Bio - Magistrate Judge Brianna Fuller Mircheff; Case Management Order; Stipulated Protective Order (PDF)

=== Bio - Magistrate Judge Brianna Fuller Mircheff ===

Before her appointment as a magistrate judge, Judge Mircheff served in multiple roles at the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Central District of California. From 2006 to 2010, she served as a Deputy Federal Public Defender in the Trial Unit where she represented clients charged with a broad range of federal offenses and handled all aspects of representation in the district court. From 2010 to 2017, Judge Mircheff served in the Appeals Unit handling direct appeals while also managing office-wide post-conviction litigation projects. She also served as the office’s immigration specialist from 2011 to 2015. Between 2018 and 2023, Judge Mircheff served as the office’s Chief of Writs and Appeals. In that role, she supervised a team of attorneys, oversaw the office’s post- sentencing litigation, participated in the office’s management team, chaired the office’s ethics committee, managed the district’s Criminal Justice Act Appellate Panel, and maintained her own caseload involving direct appeals, habeas petitions, and other post- conviction matters. Judge Mircheff also had an active amicus practice. Judge Mircheff received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Messiah College in 2001, and her Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles in 2005. Following law school, Judge Mircheff clerked for the Honorable Harry Pregerson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

=== Case Management Order ===

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA , , Plaintiff, v. Defendant. No. SCHEDULING AND CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER This case has been assigned to the calendar of Magistrate Judge Brianna Fuller Mircheff pursuant to the parties’ consent to have the magistrate judge conduct all further proceedings herein, including trial and the entry of judgment. Judge Mircheff is located in Courtroom 780, on the 7th floor of the Roybal Federal Building and United States Courthouse, 255 E. Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. The courtroom deputy clerk, Ms. Christianna Howard, can be reached by email at [email protected] or by telephone at (213) 894-7103. The Court expects full compliance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Local Rules for the Central District of California, this Court’s Procedures and Schedules, and the scheduling order in this case. Any ambiguities will be construed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of each action. The purpose of this Order is to enable counsel to know well in advance the schedule and requirements to which they will be expected to adhere. Please read this Order carefully, it governs this case and differs in some respects from the Local Rules. I. Scheduling Order The Court has issued a Scheduling Order, setting forth dates for the completion of fact and expert discovery, pre-trial and trial dates. No stipulation to extend the Scheduling Order shall be effective unless approved by the Court. Applications to extend any deadline must set forth: (i) the existing deadline or hearing date; (ii) specific, concrete reasons supporting good cause for granting the extension; (iii) whether there have been prior requests for extensions; and (iv) if filed as an application, whether the other parties agree to the request and the proposed new dates or schedule. The party or parties requesting the extension must provide the Court with a proposed order setting forth the proposed new dates and/or proposed new schedule. II. Discovery Cut-off All discovery shall be completed by the discovery cut-off dates for non- expert and expert discovery. This is not the date by which discovery requests 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 must be served; it is the date by which all non-expert and expert discovery is to be completed. Any discovery dispute must be raised sufficiently in advance that the Court can hold an informal discovery conference, the motion can be heard and decided, and, if the motion is granted, any discovery can be exchanged before the discovery cut-off. The Court encourages the parties to review the Court’s procedure for informal discovery conferences. See http://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/judges- schedules-procedures. The parties are reminded that they may contact the Courtroom Deputy to schedule an informal discovery conference only after they have met and conferred to try to resolve the dispute without Court involvement. If, after reviewing the parties’ explanation of the issue or an informal discovery conference, the Court finds that further briefing is required, the Court will set a briefing schedule. Except in the case of an emergency not created by the party or counsel bringing the motion, discovery motions will not be heard on ex parte basis. III. Motions and Motion Cut-off Date A. General Provisions All law and motion matters, except for discovery motions and motions in limine, must be filed by the date set in the attached trial Scheduling Order. The parties must adhere to the requirements of the Local Rules concerning motion practice. See Local Rules 7-1 et seq. If any party does not oppose a motion, that party shall submit a written statement in accordance with Local Rule 7-16 that it does not oppose the motion. Failure to meet the time limits set forth in Local Rule 7 may be deemed consent to the granting of the motion. Local Rule 7-12. 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Motions are heard on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. unless otherwise ordered by the Court. Even if a motion is still necessary after a good faith pre-filing conference, counsel should have sufficiently discussed the issues so that the briefing will be directed to those substantive issues which require resolution by the Court. Hearings are presumptively held in person, but may be conducted by videoconference at the request of the parties and with leave of Court. Ex parte practice is strongly discouraged. See Mission Power Eng. Co. v. Cont’l Cas. Co., 883 F. Supp. 488 (C.D. Cal. 1995). Counsel must adhere to proper ex parte procedures for any ex parte application filed with the Court. Id. at 492; see also Local Rule 7-19. B. Page Limitations Memoranda of points and authorities in support of or in opposition to any motion shall not exceed 25 pages. Replies shall not exceed 12 pages. Only in rare instances and for good cause shown will the Court grant an application to file a brief in excess of those page limitations. C. Summary Judgment Motions Absent leave of Court, no party may file more than one motion pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 56, whether such motion is denominated as a motion for summary judgment or summary adjudication. To increase efficiency and to assist counsel in structuring and focusing these motions, the following requirements apply when filing motions for summary judgment. 1. Separate Statement of Undisputed Facts and Statement of Genuine Issues The separate statement of undisputed facts is to be prepared in a two- 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 column format. The left-hand column should set forth the allegedly undisputed fact. The right-hand column should set forth the evidence that supports the factual statement. The fact statements should be set forth in sequentially numbered paragraphs. Each paragraph should contain a narrowly focused statement of fact. Each numbered paragraph should address a single subject in as concise a manner as possible. The opposing party’s statement of genuine issues must be in two columns and track the moving party’s separate statement exactly as prepared. The document must be in two columns; the left-hand column must restate the allegedly undisputed fact, and the right-hand column must indicate either undisputed, or disputed. The opposing party may dispute all or only a portion of the statement, but if disputing only a portion, must clearly indicate what part is being disputed. Where the opposing party is disputing the fact in whole or part, the opposing party must, in the right-hand column, label and restate the moving party’s evidence in support of the fact, followed by the opposing party’s evidence controverting the fact. Where the opposing party is disputing the fact based on an evidentiary objection, the party must cite to the evidence alleged to be objectionable and state the ground of the objection and nothing more. No argument should be set forth in this document. The opposing party may submit additional material facts that bear on or relate to the issues raised by the moving party, which shall follow the format described above for the moving party’s separate statement. These additional facts shall follow the moving party’s facts, shall continue in sequentially numbered paragraphs (e.g., if the moving party’s last statement of fact was set forth in paragraph 30, then the first new fact will be set forth in paragraph 31), and shall set forth in the right-hand column the evidence that supports that 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 statement. The moving party, in its reply, shall respond to the additional facts in the same manner and format that the opposition party is required to adhere to in responding to the statement of undisputed facts, as described above. 