Hong Liu v. Faraday&Future Inc. et al, No. 2:2020cv08035 - Document 88 (C.D. Cal. 2021)

Court Description: ORDER GRANTING STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 84 by Magistrate Judge Jean P. Rosenbluth, re Stipulation for Protective Order. (es)

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Hong Liu v. Faraday&Future Inc. et al Doc. 88 Case 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Document 88 Filed 03/01/21 Page 1 of 16 Page ID #:385 1 2 3 4 Kevin D. Hughes (Bar No. 188749) FOUNDATION LAW GROUP LLP 1999 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1100 Los Angeles, CA 90067 Tel: 424.253.1266 Email: kevin@foundationlaw.com 8 Amiad Kushner (pro hac vice) Jake Nachmani (pro hac vice) SEIDEN LAW GROUP LLP 469 Seventh Avenue 5th Fl. New York, NY 10018 Tel: 646.766.1914 Email: akushner@seidenlawgroup.com jnachmani@seidenlawgroup.com 9 Attorneys for Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant Hong Liu 5 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 15 LAUREN E. GROCHOW, Bar No. 293601 lauren.grochow@troutman.com TROUTMAN PEPPER HAMILTON SANDERS LLP 5 Park Plaza, Suite 1400 Irvine, CA 92614-2545 Telephone: 949.622.2700 Attorneys for Defendants SMART KING LTD., JIAWEI WANG, and CHAOYING DENG and Defendant and Counterclaimant FARADAY&FUTURE INC. (signature block continued on next page) 16 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 17 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 18 19 HONG LIU, 20 21 22 CASE NO. 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Plaintiff, v. Honorable Stephen V. Wilson (Discovery Matters Referred to Honorable Jean P. Rosenbluth) 23 FARADAY&FUTURE INC., SMART KING LTD., JIAWEI WANG, and CHAOYING DENG. 24 Defendants. ORDER GRANTING STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 25 26 27 28 Dockets.Justia.com Case 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Document 88 Filed 03/01/21 Page 2 of 16 Page ID #:386 1 FARADAY&FUTURE INC., Counterclaimant, 2 3 4 5 v. HONG LIU, Counter-Defendant. 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2 Case 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Document 88 Filed 03/01/21 Page 3 of 16 Page ID #:387 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DANIEL N. ANZISKA, Pro Hac Vice daniel.anziska@troutman.com TROUTMAN PEPPER HAMILTON SANDERS LLP 875 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022 Telephone: 212.704.6000 Facsimile: 212.704.6288 MACKENZIE L. WILLOW-JOHNSON, Pro Hac Vice mackenzie.willow-johnson@troutman.com TROUTMAN PEPPER HAMILTON SANDERS LLP 305 Church at North Hills Street, Suite 1200 Raleigh, NC 27609 Telephone: 919.740.9949 Attorneys for Defendants SMART KING LTD., JIAWEI WANG, and CHAOYING DENG and Defendant and Counterclaimant FARADAY&FUTURE INC. Case 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Document 88 Filed 03/01/21 Page 4 of 16 Page ID #:388 1 2 3 4 Plaintiff Hong Liu and Defendants Faraday & Future Inc., Smart King Ltd., Jiawei Wang and Chaoying Deng filed a Stipulated Protective Order. Having considered the Stipulation, and good cause appearing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 5 6 1. 7 1.1 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting 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. The Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3 below, that this Order does not entitle them to file Confidential Information under seal; Civil Local 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. 1.2 22 24 25 26 27 28 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS Discovery in this action may involve production of confidential, proprietary, 21 23 INTRODUCTION GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT The parties enter into this Order for good cause. The subject matter of this case may involve confidential employment agreements, confidential financial records, and private corporate transactions. The Parties anticipate that discovery may involve the production of confidential financial records, corporate documents, and private medical records, the public disclosure of which could harm the Parties. 2. DEFINITIONS Case 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Document 88 Filed 03/01/21 Page 5 of 16 Page ID #:389 1 2 3 4 5 2.1 Action: This action, case number 2:20-cv-08035, pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Nonparty that challenges the designation of information or items under this Order. 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 6 how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 7 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) and as specified above in the 8 Good Cause Statement. 9 10 11 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their support staff). 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Nonparty that designates information or 12 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 13 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 14 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 15 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 16 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 17 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 18 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 19 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 20 an expert witness or as a consultant in this action. 21 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a Party to this Action. 22 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 23 counsel. 24 25 2.9 Nonparty: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 26 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a 27 Party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a Party and have appeared 28 5 Case 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Document 88 Filed 03/01/21 Page 6 of 16 Page ID #:390 1 in this Action on behalf of that Party or are affiliated with a law firm that has 2 appeared on behalf of that Party, including support staff. 2.11 Party: any Party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 3 4 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 5 support staffs). 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Nonparty that produces Disclosure or 6 7 Discovery Material in this Action. 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 8 9 support services (for example, photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing 10 exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or 11 medium) and their employees and subcontractors. 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 12 13 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 14 15 Material from a Producing Party. 16 3. SCOPE 17 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 18 Protected Material (as defined above) but also any information copied or extracted 19 from Protected Material; all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of 20 Protected Material; and any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or 21 their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the orders of the 22 23 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 24 4. 25 DURATION Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 26 imposed by this Order will remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees 27 otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition is the later 28 6 Case 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Document 88 Filed 03/01/21 Page 7 of 16 Page ID #:391 1 of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice, 2 or (2) final judgment after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, 3 remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits for filing any 4 motions or applications for extension of time under applicable law. 5 5. 