Bajwa v. United States Life Insurance Company ( 2019 )

1 Jodi K. Swick No. 228634 Allison J. Fernandez No. 272853 2 McDOWELL HETHERINGTON LLP 1 Kaiser Plaza, Suite 340 3 Oakland, CA 94612 Telephone: 510.628.2145 4 Facsimile: 510.628.2146 Email: jodi.swick@mhllp.com 5 allison.fernandez@mhllp.com 6 Attorneys for Defendant THE UNITED STATES LIFE INSURANCE 7 COMPANY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA –FRESNO DIVISION 10 11 AHSAN BAJWA, Case No. 1:19-cv-00938-LJO-SAB 12 Plaintiff, Honorable Lawrence J. O’Neill 13 Magistrate Judge Stanley A. Boone v. 14 ORDER RE STIPULATED PROTECTIVE UNITED STATES LIFE INSURANCE ORDER 15 COMPANY, and DOES 1through 50, inclusive, Complaint filed: June 6, 2019 16 Removal filed: July 10, 2019 Defendants. 17 DISCOVERY MATTER 18 19 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 20 Disclosure and discovery activity in this Action are likely to involve production of 21 confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public 22 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this Action may be warranted. 23 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated 24 Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on 25 all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure 26 and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment 27 under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 13.3 28 below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 1 under seal; Civil Local Rule 141(a)-(f) sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the 2 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under 3 seal. 4 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 5 This Action is likely to involve defendant The United States Life Insurance Company in the 6 City of New York’s proprietary information, trade secrets, and other valuable research, 7 development, commercial, financial, or technical information, including but not limited to 8 insurance claims handling manuals, procedures, and policies, for which special protection from 9 public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this Action is warranted. 10 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to prevent unnecessary court- 11 involvement, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery 12 materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure 13 that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in 14 the conduct of trial in this Action, to address their handling at the end of this Action, and serve the 15 ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this Action. 16 It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for 17 tactical reasons, and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been 18 maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part 19 of the public record in this Action. 20 3. DEFINITIONS 21 3.1 Action: Ahsan Bajwa v. United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New 22 York et al., Case No. 1:19-cv-00938-LJO-SAB, in the United States District Court for the Eastern 23 District of California. 24 3.2 Authorized Individual: a person enumerated in Sections 8.2.1-8.2.8, below. 25 3.3 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of 26 information or items under this Order. 27 3.4 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is 28 generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule 1 of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement. 2 3.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and In-House Counsel (as well as their support 3 staff). 4 3.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items that it 5 produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 6 3.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the medium 7 or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things, testimony, 8 transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to 9 discovery in this Action. 10 3.8 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter pertinent to 11 this action who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a 12 consultant in this Action. 13 3.9 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a Party to this Action. House 14 Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel. 15 3.10 Non-Party: attorneys who are not employees of a Party to this Action, but are 16 retained to represent or advise a Party to this Action and have appeared in this Action on behalf of 17 that Party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that Party (and includes 18 support staff). 19 3.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a Party to this Action 20 but are retained to represent or advise a Party to this Action and have appeared in this Action on 21 behalf of that Party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that Party 22 (and includes support staff). 23 3.12 Party: any Party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, employees, 24 consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support staffs). 25 3.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery 26 Material in this Action. 27 3.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support services 28 (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and 1 organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and 2 subcontractors. 3 3.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as 4 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 5 3.16 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from a 6 Producing Party. 7 4. SCOPE 8 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected Material 9 (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) 10 all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, 11 conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 12 However, the protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order do not cover the following 13 information: (a) any information that is in the public domain at the time of disclosure to a Receiving 14 Party or becomes part of the public domain after its disclosure to a Receiving Party as a result of 15 publication not involving a violation of this Order, including becoming part of the public record 16 through trial or otherwise; and (b) any information known to the Receiving Party prior to the 17 disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the disclosure from a source who obtained the 18 information lawfully and under no obligation of confidentiality to the Designating Party. 19 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by orders of the trial judge. This 20 Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 21 5. DURATION 22 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by this 23 Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order 24 otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims 25 and defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the 26 completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, 27 including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to 28 applicable law. 1 6. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 2 6.1. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each Party or 3 Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order must take care to 4 limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The 5 Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or 6 oral or written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, 7 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within 8 the ambit of this Order. Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. 9 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 10 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary 11 expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions. 12 6.2. Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this Order 13 (see, e.g., second paragraph of Section 6.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, 14 Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so 15 designated before the material is disclosed or produced. Designation in conformity with this Order 16 requires: 17 6.2.1. for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but 18 excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party 19 affix, at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”) to 20 each page that 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 portion(s) 22 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). A Party or Non-Party that makes original 23 documents available for inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting 24 Party has indicated which material it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and 25 before the designation, all material made available for inspection shall be deemed 26 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and 27 produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for 28 protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party 1 must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a 2 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must 3 clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 4 6.2.2. for testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings, that 5 the Designating Party identify on the record, before the close of the deposition, hearing, or other 6 proceeding, all protected testimony. A Party shall give advance notice if they expect a deposition 7 or other pretrial or trial proceeding to include Protected Material so that the other parties can ensure 8 that only Authorized Individuals are present at those proceedings when such material is disclosed 9 or used. The use of a document as an exhibit at a deposition shall not in any way affect its 10 designation. Transcripts containing Protected Material shall have the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” 11 on the title page noting the presence of Protected Material, and the title page shall be followed by 12 a list of all pages (including line numbers as appropriate) that have been designated. The 13 Designating Party shall inform the court reporter of these requirements. 14 6.2.3. for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any 15 other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” in a prominent 16 place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored. If only a 17 portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent 18 practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s). 19 6.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to 20 designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s 21 right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a 22 designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated 23 in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 24 25 7. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 26 7.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of 27 confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order. 28 1 7.2. Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process 2 under Local Rule 251 et seq 3 7.3. Burden of Persuasion. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding 4 shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose 5 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 6 Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived the confidentiality 7 designation, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to 8 which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 9 8. