Fox v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc. ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RICK D. FOX, Case No. 1:22-cv-01197-ADA-SAB 12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING UNOPPOSED MOTION TO AMEND STIPULATED 13 v. PROTECTIVE ORDER 14 EXPERIAN INFORMATION SOLUTIONS, (ECF Nos. 28, 31) INC., 15 Defendant. 16 17 18 19 20 On March 31, 2023, Defendant Experian Information Solutions, Inc. filed a motion to 21 amend the protective order previously entered on March 3, 2023. (ECF No. 31.) The motion is 22 unopposed and shall be entered as follows: 23 AMENDED STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 24 1. The parties to this action have stipulated to the terms of this Protective Order; 25 accordingly, it is ORDERED: 26 2. Pursuant to Local Rule 141.1(c)(1) and (2), the parties anticipate that due to the 27 nature of Plaintiff’s claims and Defendants’ defenses, discovery will by definition include 28 proprietary and confidential business information as concerning Defendants and confidential 1 banking, income and/or tax records as concerning Plaintiff. The parties recognize the disclosure 2 of this proprietary and confidential business information poses a substantial risk to Defendants’ 3 business and financial interests. The parties anticipate discovery on the following topics, all of 4 which by definition implicate proprietary trade secrets with respect to Defendants: 1) details on 5 Defendants’ internal policies concerning, inter alia, credit reporting, investigating disputed 6 consumer information, and other policies relating to Plaintiff’s claims and Defendants’ defenses; 7 2) trade secret and business strategy information concerning Defendants’ processes like the 8 methodology Defendants use to generate credit scores, analyze data, and other processes relating 9 to Plaintiff’s claims and Defendants’ defenses; and, 3) confidential and sensitive information 10 concerning Defendants’ product offerings, sales and/or marketing strategies, and other product 11 information relating to Plaintiff’s claims and Defendant’s defenses. This information is not 12 otherwise available to the public, and the parties recognize and acknowledge that this information 13 becoming available to the public would be extremely valuable to Defendants’ competitors. The 14 parties also anticipate discovery on topics concerning Plaintiff’s background, much of which 15 shares the same confidential characteristics, including detailed credit information, Plaintiff’s 16 generalized background, Plaintiff’s income taxes, and other information concerning Plaintiff 17 relating to Plaintiff’s claims and Defendants’ defenses. The parties state that the above 18 descriptions are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all classes of information subject to this 19 Amended Stipulated Protective Order. However, this statement is made in compliance with the 20 requirements set forth in Local Rule 141.1(c)(1) and (2). 21 3. Pursuant to Local Rule 141.1(c)(3), the parties agree the details in the “Terms and 22 Conditions” set forth below should be entered by court order, rather than as an agreement by and 23 between the parties, because these terms will apply only to the immediate litigation. A protective 24 order entered by the Court will outline procedures for the parties to follow to expeditiously 25 resolve confidentiality and/or privilege disputes – ideally with minimal court involvement. A 26 court order will govern potential discovery from third parties who are non-parties to the 27 immediate litigation and may not otherwise be subject to a private agreement between the parties. 28 /// 1 4. TERMS AND CONDITIONS 2 1 Definitions. As used in this protective order: 3 (a) “attorney” means an attorney who has appeared in this action or is an employee 4 of any name firm and actively assisting an attorney of record in the matter; 5 (b) “confidential” means a document reasonably designated as confidential under 6 this protective order; 7 (c) “Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes Only” means a party believes in good faith 8 that, despite the provisions of this Protective Order, there is a substantial risk 9 of identifiable harm to the producing party if particular documents it designates 10 as “Confidential” are disclosed to all other parties or non-parties to this action, 11 the producing party may designate those particular documents as 12 “Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes Only.” 13 (d) “destroy” means to shred or delete information received. Nothing about the 14 term destroy shall prevent a lawyer from complying with professional and 15 ethical rules requiring preservation of a client’s file. 16 (e) “document” means information disclosed or produced in discovery, including 17 at a deposition; 18 (f) “notice” or “notify” means written notice, including email; 19 (g) “party” means a party to this action; and 20 (h) “protected document” means a document protected by a privilege or the work- 21 product doctrine. 22 2 Designating a Document or Deposition as Confidential or Confidential—Attorneys’ 23 Eyes Only. 24 (a) In making a confidentiality designation, the designating party represents that it 25 has a good-faith basis for contending that the document is “confidential,” as 26 defined by this order. 27 (b) No party shall designate any document or portion of any document as 28 confidential that he/she has not carefully reviewed; 1 (c) A party or non-party disclosing or producing a document may designate it as 2 confidential if the party or non-party reasonably contends that it contains 3 confidential or proprietary information. 