Delashaw v. Seattle Times Company et al, No. 2:2018cv00537 - Document 259 (W.D. Wash. 2020)

Court Description: ORDER granting the Parties' 235 Stipulated Motion Re: Limited Intervention by Dr. Rod Oskouian. Signed by Judge James L. Robart.(PM)

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Delashaw v. Seattle Times Company et al Doc. 259 Case 2:18-cv-00537-JLR Document 259 235 Filed 08/03/20 07/27/20 Page 1 of 11 The Honorable James L. Robart 1 2 3 4 5 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 7 8 9 JOHNNY B. DELASHAW, JR., Plaintiff, 10 11 12 13 14 v. SEATTLE TIMES COMPANY, and CHARLES COBBS, Defendants. Case No. 2:18-cv-00537-JLR STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER RE: LIMITED INTERVENTION BY DR. ROD OSKOUIAN NOTE ON MOTION CALENDAR: July 27, 2020 15 Dr. Rod Oskouian (“Dr. Oskouian”) respectfully requests that this Court allow him to 16 intervene in this action under Fed R. Civ. P. 24 as in interested party solely for the limited 17 purpose of addressing the potential use of materials Dr. Oskouian designated as confidential 18 under the stipulated protective order in this case. Dkt. 45-1; 46. Dr. Cobbs has filed two 19 motions to seal that include materials Dr. Oskouian designated as confidential: (1) Motion to 20 Seal in conjunction with Dr. Cobbs’s Second Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 205); and (2) 21 Motion to Seal in Conjunction with Dr. Cobbs’s Motions in Limine (Dkt. 214). Dr. Oskouian 22 seeks to intervene at this time only to address those motions. Counsel for all parties have 23 conferred and stipulated to Dr. Oskouian’s request for limited intervention. In so stipulating, 24 counsel for the parties here stipulate only to Dr. Oskouian’s request for limited intervention to be 25 heard on Dr. Cobbs’ motion to seal, not to any arguments made about keeping any documents 26 out of the open court file. Dr. Delashaw, Dr. Cobbs, and the Seattle Times expressly state, and STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER RE: LIMITED INTERVENTION BY DR. ROD OSKOUIAN – 1 (Case No. 2:18-cv-00537-JLR) 1000 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 3500 SEATTLE, WA 98104 • (206) 393-5400 Dockets.Justia.com Case 2:18-cv-00537-JLR Document 235 259 Filed 07/27/20 08/03/20 Page 2 of 11 1 Dr. Oskouian acknowledges, that nothing in this stipulated motion is intended to impact any 2 arguments the parties might have with respect to Dr. Cobbs’s motion to seal. ARGUMENT 3 4 1. The Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(a) Standard for Intervention. 5 Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 24(a), the Court “must permit anyone to intervene who claims an 6 interest relating to the property or transaction that is the subject of the action, and is so situated 7 that disposing of the action may as a practical matter impair or impede the movant’s ability to 8 protect its interest, unless existing parties adequately represent that interest.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 9 24(a)(2). A motion must be granted if: (1) the application is timely; (2) the applicant has a 10 “significantly protectable” interest relating to the property or transaction that is the subject of the 11 action; (3) the applicant is so situated that the disposition of the action may, as a practical matter, 12 impair or impede the applicant’s ability to protect that interest; and (4) the applicant’s interest is 13 not adequately represented by the existing parties in the lawsuit. 14 Biological Diversity v. Berg, 268 F.3d 810, 817 (9th Cir. 2001). The Court’s evaluation is 15 “guided primarily by practical considerations,” not technical distinctions. Id. Dr. Oskouian 16 asserts that his motion meets each of the four requirements. 17 2. Southwest Center for Dr. Oskouian is entitled to limited intervention to protect his confidentiality interest. 