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 10 8.1. Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or 11 produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action only for prosecuting, 12 defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to 13 the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has 14 been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of Section 14 below 15 (FINAL DISPOSITION). Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party 16 at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized 17 under this Order. 18 8.2. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered 19 by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose 20 any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 21 8.2.1. the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well as 22 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the 23 information for this Action; 24 8.2.2. the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the 25 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 26 8.2.3. Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure 27 is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement 28 to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 1 8.2.4. the Court and its personnel; 2 8.2.5. court reporters and their staff; 3 8.2.6. professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional Vendors 4 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 5 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 6 8.2.7. during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the Action 7 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party requests that the 8 witness sign the “Acknowledgement and Agreement to be Bound” (Exhibit A); and (2) they will 9 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and 10 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered 11 by the Court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal 12 Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to 13 anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 14 8.2.8. any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, mutually 15 agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 16 9. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER 17 LITIGATION 18 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels 19 disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party 20 must: 21 9.1 promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall include a 22 copy of the subpoena or court order; 23 9.2 promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue in the 24 other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this 25 Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 26 9.3 cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the 27 Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 28 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena 1 or court order shall not produce any information designated in this Action as “CONFIDENTIAL” 2 before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has 3 obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and 4 expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these 5 provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to 6 disobey a lawful directive from another court. 7 10. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED IN THIS 8 LITIGATION 9 10.1 The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in 10 this action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in 11 connection with this Action is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing 12 in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional 13 protections. 14 10.2 In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce a Non- 15 Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the 16 Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then the Party shall: 17 10.2.1 promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that 18 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party; 19 10.2.2 promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 20 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific 21 description of the information requested; and 22 10.2.3 make the information requested available for inspection by the Non- 23 Party, if requested. 24 10.3 If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within fourteen (14) 25 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce the 26 Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely 27 seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession 28 or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination 1 by the Court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense 2 of seeking protection in this Court of its Protected Material. 3 11. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 4 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected 5 Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated Protective 6 Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the 7 unauthorized disclosures; (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected 8 Material; (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the 9 terms of this Order; and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 10 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 11 12. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE PROTECTED 12 MATERIAL 13 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently 14 produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the 15 Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision 16 is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that 17 provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 18 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a 19 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, 20 the parties may incorporate their agreement in the Stipulated Protective Order submitted to the 21 Court. 22 13. MISCELLANEOUS 23 13.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to 24 seek its modification by the Court in the future. 25 13.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective Order 26 no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any 27 information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no 28 Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered 1 by this Protective Order. 2 13.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material 3 must comply with Civil Local Rule 141, except as further clarified and explained below. Protected 4 Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 5 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is 6 denied by the Court, then the previously filed material shall be immediately accepted by the court 7 and become information in the public record and the information will be deemed filed as of the 8 date that the request to file the Protected Information under seal was made. 9 14. FINAL DISPOSITION 10 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section 5 (DURATION), within 11 sixty (60) days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all 12 Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this Section (FINAL 13 DISPOSITION), “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, 14 and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected 15 Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the 16 Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day 17 deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was 18 returned or destroyed; and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, 19 abstracts, compilations, summaries, or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 20 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy 21 of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, 22 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant 23 and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival 24 copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set 25 forth in Section 5 (DURATION). 26 15. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate measures, including, 27 without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 28 1 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 2 Dated: McDOWELL HETHERINGTON LLP 3 4 By: /S/ Allison J. Fernandez 5 Jodi K. Swick Allison J. Fernandez 6 7 Attorneys for Defendant THE UNITED STATES LIFE INSURANCE 8 COMPANY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK 9 Dated: WILKINS, DROLSHAGEN & CZESHINSKI LLP 10 11 12 By: /S/ James H. Wilkins 13 James H. Wilkins (as authorized on 9/3/19) Attorney for Plaintiff, AHSAN BAJWA 14 15 16 17 ORDER 18 Pursuant to the stipulation of the parties, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 19 1. The protective order is entered; 20 2. The parties are advised that pursuant to the Local Rules of the United States District 21 Court, Eastern District of California, any documents which are to be filed under seal 22 will require a written request which complies with Local Rule 141; 23 3. The party making a request to file documents under seal shall be required to 24 show good cause for documents attached to a nondispositive motion or 25 compelling reasons for documents attached to a dispositive motion. Pintos v. 26 Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-78 (9th Cir. 2009); and 27 4. If a party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the Court, then 28 1 the previously filed material shall be immediately accepted by the court and 2 become information in the public record and the information will be deemed filed 3 as of the date that the request to file the Protected Information under seal was 4 made. 5 6 || IT IS SO ORDERED. □□ (Se 7|| Dated: _ September 6, 2019 OF g UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Poca Nn 1210 ne MNO2TIN CAR 12 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, ________________________________________ [print or type full name], of 4 _______________________________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty 5 of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was 6 issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California on __________ 7 [date] in the case of Ahsan Bajwa v. The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New 8 York et al., Case No. 1:19–cv–00938–LJO–SAB. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all 9 the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so 10 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly 11 promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this 12 Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions 13 of this Order. 14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Eastern 15 District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, 16 even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this Action. 17 I hereby appoint _______________________________ [print or type full name] of 18 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and telephone number] 19 as my California agent for service of process in connection with this Action or any proceedings 20 related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. 21 Date: ____________________ 22 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 23 Printed name: _______________________________ 24 Signature: __________________________________ 25 26 27 28