6 DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 5.1 Each Party or Nonparty that designates information or items for 7 protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific 8 material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must 9 designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or 10 written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, 11 documents, items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not 12 swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 13 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 14 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 15 purpose (for example, to unnecessarily encumber the case-development process or 16 to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 17 Designating Party to sanctions. 18 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items it 19 designated for protection do not qualify for that level of protection, that Designating 20 Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable 21 designation. 22 5.2 Except as otherwise provided in this Order, Disclosure or Discovery 23 Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated 24 before the material is disclosed or produced. 25 Designation in conformity with this Order requires the following: 26 (a) for information in documentary form (for example, paper or electronic 27 28 documents but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 7 Case 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Document 88 Filed 03/01/21 Page 8 of 16 Page ID #:392 1 proceedings), the Producing Party must affix at a minimum the legend 2 “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion 3 or portions of the material on a page qualify for protection, the Producing Party 4 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (for example, by making appropriate 5 markings in the margins). A Party or Nonparty that makes original documents available for 6 7 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has 8 indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the 9 inspection and before the designation, all material made available for inspection 10 must be treated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the 11 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which 12 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, 13 before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the 14 “CONFIDENTIAL” legend to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a 15 portion or portions of the material on a page qualify for protection, the Producing 16 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (for example, by making 17 appropriate markings in the margins). (b) for testimony given in depositions, the Designating Party must identify 18 19 the Disclosure or Discovery Material that is protected on the record, before the close 20 of the deposition. (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for 21 22 any other tangible items, the Producing Party must affix in a prominent place on the 23 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 24 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrant 25 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, must identify the protected 26 portion(s). 27 5.3 28 If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate qualified information 8 Case 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Document 88 Filed 03/01/21 Page 9 of 16 Page ID #:393 1 or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure 2 protection under this Order for that material. On timely correction of a designation, 3 the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is 4 treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 5 6. 6.1 6 7 Any Party or Nonparty may challenge a designation of confidentiality at any time consistent with the Court’s scheduling order. 6.2 8 9 CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS The Challenging Party must initiate the dispute-resolution process (and, if necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 37. 6.3 10 The burden of persuasion in any such proceeding is on the Designating 11 Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (for example, 12 to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties), may expose 13 the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or 14 withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties must continue to afford the 15 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the 16 Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 17 7. 18 ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 7.1 A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or 19 produced by another Party or by a Nonparty in connection with this Action only for 20 prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material 21 may be disclosed only to the categories of people and under the conditions described 22 in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply 23 with the provisions of Section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 24 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 25 location and in a manner sufficiently secure to ensure that access is limited to the 26 people authorized under this Order. 27 28 9 Case 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Document 88 Filed 03/01/21 Page 10 of 16 Page ID #:394 1 7.2 Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the 2 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item 3 designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to the following people: 4 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 5 well as employees of that Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 6 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 7 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 8 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 9 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 10 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 11 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 12 (d) the Court and its personnel; 13 (e) court reporters and their staff; 14 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 15 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 16 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 17 18 19 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; (h) during their depositions, witnesses and attorneys for witnesses to 20 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary, provided that the deposing party requests 21 that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto and the witnesses will 22 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the form, 23 unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of 24 transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected 25 Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to 26 anyone except as permitted under this Order; and 27 28 10 Case 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Document 88 Filed 03/01/21 Page 11 of 16 Page ID #:395 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 1 2 mutually agreed on by any of the Parties engaged in settlement discussions or 3 appointed by the Court. 4 8. 5 IN OTHER LITIGATION 6 PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 7 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 8 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must 9 10 11 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification must include a copy of the subpoena or court order unless prohibited by law; (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 12 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 13 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification must include 14 a copy of this Order; and 15 16 17 (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 18 the subpoena or court order should not produce any information designated in this 19 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination on the protective-order request 20 by the relevant court unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 21 permission. The Designating Party bears the burden and expense of seeking 22 protection of its Confidential Material, and nothing in these provisions should be 23 construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey 24 a lawful directive from another court. 