Lopez v. Smiths Detection, Inc. et al, No. 3:2020cv01453 - Document 23 (S.D. Cal. 2021)
Court Description: ORDER granting 22 Renewed Joint Motion for Entry of Protective Order. Signed by Magistrate Judge William V. Gallo on 6/09/2021. (djk)
Download PDF
<![CDATA[
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ALBERTO LOPEZ, Case No.: 20-CV-1453-JLS-WVG Plaintiff, 12 13 v. 14 SMITHS DETECTION, INC., et al., 15 ORDER GRANTING RENEWED JOINT MOTION FOR ENTRY OF STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Defendants. 16 17 On May 24, 2021, the Parties filed a Joint Motion for Entry of Stipulated Protective 18 Order and lodged a proposed order accordingly. (Doc. No. 20.) On May 25, 2021, the Court 19 denied the Parties’ submission for failure to comply with this Court’s Civil Chambers Rule 20 V. (Doc. No. 21.) On June 8, 2021, the Parties renewed their Joint Motion for Protective 21 Order (“Joint Motion”). (Doc. No. 22.) Having reviewed and considered the entirety of the 22 Parties’ Joint Motion, the Court GRANTS the Joint Motion and makes enforceable the 23 following language to which the Parties stipulated: 24 The Court recognizes that at least some of the documents and information 25 (“materials”) being sought through discovery in the above-captioned action are, for 26 competitive reasons, normally kept confidential by the parties. The parties have agreed to 27 be bound by the terms of this Protective Order (“Order”) in this action. 28 The materials to be exchanged throughout the course of the litigation between the 1 20-CV-1453-JLS-WVG 1 parties may contain trade secret or other confidential research, technical, cost, price, 2 marketing or other commercial information, as is contemplated by Federal Rule of Civil 3 Procedure 26(c)(1)(G). The purpose of this Order is to protect the confidentiality of such 4 materials as much as practical during the litigation. THEREFORE: 5 6 DEFINITIONS 1. The term “confidential information” will mean and include information 7 contained or disclosed in any materials, including documents, portions of documents, 8 answers to interrogatories, responses to requests for admissions, trial testimony, deposition 9 testimony, and transcripts of trial testimony and depositions, including data, summaries, 10 and compilations derived therefrom that is deemed to be confidential information by any 11 party to which it belongs. 12 2. The term “materials” will include, but is not be limited to: documents; 13 correspondence; memoranda; bulletins; blueprints; specifications; customer lists or other 14 material that identify customers or potential customers; price lists or schedules or other 15 matter identifying pricing; minutes; telegrams; letters; statements; cancelled checks; 16 contracts; invoices; drafts; books of account; worksheets; notes of conversations; desk 17 diaries; appointment books; expense accounts; recordings; photographs; motion pictures; 18 compilations from which information can be obtained and translated into reasonably usable 19 form through detection devices; sketches; drawings; notes (including laboratory notebooks 20 and records); reports; instructions; disclosures; other writings; models and prototypes and 21 other physical objects. 22 3. The term “counsel” will mean outside counsel of record, and other attorneys, 23 paralegals, secretaries, and other support staff employed in Walker Law, P.C., and Squire 24 Patton Boggs (US) LLP. 25 26 GENERAL RULES 4. Each party to this litigation that produces or discloses any materials, answers 27 to interrogatories, responses to requests for admission, trial testimony, deposition 28 testimony, and transcripts of trial testimony and depositions, or information that the 2 20-CV-1453-JLS-WVG 1 producing party believes should be subject to this Protective Order may designate the same 2 as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL - FOR COUNSEL ONLY.” Designation as “CONFIDENTIAL”: Any party may designate information as 3 a. 4 “CONFIDENTIAL” only if, in the good faith belief of such party and its counsel, 5 the unrestricted disclosure of such information could be potentially prejudicial to the 6 business or operations of such party. 7 b. 8 may designate information as “CONFIDENTIAL - FOR COUNSEL ONLY” only 9 if, in the good faith belief of such party and its counsel, the information is among 10 that considered to be most sensitive by the party, including but not limited to trade 11 secret or other confidential research, development, financial or other commercial 12 information. 13 5. Designation as “CONFIDENTIAL - FOR COUNSEL ONLY”: Any party In the event the producing party elects to produce materials for inspection, no 14 marking need be made by the producing party in advance of the initial inspection. For 15 purposes of the initial inspection, all materials produced will be considered as 16 “CONFIDENTIAL - FOR COUNSEL ONLY,” and must be treated as such pursuant to 17 the terms of this Order. Thereafter, upon selection of specified materials for copying by the 18 inspecting party, the producing party must, within a reasonable time prior to producing 19 those materials to the inspecting party, mark the copies of those materials that contain 20 confidential information with the appropriate confidentiality marking. 