TEN-X, LLC v. Rational Real Estate XII, LLC ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 TEN-X, LLC Case No. 8:23-cv-00200-JWH-JDE 12 Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 13 vs. 14 RATIONAL REAL ESTATE XII, LLC; 15 and DOES 1 through 10, 16 Defendants. 17 18 Per the stipulation of Plaintiff Ten-X, LLC and Defendant Rational Real Estate 19 XII, LLC (“Parties”), and for good cause shown, the Court finds and orders as follows: 20 A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 21 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 22 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure 23 and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. 24 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following 25 Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer 26 blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it 27 affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items 28 1 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 2 This action is likely to involve trade secrets and other valuable proprietary 3 information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any 4 purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and 5 proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, sales data, internal 6 business strategies, and other confidential business or financial information, or 7 information regarding confidential business practices. The confidential information at 8 issue is generally unavailable to the public and may be privileged or otherwise protected 9 from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common 10 law. 11 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 12 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect 13 information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are 14 permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the 15 conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends 16 of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the 17 intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical 18 reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been 19 maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should 20 not be part of the public record of this case. 21 C. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL 22 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 23 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under 24 seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the 25 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file 26 material under seal. 27 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 28 1 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and 2 County of Honolulu, 477 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors 3 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 4 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good 5 cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with 6 proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to 7 Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of 8 Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the 9 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought 10 to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable— 11 constitute good cause. 12 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 13 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief 14 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See 15 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item 16 or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal in 17 connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must 18 articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the 19 requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file 20 documents under seal must be provided by declaration. 21 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its 22 entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 23 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only 24 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be 25 filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should 26 include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 27 / / / 28 1 2. DEFINITIONS 2 2.1 Action: the above-captioned pending federal lawsuit entitled, Ten-X, LLC 3 v. Rational Real Estate XII, LLC, No. 8:23-cv-00200-JWH-JDE, in the United States 4 District Court, Central District of California. 5 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of 6 information or items under this Order. 7 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how 8 it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under 9 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause 10 Statement. 11 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 12 support staff). 13 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 14 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 15 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 16 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of 17 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among 18 other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated 19 in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 20 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 21 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an 22 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 23 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 24 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 25 counsel. 26 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 27 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 28 1 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to 2 this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have 3 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that has 4 appeared on behalf of that party, including support staff. 5 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 6 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 7 support staffs). 8 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 9 Discovery Material in this Action. 10 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 11 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 12 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and 13 their employees and subcontractors. 14 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated 15 as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 16 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 17 from a Producing Party. 18 3. SCOPE 19 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected 20 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from 21 Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected 22 Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their 23 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 24 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial 25 judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 26 In addition, a Receiving Party that receives any Disclosures or Discovery 27 Material by another Party or Non-Party may only use those Disclosures or Discovery 28 1 Disclosures or Discovery Material may be disclosed to the categories of persons under 2 section 7.2 below. 3 4. DURATION 4 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the court-filed information to be introduced 5 that was previously designated as confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective 6 order becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the public, 7 including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to 8 proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. 9 City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing 10 “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling 11 reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). 12 Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the 13 commencement of the trial. 14 Otherwise, even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality 15 obligations imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees 16 otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be 17 deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with or 18 without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of 19 all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time 20 limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable 21 law. 22 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 23 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 24 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this 25 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies 26 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection 27 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that 28 1 which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this 2 Order. 3 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that 4 are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose 5 (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 6 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party 7 to sanctions. 8 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 9 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 10 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 11 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this 12 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or 13 ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order 14 must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced. 15 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 16 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 17 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 18 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix, at a minimum, the legend 19 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 20 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 21 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected 22 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 23 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 24 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 25 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before 26 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed 27 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants 28 1 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified 2 documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page 3 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 4 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected 5 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 6 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party 7 identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the 8 deposition, of all protected testimony designated as Protected Material. Alternatively, 9 the Designating Party may, within a reasonable time not to exceed twenty-one (21) 10 days, after the deposition transcript is delivered to the Designating Party, provide to all 11 counsel written notice identifying the specific portion (by page and line numbers) that 12 the Designating Party seeks to protect, and all parties to the litigation will mark the 13 pages with the appropriate legends. 