25 26 27 28 11 Case 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Document 88 Filed 03/01/21 Page 12 of 16 Page ID #:396 1 9. 2 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 3 A NONPARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 4 Nonparty in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information is 5 protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these 6 provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Nonparty from seeking additional 7 protections. 8 (b) In the event that a Party is required by a valid discovery request to 9 produce a Nonparty’s Confidential Information in its possession and the Party is 10 subject to an agreement with the Nonparty not to produce the Nonparty’s 11 Confidential Information, then the Party must 12 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Nonparty 13 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 14 agreement with a Nonparty; 15 (2) promptly provide the Nonparty with a copy of this Order, the 16 relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the 17 information requested; and 18 19 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Nonparty, if requested. 20 (c) If the Nonparty fails to seek a protective order within 21 days of 21 receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may 22 produce the Nonparty’s Confidential Information responsive to the discovery 23 request. If the Nonparty timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party must 24 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 25 confidentiality agreement with the Nonparty before a ruling on the protective-order 26 request. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Nonparty must bear the burden 27 and expense of seeking protection of its Protected Material. 28 12 Case 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Document 88 Filed 03/01/21 Page 13 of 16 Page ID #:397 1 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL If a Receiving Party learns that by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 2 3 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 4 Order, the Receiving Party must immediately notify the Designating Party in writing 5 of the unauthorized disclosures, use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized 6 copies of the Protected Material, inform the person or people to whom unauthorized 7 disclosures were made of the terms of this Order, and ask that person or people to 8 execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto 9 as Exhibit A. 10 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 11 PROTECTED MATERIAL When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 12 13 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 14 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 15 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). 16 12. 17 18 19 MISCELLANEOUS 12.1 Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek its modification by the Court. 12.2 By stipulating to the entry of this Order, no Party waives any right it 20 otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or item 21 on any ground not addressed in this Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to 22 object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this 23 Order. 24 12.3 A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must 25 comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may be filed under seal only 26 pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at 27 issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is denied, then the 28 13 Case 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Document 88 Filed 03/01/21 Page 14 of 16 Page ID #:398 1 Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless otherwise 2 instructed by the Court. 3 13. FINAL DISPOSITION After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 4 5 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return 6 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in 7 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 8 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected 9 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving 10 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 11 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that identifies (by 12 category, when appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or 13 destroyed and affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, 14 compilations, summaries, or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 15 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an 16 archival copy of all pleadings; motion papers; trial, deposition, and hearing 17 transcripts; legal memoranda; correspondence; deposition and trial exhibits; expert 18 reports; attorney work product; and consultant and expert work product even if such 19 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or 20 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Order as set forth in Section 4 21 (DURATION). 22 14. SANCTIONS 23 Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or criminal 24 contempt, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary authorities, or 25 other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court. 26 27 28 14 Case 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Document 88 Filed 03/01/21 Page 15 of 16 Page ID #:399 1 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 2 3 DATED: February 23, 2021 __/s/ Kevin D. Hughes_______________ Attorneys for Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant HONG LIU DATED: February 23, 2021 __/s/ Lauren E. Grochow______________ Attorneys for Defendants SMART KING LTD., JIAWEI WANG, and CHAOYING DENG and Defendant and Counterclaimant FARADAY&FUTURE INC. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 IT IS SO ORDERED. 12 13 14 15 DATED: March 1, 2021 ______________________________ UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 15 Case 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR Document 88 Filed 03/01/21 Page 16 of 16 Page ID #:400 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 4 I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________ 5 [full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and 6 understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the U.S. District Court 7 for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of Hong Liu v. Faraday & 8 Future Inc., et al., C.D. Cal. Case No. 2:20-cv-08035-SVW-JPR. I agree to comply 9 with and to be bound by all terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, and I 10 understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions 11 and punishment, including contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in 12 any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective 13 Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this 14 Order. 15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the 16 Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 17 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 18 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [full 19 name] of _______________________________________ [full address and 20 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with 21 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective 22 Order. 23 Date: ______________________________________ 24 City and State where signed: _________________________________ 25 Printed name: _______________________________ 26 27 28 Signature: __________________________________ 16

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