21 22 6. Whenever a deposition taken on behalf of any party involves a disclosure of confidential information of any party: 23 a. 24 confidential information subject to the provisions of this Order; such designation 25 must be made on the record whenever possible, but a party may designate portions 26 of depositions as containing confidential information after transcription of the 27 proceedings; [A] party will have until fourteen (14) days after receipt of the 28 deposition transcript to inform the other party or parties to the action of the portions the deposition or portions of the deposition must be designated as containing 3 20-CV-1453-JLS-WVG 1 of the transcript to be designated “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL - FOR 2 COUNSEL ONLY.” 3 b. 4 deposition, during such time as the confidential information is to be disclosed, any 5 person other than the deponent, counsel (including their staff and associates), the 6 court reporter, and the person(s) agreed upon pursuant to paragraph 8 below; and 7 c. 8 bear the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL - FOR COUNSEL 9 ONLY,” as appropriate, and the original or any copy ultimately presented to a court 10 for filing must not be filed unless it can be accomplished under seal, identified as 11 being subject to this Order, and protected from being opened except by order of this 12 Court. 13 7. the disclosing party will have the right to exclude from attendance at the the originals of the deposition transcripts and all copies of the deposition must All confidential information designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or 14 “CONFIDENTIAL FOR COUNSEL ONLY” must not be disclosed by the receiving party 15 to anyone other than those persons designated within this order and must be handled in the 16 manner set forth below and, in any event, must not be used for any purpose other than in 17 connection with this litigation, unless and until such designation is removed either by 18 agreement of the parties, or by order of the Court. 19 8. Information designated “CONFIDENTIAL - FOR COUNSEL ONLY” must 20 be viewed only by counsel (as defined in paragraph 3) of the receiving party, and by 21 independent experts under the conditions set forth in this Paragraph. The right of any 22 independent expert to receive any confidential information will be subject to the advance 23 approval of such expert by the producing party or by permission of the Court. The party 24 seeking approval of an independent expert must provide the producing party with the name 25 and curriculum vitae of the proposed independent expert, and an executed copy of the form 26 attached hereto as Exhibit A, in advance of providing any confidential information of the 27 producing party to the expert. Any objection by the producing party to an independent 28 expert receiving confidential information must be made in writing within fourteen (14) 4 20-CV-1453-JLS-WVG 1 days following receipt of the identification of the proposed expert. Confidential 2 information may be disclosed to an independent expert if the fourteen (14) day period has 3 passed and no objection has been made. The approval of independent experts must not be 4 unreasonably withheld. 5 9. Information designated “CONFIDENTIAL” must be viewed only by counsel 6 (as defined in paragraph 3) of the receiving party, by independent experts (pursuant to the 7 terms of paragraph 8), by court personnel, and by the additional individuals listed below, 8 provided each such individual has read this Order in advance of disclosure and has agreed 9 in writing to be bound by its terms: 10 a) Plaintiff ALBERTO LOPEZ; 11 b) Executives who are required to participate in policy decisions with reference 12 to this action; 13 c) 14 necessary to consult, in the discretion of such counsel, in preparation for trial of this 15 action; and 16 d) 17 above. 18 10. Technical personnel of the parties with whom Counsel for the parties find it Stenographic and clerical employees associated with the individuals identified With respect to material designated “CONFIDENTIAL” or 19 “CONFIDENTIAL – FOR COUNSEL ONLY,” any person indicated on the face of the 20 document to be its originator, author or a recipient of a copy of the document, may be 21 shown the same. 22 11. All information which has been designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or 23 “CONFIDENTIAL -FOR COUNSEL ONLY” by the producing or disclosing party, and 24 any and all reproductions of that information, must be retained in the custody of the counsel 25 for the receiving party identified in paragraph 3, except that independent experts authorized 26 to view such information under the terms of this Order may retain custody of copies such 27 as are necessary for their participation in this litigation. 