18 a. Timeliness 19 The Seattle Times subpoenaed Dr. Oskouian to provide deposition testimony. Dr. 20 Oskouian was deposed pursuant to that subpoena on June 12, 2020. At the conclusion of that 21 deposition, Dr. Oskouian’s counsel designated the transcript as confidential, as provided under 22 the stipulated protective order. On July 9, 2020, after discussion with defendants’ counsel, Dr. 23 Oskouian confirmed by page and line a more specific list of portions of the transcript to be 24 designated as confidential. 25 The protective order and this Court’s rules require a party filing confidential material to 26 confer with the designating party to determine whether the designating party will withdraw the STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER RE: LIMITED INTERVENTION BY DR. ROD OSKOUIAN – 2 (Case No. 2:18-cv-00537-JLR) 1000 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 3500 SEATTLE, WA 98104 • (206) 393-5400 Case 2:18-cv-00537-JLR Document 259 235 Filed 08/03/20 07/27/20 Page 3 of 11 1 confidential designations before filing. Dr. Cobbs’s counsel and Dr. Oskouian’s counsel had 2 several conversations regarding confidentiality designations, but were unable to resolve their 3 differences. 4 Dr. Cobbs then filed on July 13, 2020, his motion to seal in conjunction with his Second 5 Motion for Summary Judgment. (Dkt. 205). Dr. Oskouian now timely seeks to intervene to 6 protect his confidentiality interest just two weeks after the motion to seal was filed. 7 b. Significant Protectable Interest. 8 An applicant for intervention has a “significant protectable interest” in an action if (1) it 9 asserts an interest that is protected under some law, and (2) there is a “relationship” between its 10 legally protected interest and the plaintiff’s claims. Donnelly v. Glickman, 159 F.3d 405, 409 11 (9th Cir. 1998) (citing Northwest forest Resource Council v. Glickman, 82 F.3d 825, 837 (9th 12 Cir. 1996)). 13 resolution of the plaintiff’s claims actually will affect the applicant.” Donnelly, 159 F.3d at 410 14 (citing Montana v. United States Envtl. Protection Agency, 137 F.3d 1135, 1141-42 (9th Cir. 15 1998)). “An applicant generally satisfies the ‘relationship’ requirement only if the 16 Dr. Oskouian contends that he “asserts an interest that is protected under some law” 17 because he argues that the materials he designated as confidential implicate his constitutionally- 18 protected rights and his due process rights under the stipulated protective order entered under 19 Fed. R. Civ. P. 26. 20 Likewise, Dr. Oskouian contends there is a “relationship” between Dr. Oskouian’s legally 21 protectable confidentiality interest and the claims and defenses in the suit because Dr. Cobbs has 22 relied on material Dr. Oskouian designated as confidential in support of his Second Motion for 23 Summary Judgment. This Court’s LCR 5(g) actually provides that it is incumbent upon the party 24 designating materials as confidential under a stipulated protective order to satisfy this Court’s 25 local rules to confirm that the material should be sealed from the public record. See LCR 26 5(g)(3)(B) (“where parties have entered a . . . stipulated protective order . . . the party who STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER RE: LIMITED INTERVENTION BY DR. ROD OSKOUIAN – 3 (Case No. 2:18-cv-00537-JLR) 1000 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 3500 SEATTLE, WA 98104 • (206) 393-5400 Case 2:18-cv-00537-JLR Document 259 235 Filed 08/03/20 07/27/20 Page 4 of 11 1 designated the document confidential must satisfy subpart 3(B) in its response to the motion to 2 seal or in a stipulated motion.”). Dr. Oskouian therefore respectfully submits that LCR 5(g) 3 firmly establishes that there is a relationship between Dr. Oskouian’s confidentiality interest and 4 the claims and defenses at issue here, specifically including Dr. Cobbs’s Second Motion for 5 Summary Judgment. 