4 (d) A party or non-party may designate a document as confidential by 5 conspicuously marking each page with the word “confidential.” Deposition 6 testimony may be designated as confidential: 7 (1) after the deposition, by notifying the parties and those who were present at 8 the deposition within 21 days after the deposition transcript becomes 9 available, unless otherwise agreed. 10 (e) If a witness is expected to testify as to confidential or proprietary information, 11 a party or non-party may request that the witness’s deposition be taken in the 12 presence of only those persons entitled to receive confidential documents 13 (f) If a producing party believes in good faith that, despite the provisions of this 14 Protective Order, there is a substantial risk of identifiable harm to the 15 producing party if particular documents it designates as “confidential” are 16 disclosed to all other parties or non-parties to this action, the producing party 17 may designate those particular documents as “Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes 18 Only.” 19 3 Who May Receive a Confidential Document. 20 (a) “All documents, transcripts, or other materials subject to this Order, and all 21 information derived therefrom (including, but not limited to, all testimony given in 22 a deposition, declaration, or otherwise, that refers, reflects, or otherwise discusses 23 any information designated “confidential” or “Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes 24 Only” hereunder), shall not be used, directly or indirectly, by any person or party 25 for any business, commercial, or competitive purposes or for any purpose whatsoever other than solely for the preparation and trial of this action in 26 accordance with the provisions of this Order.” 27 (b) No person receiving a confidential document may reveal it, except to: 28 1 (1) the court and its staff; 2 (2) an attorney or an attorney’s partner, associate, or staff; 3 (3) a person shown on the face of the confidential document to have authored 4 or received it; 5 (4) a court reporter or videographer retained in connection with this action; 6 (5) any juror or alternative juror; (6) Experts retained in connection with this action; 7 (7) Any witness in this action who has received the “Acknowledgement of 8 Understanding” (Exhibit A); 9 (8) Professional jury, trial consultants, mock jurors, and professional vendors, 10 who have received the “Acknowledgement of Understanding” (Exhibit 11 A); 12 (9) any person who is retained to assist a party or attorney with this action, 13 who has received the “Acknowledgement of Understanding” (Exhibit 14 A); 15 (c) If a confidential document is revealed to someone not entitled to receive it, the 16 parties must make reasonable efforts to retrieve it. 17 4 Who May Receive a “Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes Only” Document. 18 (a) Except with the prior written consent of the individual or entity designating a 19 document or portions of a document as “Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes Only,” 20 or pursuant to prior Order after notice, any document, transcript or pleading 21 given “Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes Only” treatment under this Order, and 22 any information contained in or derived from any such materials (including but 23 not limited to, all deposition testimony that refers to, reflects or otherwise 24 discusses any information designated “Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes Only” 25 hereunder) may not be disclosed other than in accordance with this Order and 26 may not be disclosed to any person other than: 27 (1) a party’s retained outside counsel of record in this action, as well as 28 1 employees of said outside counsel to whom it is reasonably 2 necessary to disclose the information for this litigation and who have 3 received the “Acknowledgment of Understanding” (Exhibit A); 4 (2) experts specifically retained as consultants or expert witnesses in 5 connection with this litigation who have received the 6 “Acknowledgment of Understanding” (Exhibit A); (3) the Court and its personnel; 7 (4) any juror or alternative juror; 8 (5) court reporters, their staffs, and professional vendors to whom 9 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have 10 received the “Acknowledgment of Understanding” (Exhibit A); and 11 (6) the author of the document or the original source of the information. 12 5 Correcting an Error in Designation. A party or non-party who discloses or produces 13 a confidential document not designated as confidential may, within 7 days after discovering the 14 error, provide notice of the error and produce a copy of the document designated as 15 confidential. 16 6 Use of a Confidential Document in Court. 17 (a) Filing. To the extent any motions, briefs, pleadings, deposition transcripts, or 18 other papers to be filed with the Court incorporate documents or information 19 subject to this Order, the party filing such papers shall designate such materials, or 20 portions thereof, as “Confidential” or “Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes Only,” and 21 shall file them with the clerk under seal. The parties shall comply with the Court’s 22 local rule governing filing under seal. This protective order, however, does not 23 authorize the filing of any document under seal. A confidential document may be 24 filed only in accordance with the Court’s local rule governing the filing of sealed 25 documents. 26 7 Changing a Confidential Document’s Designation. 27 (a) Document disclosed or produced by a party. A confidential document disclosed or 28 1 produced by a party remains confidential unless the parties agree to change its 2 designation or the court orders otherwise. 