Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_05-cv-00225/USCOURTS-caed-1_05-cv-00225-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 355
Nature of Suit: Motor Vehicle Product Liability
Cause of Action: 28:1441 Petition for Removal- Product Liability

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

FRESNO BRANCH

STEPHANIE ELLEN WATSON,

Plaintiff,

vs.

FORD MOTOR COMPANY, and DOES

1-20, Inclusive,

Defendants

CASE NO. 1:05-CV-00225-REC-LJO

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER BY

THE PARTIES RE: DOCUMENTS AND

INFORMATION PRODUCED BY FORD

MOTOR COMPANY

DATE OF FILING: December 23, 2004

TRIAL DATE: October 2, 2006

SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THIS COURT, IT IS HEREBY

STIPULATED AND AGREED, by and between Todd Tracy, Esq. of

TRACY & CARBOY and James P. Carr, Esq. of the LAW OFFICES OF

JAMES P. CARR, A.P.C., attorneys for Plaintiff STEPHANIE

ELLEN WATSON (“Watson”), and Robert J. Gibson, Esq.,

Alexander L. Conti, Esq. and Soo Y. Lin, Esq. of Snell &

Wilmer L.L.P., attorneys for Defendant FORD MOTOR COMPANY

(“Ford”), that in order to facilitate discovery in the above

entitled action, wherein Plaintiff seeks to obtain, inspect

and copy documents and/or things which Ford contends

Case 1:05-cv-00225-NEW Document 18 Filed 12/08/05 Page 1 of 10
contains proprietary, trade secret and other confidential

information of Ford, the following Stipulation and

Protective Order shall be submitted to the Court.

TERMS OF PROTECTIVE ORDER

1. When used in this Stipulation and Protective

Order, the word “documents” means all written material,

videotapes, live-action film and all other tangible items,

whether produced as hard copy, computer diskette, CD-ROM or

otherwise included on Ford’s website forddocs.com. 

2. Ford may designate documents produced in discovery

as “Produced By Ford Subject To Protective Order” including

such documents contained on forddocs.com. Said designation

shall make such documents and all copies, prints, or other

reproductions of such information subject to this

Stipulation and Protective Order. All such designated

documents provided after the date of this stipulation shall

be clearly stamped or labeled “Produced By Ford Subject To

Protective Order” or "Confidential Information." If the

“protected” stamping contained on the documents produced by

Ford in any way intrudes on or interferes with the

readability of the document, upon request by Plaintiff or

Plaintiff’s counsel, Ford will produce a new copy of the

identified document with markings that do not intrude on or

interfere with the readability of the document. 

3. By designating a document, thing, material,

testimony or other information derived therefrom as

"Confidential," under the terms of this order, the party

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making the designation is certifying to the court that there

is a good faith basis both in law and in fact for the

designation within the meaning of Federal Rule of Civil

Procedure 26(g).

4. The documents which Ford shall designate as

“Produced By Ford Subject To Protective Order” or

"Confidential Information" will be those documents that Ford

contends constitute trade secret, proprietary or

confidential business information (hereinafter,

“Confidential Information”). Confidential Information shall

include information about the business, products, practices

or procedures of Ford and its agents which, in the ordinary

course of business, is not voluntarily disclosed to the

public or to third persons or entities who do not have a

need to know. This information includes confidential and

proprietary information, and documents or things which

concern, reflect, embody or constitute the foregoing and may

include, but shall not be limited to, correspondence,

memoranda, notes, deposition transcripts and exhibits,

plans, specifications, blueprints, drawings, test reports,

test procedures and test manuals. 

5. After the production of documents under the terms

of this Stipulation and Protective Order, Plaintiff may file

notifications of her objection to such designation, along

with a statement which shall contain a listing of the

specific documents to which Plaintiff takes exception and

assert her objections. With regard to those documents to

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which Plaintiff objects, and subject to genuine, legitimate

and good faith meet and confer between the parties in an

effort genuinely to resolve such dispute, Plaintiff may

request, should the parties be unable to resolve the

dispute, a hearing before the Court in order that a judicial

determination can be made as to the status of the documents

at issue. 

6. All documents that are designated “Produced By

Ford Subject To Protective Order” or "Confidential

Information" shall be accorded such confidential status

until such time as the parties formally agree in writing to

the contrary or determination is made by the Court as to

such status. 

7. Except as provided for in the paragraphs below,

Plaintiff shall keep all Confidential Information

confidential from all persons. 

8. Information and documents subject to this

Stipulation and Protective Order may be disclosed only to

the (a) parties above named, (b) attorneys for the parties

above named, (c) the paralegal and clerical staffs of the

attorneys for the parties above named, and (d) experts and

consultants retained by the parties above named for

assistance in trial preparation, provided that no disclosure

shall be made to any expert or consultant who is employed by

a competitor of Ford. Disclosure shall be made to such

persons only as necessary for the prosecution of this

lawsuit, and only after the person to whom disclosure is

Case 1:05-cv-00225-NEW Document 18 Filed 12/08/05 Page 4 of 10
made has been informed of the terms of this Stipulation and

Protective Order and has agreed to be bound by this

Stipulation and Protective Order. 

9. In the case of the persons described in paragraphs

8(c) and 8(d) above, an agreement acknowledging the

Stipulation and Protective Order and agreeing to be bound by

same (Exhibit “A” annexed hereto) shall be executed and

delivered to, and maintained by, Plaintiff’s counsel, prior

to the delivery of said protected documents to the staff

personnel, expert or consultant. 

10. All persons described in paragraph 8 above shall

not under any circumstance sell, offer for sale, advertise,

or publicize either the Confidential Information or the fact

that such persons have obtained Ford’s Confidential

Information. 

11. The parties shall act to preserve the

confidentiality of Confidential Information. 