14 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and 15 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 16 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 17 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 18 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 19 portion(s). 20 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 21 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the 22 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon 23 timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to 24 assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 25 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 26 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 27 designation of confidentiality at any time consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order. 28 1 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 2 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1, et seq. Any discovery motion must strictly 3 comply with the procedures set forth in Local Rules 37-1, 37-2, and 37-3. 4 6.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a joint 5 stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2. 6 6.4 Burden. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall 7 be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 8 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) 9 may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has 10 waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford 11 the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the 12 Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 13 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 14 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 15 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 16 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such 17 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 18 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving 19 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 20 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 21 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 22 authorized under this Order. 23 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise 24 ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving 25 Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 26 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 27 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 28 1 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 2 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 3 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 4 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 5 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 6 (d) the Court and its personnel; 7 (e) court reporters and their staff; 8 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 9 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 10 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 11 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 12 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 13 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in 14 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party 15 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they will not 16 be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 17 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed 18 by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed deposition 19 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately 20 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted 21 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 22 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 23 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 24 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 25 IN OTHER LITIGATION 26 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that 27 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 28 1 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall 2 include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 3 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to 4 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or 5 order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this 6 Stipulated Protective Order; and 7 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued 8 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 9 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the 10 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as 11 “CONFIDENTIAL,” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or 12 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 13 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court 14 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as 15 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful 16 directive from another court. 17 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 18 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 19 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non- 20 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced 21 by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief 22 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a 23 Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 24 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 25 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 26 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential 27 information, then the Party shall: 28 1 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 2 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement 3 with a Non-Party; 4 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 5 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 6 specific description of the information requested; and 7 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non- 8 Party, if requested. 9 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within 14 10 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may 11 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If 12 the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any 13 information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement 14 with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court. Absent a court order to the 15 contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this 16 Court of its Protected Material. 17 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 18 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 19 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 20 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing 21 the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve 22 all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to 23 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) 24 request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be 25 Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 26 / / / 27 / / / 28 1 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 2 PROTECTED MATERIAL 3 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 4 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the 5 obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 6 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure 7 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior 8 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the 9 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or 10 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the 11 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to 12 the Court. 13 12. MISCELLANEOUS 14 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 15 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 16 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 17 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 18 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 19 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 20 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 21 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 22 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 23 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific 24 Protected Material at issue; good cause must be shown in the request to file under seal. 25 If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the Court, then the 26 Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless otherwise 27 instructed by the Court. 28 1/13. FINAL DISPOSITION 2 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 3 || days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all 4 | Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this 5 || subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations. 6 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected 7 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party 8 | must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person 9 | or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by 10 | category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or □□□□□□□□□ 11 | and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts. 12 | compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 13 | Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, counsel are entitled to retain ar 14 | archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts. 15 | legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney 16 | work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contair 17 | Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected 18 | Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). 19 || 14. VIOLATION 20 Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate measures 21 || including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 2 23 For good cause shown, IT IS SO ORDERED. 24 □ 25 | Dated: December 04, 2023 By: ye Ke, 26 ited Staten Magistrate tidge 27 28 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 4 I, ________________________________________________ [print full name], 5 of ____________________________________________________ [print full address], 6 declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the 7 Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the 8 Central District of California in the case of Ten-X, LLC v. Rational Real Estate XII, 9 LLC, No. 8:23-cv-00200-JWH-JDE. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all of 10 the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that 11 failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of 12 contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or 13 item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in 14 strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for 16 the 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. 19 I hereby appoint _____________________________________ [print full name] 20 of __________________________________________________ [print full address and 21 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this 22 action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. 23 24 Date: _________________________________ 25 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 26 Printed name: ______________________________ 27 Signature: _________________________________ 28