3 (b) Document produced by a non-party. A confidential document produced by a non- 4 party remains confidential unless the non-party agrees to change its designation or 5 the court orders otherwise after providing an opportunity for the non-party to be 6 heard. (c) Changing a designation by court order. If a party challenges the confidentiality 7 designation of a document, the parties shall meet and confer concerning that issue 8 within 10 days from the date the challenge is made. If the parties cannot agree 9 after they meet and confer, the designating party may file a motion seeking entry 10 of a protective order concerning the specific document, seeking to have the Court 11 designate it as confidential. That motion shall be filed no later than 21 (twenty- 12 one) days after the parties meet and confer as discussed earlier in this paragraph. 13 All parties shall continue to maintain the material in question as confidential until 14 the court rules on the challenge. 15 (d) If the motion affects a document produced by a non-party then, with respect to the 16 motion, that non-party is entitled to the same notice and opportunity to be heard as 17 a party. The party or non-party who designated a document as confidential must 18 show that the designation satisfies Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c). 19 8 Handling a Confidential Document after Termination of Litigation. 20 (a) Within 60 days after the termination of this action (including any appeals), each 21 party must: 22 (1) return or destroy all confidential documents. 23 (b) Notwithstanding paragraph 7(a), each attorney may retain a copy of any 24 confidential document submitted to the court and each attorney may retain records 25 as required by the professional rules of conduct for lawyers. However, as set forth 26 in paragraph 3(a) herein, no information subject to this Order shall be used, 27 directly or indirectly, by any person or party for any business, commercial, or 28 1 competitive purposes or for any purpose whatsoever other than solely for the 2 preparation and trial of this action in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 3 9 Inadvertent Disclosure or Production to a Party of a Protected Document. 4 (a) Notice. 5 (1) A party or non-party who discovers that it has inadvertently disclosed or 6 produced a protected document must promptly notify the receiving party and describe the basis of the claim of privilege or protection. If the party 7 or non-party provides such notice and description, the privilege or 8 protection is not waived. 9 (2) A party who discovers that it may have received an inadvertently 10 disclosed or produced protected document must promptly notify the 11 disclosing or producing party or non-party. 12 (b) Handling of Protected Document. A party who is notified or discovers that it may 13 have received a protected document must comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5)(B). 14 10 Security Precautions and Data Breaches. 15 (a) Each party must make reasonable efforts to protect the confidentiality of any 16 confidential document disclosed or produced to that party. 17 (b) A party who learns of a breach of confidentiality must promptly notify the 18 disclosing or producing party of the scope and nature of that breach and make 19 reasonable efforts to remedy the breach. 20 11 Survival of Obligations. The obligations imposed by this protective order survive the 21 termination of this action. 22 /// 23 /// 24 /// 25 /// 26 /// 27 /// 28 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF UNDERSTANDING 3 AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 4 I have read, and agree to be bound by, the protective order in the case captioned Rick D. 5 Fox v. Trans Union, et al, Case No. 1:22-cv-01197-SAB in the United States District Court for 6 the Eastern District of California. As soon as my work in connection with that action has ended, 7 8 but not later than 30 days after the termination of that action (including any appeals), I will return 9 or destroy any confidential document that I received, any copy of or excerpt from a confidential 10 document, and any notes or other document that contains information from a confidential 11 document. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. 12 /// 13 /// 14 /// 15 /// 16 /// 17 /// 18 /// 19 /// 20 /// 21 /// 22 /// 23 /// 24 /// 25 /// 26 /// 27 /// 28 1 COURT ORDER ENTERING AMENDED STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 2 Pursuant to the stipulation of the parties and good cause appearing, IT IS HEREBY 3 | ORDERED that: 4 1. The above amended stipulated protective order is ENTERED; 5 2. The provisions of the parties’ stipulation and this protective order shall remain in 6 effect until further order of the Court; 7 3. The parties are advised that pursuant to the Local Rules of the United States 8 District Court, Eastern District of California, any documents which are to be filed 9 under seal will require a written request which complies with Local Rule 141; 10 4. The party making a request to file documents under seal shall be required to show 11 either good cause or compelling reasons to seal the documents, depending on the 12 type of filing, Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-78 (9th Cir. 13 2009); Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp... LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1101 (9th Cir. 14 2016); and 15 5. If a party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the Court, 16 then the previously filed material shall be immediately accepted by the court and 17 become information in the public record and the information will be deemed filed 18 as of the date that the request to file the Protected Information under seal was 19 made. 20 IT IS SO ORDERED. DAM Le 22 | Dated: _March 31, 2023 _ Of 33 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 24 25 26 27 28 10