28 /// 5 20-CV-1453-JLS-WVG 1 12. In the event a party seeks to file with the Court any confidential information 2 subject to protection under this Order, that party must take appropriate action to ensure that 3 the document receives proper protection from public disclosure, including: (a) filing a 4 redacted document with the consent of the party who designated the document as 5 confidential; (b) where appropriate (e.g., in relation to discovery and evidentiary motion), 6 submitting the document solely for in camera review; or (c) when the preceding measures 7 are inadequate, seeking permission to file the document under seal by filing a motion for 8 leave to file under seal pursuant to all applicable standards and rules. The burden of filing 9 the motion for leave to file under seal and of demonstrating the need for appropriateness 10 of a sealing order is borne by the party contending the document(s) should be filed in such 11 manner. Regardless of whether the parties agree, it remains the Court’s independent 12 obligation to determine whether a seal is appropriate for any given document or portion 13 thereof. When a party to this Order seeks to file documents that another party believes may 14 warrant sealing, but is not the party who may be prejudiced by the document(s) becoming 15 part of the public record, the filing party shall provide the potentially-prejudiced party with 16 written notice of its intent to file such documents at least fourteen (14) days before doing 17 so. After being provided such notice, the potentially harmed party will then have seven (7) 18 days to file with the Court a motion for sealing. The Court will rule on the motion as 19 promptly as possible. If the potentially harmed party fails to timely file the motion for 20 sealing, the filing party may file the documents without them being under seal. 21 13. No document shall be filed under seal unless counsel secures a court order 22 allowing the filing of a document under seal. An application to file a document under seal 23 shall be served on opposing counsel, and on the person or entity that has custody and 24 control of the document, if different from opposing counsel. If opposing counsel, or the 25 person or entity who has custody and control of the document, wishes to oppose the 26 application, he/she must contact the chambers of the judge who will rule on the application, 27 to notify the judge’s staff that an opposition to the application will be filed. If an application 28 to file a document under seal is granted by Judge Gallo, a redacted version of the document 6 20-CV-1453-JLS-WVG 1 shall be e-filed. A courtesy copy of the unredacted document shall be delivered to Judge 2 Gallo’s chambers. 3 14. At any stage of these proceedings, any party may object to a designation of 4 the materials as confidential information. The party objecting to confidentiality must 5 notify, in writing, counsel for the designating party of the objected-to materials and the 6 grounds for the objection. If the dispute is not resolved consensually between the parties 7 within seven (7) days of receipt of such a notice of objections, the objecting party may 8 move the Court for a ruling on the objection. The materials at issue must be treated as 9 confidential information, as designated by the designating party, until the Court has ruled 10 11 on the objection or the matter has been otherwise resolved. 15. All confidential information must be held in confidence by those inspecting 12 or receiving it, and must be used only for purposes of this action. Counsel for each party, 13 and each person receiving confidential information must take reasonable precautions to 14 prevent the unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of such information. If confidential 15 information is disclosed to any person other than a person authorized by this Order, the 16 party responsible for the unauthorized disclosure must immediately bring all pertinent facts 17 relating to the unauthorized disclosure to the attention of the other parties and, without 18 prejudice to any rights and remedies of the other parties, make every effort to prevent 19 further disclosure by the party and by the person(s) receiving the unauthorized disclosure. 20 16. No party will be responsible to another party for disclosure of confidential 21 information under this Order if the information in question is not labeled or otherwise 22 identified as such in accordance with this Order. 