. The right of 15 any independent expert to receive any confidential information will be subject to the 16 advance approval of such expert by the producing party or by permission of the Court. 17 The party seeking approval of an independent expert must provide the producing party 18 with the name and curriculum vitae of the proposed independent expert, and an 19 executed copy of the form attached hereto as Exhibit A, in advance of providing any 20 confidential information of the producing party to the expert. Any objection by the 21 producing party to an independent expert receiving confidential information must be 22 made in writing within fourteen (14) days following receipt of the identification of the 23 proposed expert. Confidential information may be disclosed to an independent expert 24 if the fourteen (14) day period has passed and no objection has been made. The 25 approval of independent experts must not be unreasonably withheld. 26 9. Information designated "confidential" must be viewed only by counsel 27 (as defined in paragraph 3) of the receiving party, by independent experts (pursuant to 28 the terms of paragraph 8), by court personnel, and by the additional individuals listed 5 PROTECTIVE ORDER CASE NO. 3:20-CV-02404-MMA-AGS 1 below, provided each such individual has read this Order in advance of disclosure and 2 has agreed in writing to be bound by its terms: a. 3 Executives who are required to participate in policy decisions with reference to this action; 4 b. 5 Technical personnel of the parties with whom Counsel for the 6 parties find it necessary to consult, in the discretion of such 7 counsel, in preparation for trial of this action; and c. 8 individuals identified above. 9 10 Stenographic and clerical employees associated with the 10. With respect to material designated "CONFIDENTIAL" or 11 "CONFIDENTIAL – FOR COUNSEL ONLY," any person indicated on the face of 12 the document to be its originator, author or a recipient of a copy of the document, may 13 be shown the same. 14 11. All information which has been designated as "CONFIDENTIAL" or 15 "CONFIDENTIAL -FOR COUNSEL ONLY" by the producing or disclosing party, 16 and any and all reproductions of that information, must be retained in the custody of 17 the counsel for the receiving party identified in paragraph 3, except that independent 18 experts authorized to view such information under the terms of this Order may retain 19 custody of copies such as are necessary for their participation in this litigation. 20 12. Before any materials produced in discovery, answers to interrogatories, 21 responses to requests for admissions, deposition transcripts, or other documents which 22 are designated as confidential information are filed with the Court for any purpose, the 23 party seeking to file such material must seek permission of the Court to file the material 24 under seal. 25 13. At any stage of these proceedings, any party may object to a designation 26 of the materials as confidential information. The party objecting to confidentiality 27 must notify, in writing, counsel for the designating party of the objected-to materials 28 and the grounds for the objection. If the dispute is not resolved consensually between 6 PROTECTIVE ORDER CASE NO. 3:20-CV-02404-MMA-AGS 1 the parties within seven (7) days of receipt of such a notice of objections, the objecting 2 party may move the Court for a ruling on the objection. The materials at issue must be 3 treated as confidential information, as designated by the designating party, until the 4 Court has ruled on the objection or the matter has been otherwise resolved. 5 14. All confidential information must be held in confidence by those 6 inspecting or receiving it, and must be used only for purposes of this action. Counsel 7 for each party, and each person receiving confidential information must take 8 reasonable precautions to prevent the unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of such 9 information. If confidential information is disclosed to any person other than a person 10 authorized by this Order, the party responsible for the unauthorized disclosure must 11 immediately bring all pertinent facts relating to the unauthorized disclosure to the 12 attention of the other parties and, without prejudice to any rights and remedies of the 13 other parties, make every effort to prevent further disclosure by the party and by the 14 person(s) receiving the unauthorized disclosure. 15 15. No party will be responsible to another party for disclosure of confidential 16 information under this Order if the information in question is not labeled or otherwise 17 identified as such in accordance with this Order. 18 16. If a party, through inadvertence, produces any confidential information 19 without labeling or marking or otherwise designating it as such in accordance with this 20 Order, the designating party may give written notice to the receiving party that the 21 document or thing produced is deemed confidential information, and that the 22 document or thing produced should be treated as such in accordance with that 23 designation under this Order. The receiving party must treat the materials as 24 confidential, once the designating party so notifies the receiving party. If the receiving 25 party has disclosed the materials before receiving the designation, the receiving party 26 must notify the designating party in writing of each such disclosure. Counsel for the 27 parties will agree on a mutually acceptable manner of labeling or marking the 28 7 PROTECTIVE ORDER CASE NO. 3:20-CV-02404-MMA-AGS 1 inadvertently produced materials as "CONFIDENTIAL" or "CONFIDENTIAL - FOR 2 COUNSEL ONLY" - SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER. 3 17. Nothing within this order will prejudice the right of any party to object to 4 the production of any discovery material on the grounds that the material is protected 5 as privileged or as attorney work product. 