12. If Confidential Information, including any portion

of a deposition transcript designated as Confidential, is

included in any papers to be filed in Court, such papers

shall be labeled "Confidential--Subject to Court Order" and

filed under seal until further order of this Court.

13. In the event a party to this litigation seeks to

file Confidential Information in connection with a challenge

to the "Confidential" designation, a discovery motion, or

discovery proceeding, the party, prior to filing any such

documents, must first notify all parties in writing, of

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their intent to file or their intent to lodge with the Court

any Confidential Information. This notice shall identify

each document the party intends to file or intends to lodge

with the Court. If the designating party serves a Notice of

Intent to Seal pursuant to U.S. District Court – Eastern

District, Local Rule 39-141 and thereafter files such a

motion or application to have the Confidential Information

filed under seal, during the pendency of such motion, the

receiving party shall refrain from filing or lodging such

materials with the Court until the Court rules on the

designating party's motion or application. 

14. In the event that any Confidential Information is

used in any court proceeding in this action, it shall not

lose its confidential status through such use, and the party

using such shall take all reasonable steps to maintain its

confidentiality during such use.

15. To the extent that any Confidential Information is

used in the taking of depositions, such portions of such

depositions shall be taken only in the presence of those

persons identified in paragraph 8 above and the court

reporter, and all such Confidential Information shall remain

subject to the provisions of this Stipulation and Protective

Order, along with the transcript pages of the deposition

testimony dealing with the Confidential Information. At the

time any Confidential Information is used in any deposition,

the reporter will be informed of this Stipulation and

Protective Order and will be required to operate in a manner

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consistent with this Stipulation and Protective Order, and

the reporter shall separately label the confidential

portions of the deposition transcript. 

16. This Stipulation and Protective Order shall not

apply to the disclosure of Confidential Information at the

time of trial through the receipt of documents containing

Confidential Information into evidence or through the

testimony of witnesses. The closure of trial proceedings

and sealing of the record of a trial involve considerations

not presently before the Court. These issues may be taken

up as a separate matter upon the motion of any of the

parties at or before the trial. 

17. Upon termination of this lawsuit, by judgment or

settlement, the provisions of this Stipulation and

Protective Order shall continue to be binding, except with

respect to those documents and information that properly

become a matter of public record. This Court retains and

shall have jurisdiction over the parties and recipients of

the Confidential Information for enforcement of the

provisions of this Stipulation and Protective Order

following such termination of this lawsuit. Further, upon

such termination of this lawsuit, Plaintiff’s counsel and

Plaintiff’s retained experts and consultants shall return to

Ford’s counsel, at Ford’s expense, all documents received

under this Stipulation and Protective Order, including all

copies and other reproductions of such information in the

possession of Plaintiff, Plaintiff’s counsel or Plaintiff’s

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retained consultants or experts. All persons, including

counsel, who have received documents subject to this

Stipulation and Protective Order, shall execute a

declaration (Exhibit “B” annexed hereto) acknowledging that

they have complied with the Stipulation and Protective Order

and that no copies of documents containing Confidential

Information have been retained. Plaintiff’s counsel shall

forward the declarations signed by Plaintiff’s retained

experts and consultants who were designated or disclosed

during this case to Ford’s counsel. In the case of

consultants retained by Plaintiff’s counsel who were not

disclosed or designated to Ford, Plaintiff’s counsel will

execute and deliver to Ford’s counsel a declaration

acknowledging that Plaintiff’s retained experts and

consultants have signed Exhibit “B” declaring that they have

complied with the Stipulation and Protective Order. 

18. This Stipulation and Protective Order shall not

preclude the parties from exercising any rights or raising

any objections otherwise available to them under the Federal

Rules of Civil Procedure, including but not limited to the

rules of discovery and the rules of evidence, at any time

including at the time of trial. 

19. This Stipulation and Protective Order may not be

waived, modified, abandoned or terminated, in whole or in

part, except by an instrument in writing signed by the

parties. If any provision of this Stipulation and

Protective Order shall be held invalid for any reason

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whatsoever, the remaining provisions shall not be affected

thereby. 

20. The inadvertent production of Confidential

Information in the course of discovery in this action of any

document or information (whether designated as Confidential

or not) shall not be deemed to waive whatever privilege that

would otherwise attach to the document or information

produced or to other documents or information, as long as

the producing party promptly, after discovery of the

inadvertent production, notifies the other party or parties

of the claim of privilege or other protection or immunity.

Upon such notice, the other party or parties shall promptly

destroy all copies of the documents or information referred

to and notify the producing party or person that it has done

so. Such destruction and notice shall not constitute an

acknowledgment that the claimed document or information is

in fact privileged or entitled to protections or immunity.

21. This Stipulation and Protective Order shall be

binding upon the parties hereto, upon their attorneys, and

upon the parties’ and their attorneys’ successors,

executors, personal representatives, administrators, heirs,

legal representatives, assigns, subsidiaries, divisions,

employees, agents, independent contractors, or other persons

or organizations over which they have control.

SO STIPULATED:

DATED: November ___, 2005 TRACY & CARBOY

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BY: _______________________________

Todd Tracy

Attorney for Plaintiff

STEPHANIE ELLEN WATSON

DATED: November ___, 2005 LAW OFFICES OF JAMES P. CARR,

A.P.C.

BY: _______________________________

James P. Carr

Attorney for Plaintiff

STEPHANIE ELLEN WATSON

DATED: November ___, 2005 SNELL & WILMER L.L.P.

BY: _______________________________

Robert J. Gibson

Alexander L. Conti

Soo Y. Lin

Attorneys for Defendant

FORD MOTOR COMPANY

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: December 8, 2005 66h44d

 /s/ Lawrence J. O'Neill 

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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