6 c. Effect of Disposition on Dr. Oskouian’s Ability to Protect His Interest. 7 Although Dr. Oskouian is not a party here and has no interest in the ultimate outcome of 8 this lawsuit on its merits, Dr. Cobbs has filed a motion for summary judgment relying, in part, on 9 materials Dr. Oskouian has designated as confidential. Because those confidential materials are 10 now implicated in potentially public filings, unless Dr. Oskouian intervenes, Dr. Oskouian 11 asserts that the disposition of this case will directly impact his privacy and other interests. 12 Where the Court agrees that a non-party has a “significant protectable interest,” it should have 13 “little difficulty concluding that the disposition of the case may, as a practical matter, affect it.” 14 California ex rel. Lockyer v. U.S., 450 F.3d 436, 442 (2006) (the court found the movant had a 15 “significant protectable interest” and therefore “we have little difficulty concluding that the 16 disposition of this case may, as a practical matter, affect it.”). Given Dr. Oskouian’s asserted 17 significant protectable interest vis-à-vis his privacy and reputational interests, this Court should 18 have no difficulty concluding that the disposition of this case, and particularly the motions to 19 seal, without Dr. Oskouian’s intervention will impact Dr. Oskouian. 20 d. Dr. Oskouian’s interests are not adequately protected by the existing parties. 21 “In determining adequacy of representation, we consider whether the interest of a 22 present party is such that it will undoubtedly make all the intervenor’s arguments; whether the 23 present party is capable and willing to make such arguments; and whether the intervenor would 24 offer any necessary elements to the proceedings that other parties would neglect.” People of 25 State of California v. Tahoe Reg’l Planning Agency, 792 F.2d 775, 778 (9th Cir. 1986) (internal 26 STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER RE: LIMITED INTERVENTION BY DR. ROD OSKOUIAN – 4 (Case No. 2:18-cv-00537-JLR) 1000 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 3500 SEATTLE, WA 98104 • (206) 393-5400 Case 2:18-cv-00537-JLR Document 259 235 Filed 08/03/20 07/27/20 Page 5 of 11 1 citations omitted). “The applicant is required only to make a minimal showing that 2 representation of its interests may be inadequate.” Id. 3 None of the actual parties to the lawsuit are situated such that they can adequately 4 protect Dr. Oskouian’s individual privacy interests. Dr. Oskouian is a non-party, and has no 5 connection to the litigants here. Dr. Oskouian exercised his individual right under the stipulated 6 protective order to designate portions of his deposition testimony as confidential. Only Dr. 7 Oskouian, therefore, is capable of adequately advancing arguments to sufficiently protect his 8 asserted privacy interest. CONCLUSION 9 10 For the foregoing reasons, Dr. Oskouian respectfully submits that his motion meets the 11 Fed R. Civ. P. 24(a) standard for intervention, particularly for the limited purposes sought here. 12 Dr. Oskouian therefore respectfully requests that this Court grant its stipulated motion to 13 intervene for the limited purposes of addressing his interest in maintaining the confidentiality of 14 certain documents. 15 Stipulated and agreed to this 27th day of July, 2020. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 POLSINELLI PC By: /s/Jim J. Fredman Jim J. Fredman, WSBA# 30110 1000 Second Ave., Suite 3500 Seattle, WA 98104 Tel: (206) 393-5400 Email: jim.fredman@polsinelli.com By: /s/Brian McEvoy Brian McEvoy (Pro Hac Vice Pending) 1201 W. Peachtree Street NW Suite 1100 Atlanta, GA 30309 Tel: (404) 253-6021 Email: bmcevoy@polsinelli.com Attorneys for Nonparty Dr. Oskouian STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER RE: LIMITED INTERVENTION BY DR. ROD OSKOUIAN – 5 (Case No. 2:18-cv-00537-JLR) 1000 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 3500 SEATTLE, WA 98104 • (206) 393-5400 Case 2:18-cv-00537-JLR Document 259 235 Filed 08/03/20 07/27/20 Page 6 of 11 1 HARRIGAN LEYH FARMER & THOMSEN LLP 2 6 /s/ Tyler L. Farmer Arthur W. Harrigan, Jr., WSBA No. 1751 Tyler L. Farmer, WSBA No. 39912 Kristin E. Ballinger, WSBA No. 28253 Caitlin B. Pratt, WSBA No. 48422 999 Third Avenue, Ste. 4400 Seattle, WA 98104 Phone: (206) 625-8600 7 Attorneys for Plaintiff Johnny B. Delashaw, Jr. 3 4 5 8 9 10 LAW OFFICES OF IRWIN H. SCHWARTZ 14 /s/ Irwin H. Schwartz__________________ Irwin H. Schwartz, WSBA No. 4769 999 Third Avenue, Suite 4400 Seattle, WA 98104 Telephone: (206) 676-7000 Fax: (206) 676-7001 irwin@ihschwartz.com 15 Attorneys for Plaintiff Johnny B. Delashaw, Jr. 11 12 13 16 17 SUMMIT LAW GROUP PLLC 18 /s/Jessica L. Goldman Jessica L. Goldman, WSBA No. 21856 Christopher T. Wion, WSBA No. 33207 Tanya Nesbitt, WSBA No. pending 315 Fifth Avenue South, Suite 1000 Seattle, WA 98104 Telephone: (206) 676-7000 Fax: (206) 676-7001 jessicag@summitlaw.com chrisw@summitlaw.com tanyan@summitlaw.com 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Attorneys for Defendant Seattle Times Company STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER RE: LIMITED INTERVENTION BY DR. ROD OSKOUIAN – 6 (Case No. 2:18-cv-00537-JLR) 1000 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 3500 SEATTLE, WA 98104 • (206) 393-5400 Case 2:18-cv-00537-JLR Document 259 235 Filed 08/03/20 07/27/20 Page 7 of 11 1 2 McNAUL EBEL NAWROT & HELGREN PLLC 3 /s/ Malaika M. Eaton Malaika M. Eaton, WSBA No. 32837 Jehiel I. Baer, WSBA No. 46951 600 University Street, Suite 2700 Seattle, WA 98101 Telephone: (206) 467-1816 meaton@mcnaul.com jbaer@mcnaul.com 4 5 6 7 8 Attorneys for Defendant Charles Cobb 9 10 SOMERVILLE, LLC 11 12 13 14 /s/John Q. Somerville John Q. Somerville (admitted pro hac vice) 300 North Richard Arrington Blvd., Suite 710 Birmingham, AL 35203 Telephone: (205) 871-2183 jqs@somerville.com 15 16 Attorneys for Defendant Charles Cobb 17 18 19 ORDER Pursuant to the parties’ stipulated motion, IT IS SO ORDERED. 20 21 22 23 24 25 DATED this 3rd day of August, 2020. A __________________________________ HONORABLE JAMES L. ROBART UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 26 STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER RE: LIMITED INTERVENTION BY DR. ROD OSKOUIAN – 7 (Case No. 2:18-cv-00537-JLR) 1000 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 3500 SEATTLE, WA 98104 • (206) 393-5400 Case 2:18-cv-00537-JLR Document 259 235 Filed 08/03/20 07/27/20 Page 8 of 11 1 Presented by: 2 POLSINELLI PC 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 By: /s/Jim J. Fredman Jim J. Fredman, WSBA# 30110 1000 Second Ave., Suite 3500 Seattle, WA 98104 Tel: (206) 393-5400 Email: jim.fredman@polsinelli.com By: /s/Brian McEvoy Brian McEvoy (Pro Hac Vice Pending) 1201 W. Peachtree Street NW, Suite 1100 Atlanta, GA 30309 Tel: (404) 253-6021 Email: bmcevoy@polsinelli.com Attorneys for Nonparty Dr. Oskouian 12 13 HARRIGAN LEYH FARMER & THOMSEN LLP 14 18 /s/ Tyler L. Farmer Arthur W. Harrigan, Jr., WSBA No. 1751 Tyler L. Farmer, WSBA No. 39912 Kristin E. Ballinger, WSBA No. 28253 Caitlin B. Pratt, WSBA No. 48422 999 Third Avenue, Ste. 4400 Seattle, WA 98104 Phone: (206) 625-8600 19 Attorneys for Plaintiff Johnny B. Delashaw, Jr. 15 16 17 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 LAW OFFICES OF IRWIN H. SCHWARTZ /s/ Irwin H. Schwartz__________________ Irwin H. Schwartz, WSBA No. 4769 999 Third Avenue, Suite 4400 Seattle, WA 98104 Telephone: (206) 676-7000 