6 18. Nothing in this Order will bar counsel from rendering advice to their 7 clients with respect to this litigation and, in the course thereof, relying upon any 8 information designated as confidential information, provided that the contents of the 9 information must not be disclosed. 10 19. This Order will be without prejudice to the right of any party to oppose 11 production of any information for lack of relevance or any other ground other than the 12 mere presence of confidential information. The existence of this Order must not be 13 used by either party as a basis for discovery that is otherwise improper under the 14 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 15 20. Nothing within this order will be construed to prevent disclosure of 16 confidential information if such disclosure is required by law or by order of the Court. 17 21. Upon final termination of this action, including any and all appeals, 18 counsel for each party must, upon request of the producing party, return all 19 confidential information to the party that produced the information, including any 20 copies, excerpts, and summaries of that information, or must destroy same at the option 21 of the receiving party, and must purge all such information from all machine-readable 22 media on which it resides. Notwithstanding the foregoing, counsel for each party may 23 retain all pleadings, briefs, memoranda, motions, and other documents filed with the 24 Court that refer to or incorporate confidential information, and will continue to be 25 bound by this Order with respect to all such retained information. Further, attorney 26 work product materials that contain confidential information need not be destroyed, 27 but, if they are not destroyed, the person in possession of the attorney work product 28 will continue to be bound by this Order with respect to all such retained information. 8 PROTECTIVE ORDER CASE NO. 3:20-CV-02404-MMA-AGS 1 22. The restrictions and obligations set forth within this order will not apply 2 to any information that: (a) the parties agree should not be designated confidential 3 information; (b) the parties agree, or the Court rules, is already public knowledge; (c) 4 the parties agree, or the Court rules, has become public knowledge other than as a 5 result of disclosure by the receiving party, its employees, or its agents in violation of 6 this Order; or (d) has come or will come into the receiving party's legitimate 7 knowledge independently of the production by the designating party. Prior knowledge 8 must be established by pre-production documentation. 9 23. The restrictions and obligations within this order will not be deemed to 10 prohibit discussions of any confidential information with anyone if that person already 11 has or obtains legitimate possession of that information. 12 24. Transmission by email or some other currently utilized method of 13 transmission is acceptable for all notification purposes within this Order. 14 25. This Order may be modified by agreement of the parties, subject to 15 approval by the Court. 16 26. The Court may modify the terms and conditions of this Order for good 17 cause, or in the interest of justice, or on its own order at any time in these proceedings. 18 19 Dated: September 28, 2021 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 9 PROTECTIVE ORDER CASE NO. 3:20-CV-02404-MMA-AGS 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 1. My name is ___________________________________________. 4 2. I am employed by ______________________________________ 5 _________________________________________________. 6 3. I have read the Protective Order in the action of LBF Travel Management 7 Corp. et al. v. Thomas Derosa et al. Case No. 3:20-cv-02404-MMA-AGS (the 8 “Order”). I have received a copy of the Order, and I understand its contents. 9 4. I promise that I will use all confidential information as defined in the 10 Order that has been provided to me only in the manner that is authorized by the Order. 11 5. I promise that I will not disclose or discuss any confidential information 12 except as authorized by the Order. 13 6. 14 information I promise that I will not copy (or otherwise reproduce) any documents or that have been designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” and/or 15 “CONFIDENTIAL – FOR COUNSEL ONLY” and disclosed to me, and I further 16 promise to not disclose such documents or information to any person or entity not 17 authorized under the Order to view or receive confidential information. 18 7. I realize that by signing this Acknowledgment, I am subjecting myself to 19 the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Southern District of 20 California with relation to the enforcement of the Order, including the possible 21 issuance of a contempt citation and sanctions if I were to violate the Order. 22 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America 23 and applicable California laws that the above is true and correct. Executed at 24 ___________________________________, ______________, on ______________ 25 ___, 2021. 26 27 [please print name below signature] 28 10 PROTECTIVE ORDER CASE NO. 3:20-CV-02404-MMA-AGS
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