23 17. If a party, through inadvertence, produces any confidential information 24 without labeling or marking or otherwise designating it as such in accordance with this 25 Order, the designating party may give written notice to the receiving party that the 26 document or thing produced is deemed confidential information, and that the document or 27 thing produced should be treated as such in accordance with that designation under this 28 Order. The receiving party must treat the materials as confidential, once the designating 7 20-CV-1453-JLS-WVG 1 party so notifies the receiving party. If the receiving party has disclosed the materials before 2 receiving the designation, the receiving party must notify the designating party in writing 3 of each such disclosure. Counsel for the parties will agree on a mutually acceptable manner 4 of labeling or marking the inadvertently produced materials as “CONFIDENTIAL” or 5 “CONFIDENTIAL - FOR COUNSEL ONLY” - SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER. 6 18. If this matter proceeds to trial, nothing in this Protective Order shall restrict 7 the ability of the parties to present trial to the trier of fact. Upon the request of a party, the 8 Court may implement appropriate procedures to protect confidential information subject 9 to protection under this Order which may be disclosed at trial or any hearing in this matter 10 11 consistent with the spirit and scope of this Protective Order. 19. Nothing within this order will prejudice the right of any party to object to the 12 production of any discovery material on the grounds that the material is protected as 13 privileged or as attorney work product. 14 20. Nothing in this Order will bar counsel from rendering advice to their clients 15 with respect to this litigation and, in the course thereof, relying upon any information 16 designated as confidential information, provided that the contents of the information must 17 not be disclosed. 18 21. This Order will be without prejudice to the right of any party to oppose 19 production of any information for lack of relevance or any other ground other than the mere 20 presence of confidential information. The existence of this Order must not be used by either 21 party as a basis for discovery that is otherwise improper under the Federal Rules of Civil 22 Procedure. 23 24 25 22. Nothing within this order will be construed to prevent disclosure of confidential information if such disclosure is required by law or by order of the Court. 23. Upon final termination of this action, including any and all appeals, counsel 26 for each party must, upon request of the producing party, return all confidential information 27 to the party that produced the information, including any copies, excerpts, and summaries 28 of that information, or must destroy same at the option of the receiving party, and must 8 20-CV-1453-JLS-WVG 1 purge all such information from all machine-readable media on which it resides. 2 Notwithstanding the foregoing, counsel for each party may retain all pleadings, briefs, 3 memoranda, motions, and other documents filed with the Court that refer to or incorporate 4 confidential information, and will continue to be bound by this Order with respect to all 5 such retained information. Further, attorney work product materials that contain 6 confidential information need not be destroyed, but, if they are not destroyed, the person 7 in possession of the attorney work product will continue to be bound by this Order with 8 respect to all such retained information. 9 24. The restrictions and obligations set forth within this order will not apply to 10 any information that: (a) the parties agree should not be designated confidential 11 information; (b) the parties agree, or the Court rules, is already public knowledge; (c) the 12 parties agree, or the Court rules, has become public knowledge other than as a result of 13 disclosure by the receiving party, its employees, or its agents in violation of this Order; or 14 (d) has come or will come into the receiving party's legitimate knowledge independently 15 of the production by the designating party. Prior knowledge must be established by pre- 16 production documentation. 17 25. The restrictions and obligations within this order will not be deemed to 18 prohibit discussions of any confidential information with anyone if that person already has 19 or obtains legitimate possession of that information. 20 21 26. transmission is acceptable for all notification purposes within this Order. 22 23 Transmission by email or some other currently utilized method of 27. This Order may be modified by agreement of the parties, subject to approval by the Court. 24 28. The Court may modify the terms and conditions of this Order for good cause, 25 or in the interest of justice, or on its own order at any time in these proceedings. The parties 26 prefer that the Court provide them with notice of the Court's intent to modify the Order and 27 /// 28 /// 9 20-CV-1453-JLS-WVG 1 2 3 4 the content of those modifications, prior to entry of such an order. IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: June 9, 2021 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 10 20-CV-1453-JLS-WVG
]]>
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You
should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