2. Supporting Evidence No party should submit any evidence other than the specific items of evidence or testimony necessary to support or controvert a proposed statement of undisputed fact. Thus, for example, the entire transcript of a deposition, entire sets of interrogatory responses, and documents that do not specifically support or controvert material in the separate statements, should not be submitted in support or opposition to a motion for summary judgment. Evidence submitted in support or opposition to a motion should be submitted either by way of stipulation or as exhibits to declarations sufficient to authenticate the proffered evidence and should not be attached to the memorandum of points and authorities. The Court will accept counsel’s authentication of deposition transcripts, written discovery responses, and the receipt of documents in discovery if the fact that the document was in the opponent’s possession is of independent significance. Documentary evidence as to which there is no stipulation regarding foundation must be accompanied by the testimony, either by declaration or properly authenticated deposition transcript, of a witness who can establish its authenticity. 3. Objections to Evidence If a party disputes a fact based in whole or in part on an evidentiary objection, the ground of the objection, as indicated above, should be stated in the separate statement but not argued in that document. Evidentiary objections are to be addressed in a separate memorandum to be filed with the opposition or 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 reply brief of the party. This memorandum should be organized to track the paragraph numbers of the separate statement in sequence. It should identify the specific item of evidence to which objection is made, identify the ground of the objection, and make a very brief argument with citation to authority as to why the objection is well taken. The following is an example of the format contemplated by the Court: Separate Statement Paragraph 1: Objection to the supporting deposition transcript of Jane Smith at 60:1-10 on the grounds that the statement constitutes inadmissible hearsay and no exception is applicable. To the extent it is offered to prove her state of mind, it is irrelevant since her state of mind is not in issue. Fed. R. Evid. 801, 802. Blanket or boilerplate objections to the Opponent’s Statements of Undisputed Facts will be disregarded. 4. The Memorandum of Points and Authorities The moving party’s memorandum of points and authorities should be in the usual form required under Local Rule 7 and should contain a narrative statement of facts as to those aspects of the case that are before the Court. All facts should be supported with citation to the paragraph number in the separate statement that supports the factual assertion and not to the underlying evidence. Unless the case involves some unusual application of Fed. R. Civ. P. 56, the motion need only contain a brief statement of the Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 standard. The argument should be organized to focus on the pertinent elements of the claim(s) or defense(s) in issue, with the purpose of showing the existence or non- existence of a genuine issue of material fact for trial on that element of the claim or defense. 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Likewise, the opposition memorandum of points and authorities should be in the usual form required by Local Rule 7, and where the opposition memorandum sets forth facts, the memorandum should cite to paragraphs in the separate statement if they are not in dispute, to the evidence that contravenes the fact where the fact is in dispute, or, if the fact is contravened by an additional fact in the statement of genuine issues, the citation should be to such fact by paragraph number. 5. Timing and Format The Court expects that the moving party will provide more than the minimum twenty-one day notice for such motions. The moving party should email, or if email is impracticable, deliver to the Courtroom Deputy a USB flash drive, containing the statement of uncontroverted facts and conclusions of law in Word format. D. Motions in Limine The parties must file any motions in limine addressing the admissibility of evidence in accordance with Local Rule 7-3 by the date specified in the Scheduling Order that has been issued for this case. Before filing any motion in limine, counsel for the parties shall confer in a good faith effort to eliminate the necessity for the filing of the motion in limine or to eliminate as many of the disputes as possible. At least five days in advance of such a conference, counsel for the moving party must send a letter requesting such conference, and shall identify the testimony, exhibits, or other specific matters alleged to be inadmissible and/or prejudicial, shall state thoroughly with respect to each such matter the moving party’s position (and provide any legal authority which the moving party believes as dispositive), and shall specify the terms of the order to be sought. 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 If counsel are unable to resolve their differences, they shall prepare and file a separate sequentially numbered joint motion in limine for each issue in dispute which contains a clear caption that identifies the moving party and the nature of the dispute (e.g., “Plaintiff’s Motion in Limine No. 1 to Exclude the Testimony of Defendant’s Expert”). Each joint motion in limine shall consist of one document signed by all counsel. The joint motion in limine shall contain a clear identification of the testimony, exhibits, or other specific matters alleged to be inadmissible and/or prejudicial and a statement of the specific prejudice that will be suffered by the moving party if the motion is not granted. The identification of the matters in dispute shall be followed by each party’s contentions and each party’s memorandum of points and authorities. The title page of the joint motion in limine must state the Pre-Trial Conference date, hearing date for the motions in limine, and trial date. Each separately represented party shall be limited to five pages per issue, exclusive of tables of contents and authorities. Repetition should be avoided and, as always, brevity is preferred. Leave for additional space will be given only in extraordinary cases. The moving party must provide its portion of the joint motion in limine to the nonmoving party, via e-mail, no later than nine days before the deadline set forth below for filing motions in limine. The nonmoving party shall then provide the integrated joint motion in limine, along with any exhibits, to the moving party no later than two days before the filing deadline. (The moving party may not make any further revisions to the joint motion in limine other than finalizing it for filing.) The moving party shall be responsible for filing the joint motion in limine and preparing and filing any supporting exhibits. The moving party may file a reply memorandum of points and authorities 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 no later than the deadline set forth below. The reply memorandum shall not exceed five pages, unless otherwise ordered by the Court. The Court will not consider any motion in limine in the absence of a joint motion or a declaration from counsel for the moving party establishing that opposing counsel (A) failed to confer in a timely manner; (B) failed to provide the opposing party’s portion of the joint motion in a timely manner; or (C) refused to sign and return the joint motion after the opposing party’s portion was added. VI. Settlement The Court has directed the parties to participate in the ADR option identified in the scheduling order; however, the parties are encouraged to explore an earlier settlement proceeding after exchanging initial disclosures and preliminary discovery. The parties must file a status report re settlement within seven days of each settlement proceeding. The Court does not conduct settlement conferences in non-jury cases that are to be tried before the Court. Dated: _______________________________________ BRIANNA FULLER MIRCHEFF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

