Brian Corey v. Mama Lolas LLC ( 2024 )

Brian D. Peters, SBN. 174688 2 Email: bpeters@kaufmandolowich.com Noah T. Goldstein, SBN. 352472 3 Email: noah.goldstein@kaufmandolowich.com 21515 Hawthorne Blvd., Suite 450 4 Torrance, CA 90503 Telephone: (310) 540-2000 5 Facsimile: (310) 540-6609 6 Attorneys for Defendant MAMA LOLA’S, LLC 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA – SANTA ANA DIVISION 10 11 BRIAN COREY, an individual, ) Case No. 8:23-CV-02370-JWH-DFM ) 12 ) ) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 13 Plaintiff, ) ORDER (FOR STANDARD ) LITIGATION) 14 ) ) 15 v. ) ) 16 ) ) 17 MAMA LOLA’S, LLC, and DOES 1 ) ) through 25, 18 ) ) 19 ) ) Defendants. 20 ) 21 22 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 23 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 24 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public 25 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may 26 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to 27 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this 28 1 2 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends 3 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment 4 under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth 5 in Section 12.3 below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to 6 file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the 7 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party 8 seeks permission from the Court to file material under seal. 9 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 10 This action is likely to involve financial, technical and/or proprietary 11 information of Defendant, as well as information relating to other individuals who 12 were formerly employed by Defendant, for which special protection from public 13 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is 14 warranted. Such confidential, proprietary and private materials and information 15 consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial information, 16 information regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential or 17 commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third 18 parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be 19 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, 20 court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of 21 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of 22 discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep 23 confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of 24 such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling 25 at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such 26 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information 27 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so 28 2 2 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public 3 record of this case. 4 2. DEFINITIONS 5 2.1. Action: This pending federal law suit. 6 2.2. Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the 7 designation of information or items under this Order. 8 2.3. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information (regardless of 9 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 10 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in 11 the Good Cause Statement. 12 2.4. Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 13 their support staff). 14 2.5. Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates information or 15 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 16 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 17 2.6. Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless 18 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 19 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 20 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 21 2.7. Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 22 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 23 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 24 2.8. House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 25 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 26 counsel. 27 28 3 2 or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 3 2.10. Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a 4 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and 5 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm 6 which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 7 2.11. Party: Any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 8 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 9 support staffs). 10 2.12. Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 11 Discovery Material in this Action. 12 2.13. Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation 13 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 14 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 15 and their employees and subcontractors. 16 2.14. Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 17 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 18 2.15. Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 19 Material from a Producing Party. 20 3. SCOPE 21 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 22 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 23 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 24 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 25 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 26 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 27 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 28 4 2 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as 3 confidential or maintained pursuant to this Protective Order becomes public and will 4 be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless 5 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are 6 made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of 7 Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” 8 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 9 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the 10 terms of this Protective Order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial. 11 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 12 5.1. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection 13 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under 14 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 15 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for 16 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written 17 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, 18 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept 19 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 20 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 21 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 22 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 23 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 24 Party to sanctions. 25 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 26 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 27 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 28 5 2 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 3 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 4 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 5 produced. 6 Designation in conformity with this Order requires the following: 7 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 8 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 9 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 10 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 11 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 12 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected 13 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 14 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 15 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 16 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and 17 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 18 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the 19 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which 20 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, 21 before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the 22 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a 23 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing 24 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate 25 markings in the margins). 26 27 28 6 2 identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the 3 deposition all protected testimony. 4 (c) For information produced in form other than document and for 5 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 6 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 7 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 8 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 9 portion(s). 10 5.3. Inadvertent Failure to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 11 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 12 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 13 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 14 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 15 Order. 16 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 17 6.1. Timing of Challenges. Any party or Non-Party may challenge a 18 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 19 Scheduling Order. 20 6.2. Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 21 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. 22 6.3. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 23 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 24 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 25 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating 26 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall 27 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 28 7 2 challenge. 3 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 4 7.1. Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 5 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 6 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such 7 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 8 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a 9 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of Section 13 below (FINAL 10 DISPOSITION). 11 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 12 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 13 authorized under this Order. 14 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 15 otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 16 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 17 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 18 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well 19 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary 20 to disclose the information for this Action; 21 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the 22 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 23 (c) experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 24 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 25 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 26 (d) the Court and its personnel; 27 (e) court reporters and their staff; 28 8 2 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary or this Action and who have 3 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to be Bound” attached as Exhibit A 4 hereto; 5 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 6 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 7 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the 8 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (i) the deposing party 9 requests that the witness sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound;” 10 and (ii) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they 11 sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound,” unless otherwise agreed 12 by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed deposition 13 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately 14 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted 15 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 16 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 17 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 18 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 19 IN OTHER LITIGATION 20 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 21 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 22 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 23 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such 24 notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 25 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or 26 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 27 28 9 2 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 3 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 4 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 5 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 6 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 7 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the Court from which the 8 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 9 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 10 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions 11 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action 12 to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 13 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 14 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 15 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 16 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information 17 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 18 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 19 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 20 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 21 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 22 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 23 confidential information, then the Party shall: 24 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non- 25 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 26 agreement with a Non-Party; 27 28 10 2 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 3 specific description of the information requested; and 4 (3) Make the information requested available for inspection by the 5 Non-Party, if requested. 6 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 7 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 8 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery 9 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall 10 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 11 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 12 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and 13 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 14 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 15 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 16 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 17 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (1) notify in 18 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (2) use its best efforts 19 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (3) inform the person or 20 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 21 and (4) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 22 Agreement to be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 23 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 24 PROTECTED MATERIAL 25 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 26 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 27 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 28 11 2 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production 3 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and 4 (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a 5 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work 6 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the Stipulated 7 Protective Order submitted to the Court. 8 12. MISCELLANEOUS 9 12.1. Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 10 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 11 12.2. Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 12 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 13 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 14 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 15 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 16 12.3. Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 17 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material 18 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 19 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material 20 under seal is denied by the Court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 21 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the Court. 22 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 23 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section 5 above, within 24 sixty (60) days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party 25 must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. 26 As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, 27 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 28 12 2 Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if 3 not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that 4 (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was 5 returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any 6 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or 7 capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel 8 are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, 9 deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition 10 and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert 11 work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival 12 copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective 13 Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). 14 /// 15 /// 16 /// 17 /// 18 /// 19 /// 20 /// 21 /// 22 /// 23 /// 24 /// 25 /// 26 /// 27 /// 28 13 1/14. VIOLATION OF ORDER. 2 Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate 3 | measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary 4 | sanctions. 6 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 8 | Dated: July 9, 2024 KAUFMAN DOLOWICH LLP By: Gi fe 10 . NOAH T. GOLDSTEIN 11 Attorneys for Defendant MAMA LOLA’S, LLC 12 13 14 15 | Dated: July 9, 2024 THE GOULD LAW FIRM 16 17 By: MICHAEL A. GOULD 18 AARIN A. ZEIF Attorneys for Plaintiff 19 BRYAN COREY 20 21 | FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 22 23 24 | Dated: _July 9, 2024 25 HONORABLE DOUGLAS F. MCCORMICK 26 United States Magistrate Judge 27 28 14 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER (FOR STANDARD LITIGATION) 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 4 I, [print or type full name], of 5 [print or type full address], 6 declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the 7 Stipulated Protective Order that was issue by the United States District Court for the 8 Central District of California on _________, 202_ in the case of Bryan Corey v. 9 Mama Lola’s, LLC, Case No. 8:23-CV-02370-JWH-DFM. I agree to comply with 10 and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand 11 and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and 12 punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in 13 any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective 14 Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this 15 Order. 16 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 17 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 18 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 19 termination of this action. I hereby appoint [print or type 20 full name] of [print or type full address and 21 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with 22 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective 23 Order. 24 Date: 25 City and State where sworn and signed: 26 Printed Name: 27 Signature: 28 15