United States District Court, E.D. California
Assigned
to the Hon. Anthony W. Ishii, Courtroom 2
(Superior
Court, County of Kings, No. 19C-0066)
CHARLES D. MAY, ESQ.; ANDREA BREUER, ESQ. THARPE &
HOWELL, LLP ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANT, FAMILY DOLLAR, INC.
PROTECTIVE ORDER (DOC. 19)
SHEILA
K. OBERTO UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.
The
Court having read the parties' Joint Stipulation for
Entry of a Protective Order in this matter, finding no
objection and good cause appearing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that
the Joint Stipulation for Entry of a Protective Order is
GRANTED, and the following protective order is entered:
1. A.
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 them
to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule
141 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.
B. GOOD
CAUSE STATEMENT
Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 26(c)(1) states in pertinent
part, that the Court, upon a showing of good cause may
“issue an order to protect a party from annoyance,
embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense.”
Fed.R.Civ.P. 26(c)(1). In the instant matter, Defendant
Family Dollar, Inc.'s Confidential Documents contain
proprietary and confidential trade secret information
relating to Defendant Family Dollar, Inc.'s business
practices and its safety protocol. Defendant Family Dollar,
Inc. (“Defendant” or “Family Dollar”)
derives independent economic value from maintaining the
confidentiality of the policies and procedures set forth in
these Confidential Documents.
Defendant
is a retailer in the home goods industry. The home goods
industry is very competitive. As a result of years of
investing time and money in research and investigation,
Defendant developed the policies contained in the
Confidential Documents for the purposes of maintaining the
security and accessibility of its merchandise, providing
quality customer service, and ensuring the safety of its
employees and customers. These policies and procedures, as
memorialized in the Confidential Documents, were created and
generated by Family Dollar for Family Dollar, and are used
for the purposes of maintaining safety at its stores and
creating efficient and organized work environments for its
employees. As a result, Defendant is able to minimize the
waste of any resources, which is a key factor in generating
profitability for its business.
Defendant
derives economic value from maintaining the secrecy of its
Confidential Documents. If disclosed to the public, the trade
secret information contained in Defendant's Confidential
Documents would reveal Defendant's internal operations
and could potentially be used by competitors as a means to
compete for its customers, interfere with its business plans
and thereby gain unfair business advantages. If
Defendant's safety protocol were revealed to the general
public, it would hinder Defendant's ability to
effectively resolve and minimize liability claims, and its
goal of protecting its customers and employees from theft and
other crimes. Unrestricted or unprotected disclosure of such
information would result in prejudice or harm to Defendant by
revealing Family Dollar's competitive confidential
information, which has been developed at the expense of
Family Dollar and which represents valuable tangible and
intangible assets.
Defendant's
employee/personnel files and records are confidential
records, subject to the privacy rights of the employees.
Defendant's employees have a fundamentally protected
right to privacy under both our state and federal
Constitutions which enjoys special safeguard from
governmental interference. Cal. Const., art. I, §§
1, 2, 3; U.S. Const., 1st Amend. California law provides
protections for parties when their private information is
subpoenaed, even when the information sought is relevant and
not privileged. Defendant's employee/personnel records
and the information contained therein, such as salary data,
background checks, work history, health insurance
information, social security number, financial information
including sensitive tax information, and wage information are
highly sensitive, the disclosure of which would be an
invasion of Defendant's employees' right of privacy.
Such employee/personnel files are maintained by Defendant
Family Dollar as confidential and are not disclosed or
otherwise made available to the general public.
Furthermore,
discovery in this case will involve the production of
Plaintiffs' financial, tax, and other records that
contain sensitive and confidential information. Unrestricted
or unprotected disclosure of such information would result in
prejudice or harm to the Plaintiffs. Accordingly, the parties
respectfully submit that there is good cause for the entry of
this Protective Order.
2.
DEFINITIONS
2.1
Action: this pending federal law suit.
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 appeared in this
Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law
firm which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes
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 ...