=== Stipulated Protective Order (PDF) ===

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA ______________ DIVISION Plaintiff, v. Defendant. Case No. [PROPOSED] STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 1. GENERAL 1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 1.2 Good Cause Statement. [*The “Good Cause Statement” should be edited to include or exclude specific information that applies to the particular case, i.e., what harm will result from the disclosure of the confidential information likely to be produced in this case? Below is an example]: This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists and other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, or commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2. DEFINITIONS 2.1 Action: [this pending federal lawsuit]. [*Option: consolidated or related actions.] 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of information or items under this Order. 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement. 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their support staff). 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel. 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that has appeared on behalf of that party, including support staff. 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support staffs). 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery Material in this Action. 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors. 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from a Producing Party. 3. SCOPE The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 4. DURATION Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the court-filed information to be introduced that was previously designated as confidential or maintained pursuant to this 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 protective order becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial. 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions. If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced. Designation in conformity with this Order requires: (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix, at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition. (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s). 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order. 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process under Local Rule 37-1, et seq. Any discovery motion must strictly comply with the procedures set forth in Local Rules 37-1, 37-2, and 37-3. 6.3 Burden. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. // // // // 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under this Order. 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action; (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); (d) the Court and its personnel; (e) court reporters and their staff; (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 8 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non- Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then the Party shall: (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party; (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the information requested; and (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non- Party, if requested. 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this Court of its Protected Material. 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the Court. 12. MISCELLANEOUS 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue; good cause must be shown in the request to file under seal. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the Court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the Court. 13. FINAL DISPOSITION After the final disposition of this Action, within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed, and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). 14. VIOLATION OF ORDER Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. DATED _______________________ _____________________________________ Attorneys for Plaintiff DATED:________________________ 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 _____________________________________ Attorneys for Defendant 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA ______________ DIVISION Plaintiff, v. Defendant. Case No. [PROPOSED] ORDER RE STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Having considered the papers, and finding that good cause exists, the Parties’ Stipulated Protective Order is granted. IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: , 2023 ___________________________________ BRIANNA FULLER MIRCHEFF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 15