irwin@ihschwartz.com Attorneys for Plaintiff Johnny B. Delashaw, Jr. STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER RE: LIMITED INTERVENTION BY DR. ROD OSKOUIAN – 8 (Case No. 2:18-cv-00537-JLR) 1000 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 3500 SEATTLE, WA 98104 • (206) 393-5400 Case 2:18-cv-00537-JLR Document 259 235 Filed 08/03/20 07/27/20 Page 9 of 11 1 2 SUMMIT LAW GROUP PLLC 3 8 /s/Jessica L. Goldman Jessica L. Goldman, WSBA No. 21856 Christopher T. Wion, WSBA No. 33207 Tanya Nesbitt, WSBA No. pending 315 Fifth Avenue South, Suite 1000 Seattle, WA 98104 Telephone: (206) 676-7000 jessicag@summitlaw.com chrisw@summitlaw.com tanyan@summitlaw.com 9 Attorneys for Defendant Seattle Times Company 4 5 6 7 10 11 McNAUL EBEL NAWROT & HELGREN PLLC 12 13 14 15 16 /s/ Malaika M. Eaton Malaika M. Eaton, WSBA No. 32837 Jehiel I. Baer, WSBA No. 46951 600 University Street, Suite 2700 Seattle, WA 98101 Telephone: (206) 467-1816 meaton@mcnaul.com jbaer@mcnaul.com 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Attorneys for Defendant Charles Cobb SOMERVILLE, LLC /s/John Q. Somerville John Q. Somerville (admitted pro hac vice) 300 North Richard Arrington Blvd., Suite 710 Birmingham, AL 35203 Telephone: (205) 871-2183 jqs@somerville.com Attorneys for Defendant Charles Cobb 25 26 STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER RE: LIMITED INTERVENTION BY DR. ROD OSKOUIAN – 9 (Case No. 2:18-cv-00537-JLR) 1000 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 3500 SEATTLE, WA 98104 • (206) 393-5400 Case 2:18-cv-00537-JLR Document 259 235 Filed 08/03/20 07/27/20 Page 10 of 11 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 1 2 3 4 I hereby certify that on July 27, 2020, I caused the foregoing document to be served on the counsel listed below via the CM/ECF system: 5 Attorneys for Plaintiff 6 Arthur W. Harrigan, Jr. Tyler L. Farmer Kristin E. Ballinger John C. Burzynski HARRIGAN LEYH FARMER & THOMSEN LLP 999 Third Ave., Ste. 4400 Seattle, WA 98104 7 8 9 arthurh@harriganleyh.com tylerf@harriganleyh.com kristinb@harriganleyh.com caitlinp@harriganleyh.com kelliem@harriganleyh.com florinef@harriganleyh.com 10 11 12 13 Attorneys for Plaintiff Irwin H. Schwartz LAW OFFICES OF IRWIN H. SCHWARTZ 999 Third Ave., Ste. 4400 Seattle, WA 98104 irwin@ihschwartz.com 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Attorneys for Defendant Charles Cobbs Malaika M. Eaton Jehiel I. Baer MCNAUL EBEL NAWROT & HELGREN PLLC 600 University St., Ste. 2700 Seattle, WA 98101 meaton@mcnaul.com jbaer@mcnaul.com sredfield@mcnaul.com rlindsey@mcnaul.com Attorneys for Defendant Charles Cobbs John Q. Somerville SOMERVILLE, LLC 300 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. N., Ste. 710 Birmingham, AL 35203 JQS@Somervillellc.com barbara@somervillellc.com Attorneys for Defendant Seattle Times Company Jessica L. Goldman Christopher T. Wion Tanya Nesbit SUMMIT LAW GROUP, PLLC STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER RE: LIMITED INTERVENTION BY DR. ROD OSKOUIAN – 10 (Case No. 2:18-cv-00537-JLR) jessicag@summitlaw.com chrisw@summitlaw.com tanuan@summitlaw.com 1000 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 3500 SEATTLE, WA 98104 • (206) 393-5400 Case 2:18-cv-00537-JLR Document 259 235 Filed 08/03/20 07/27/20 Page 11 of 11 1 2 315 Fifth Avenue South, Suite 1000 Seattle, WA 98104-2682 I certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington that the 3 foregoing is true and correct. 4 DATED this 27th day of July, 2020, at Seattle. 5 6 /s/Jeni Bonanno Jeni Bonanno, Legal Assistant 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER RE: LIMITED INTERVENTION BY DR. ROD OSKOUIAN – 11 (Case No. 2:18-cv-00537-JLR) 1000 SECOND AVENUE, SUITE 3500 SEATTLE, WA 98104 • (206) 393-5400

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