Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_06-cv-02104/USCOURTS-cand-3_06-cv-02104-4/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 442
Nature of Suit: Civil Rights Employment
Cause of Action: 42:2000e Job Discrimination (Employment)

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[Proposed] Protective Order -- Case No. CV 04-05082 MMC 

SEYFARTH SHAW LLP 

William J. Dritsas (SBN: 097523) 

Kamili Williams Dawson (SBN: 193264) 

560 Mission Street, Suite 3100 

San Francisco, California 94105 

Telephone: (415) 397-2823 

Facsimile: (415) 397-8549 

Attorneys for Defendant 

NOB HILL PROPERTIES, INC. dba HUNTINGTON HOTEL 

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION 

William Tamayo (SBN 084965) 

Jonathan T. Peck (VA Bar No. 12303) 

Cindy O’Hara (SBN 114555) 

San Francisco District Office 

350 The Embarcadero, Suite 500 

San Francisco, California 94105 

Telephone: (415) 625-5653 

Facsimile: (415) 625-5657 

Attorneys for Plaintiff 

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

IN AND FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY 

COMMISSION

Plaintiff, 

v.

NOB HILL PROPERTIES, INC. dba 

HUNTINGTON HOTEL 

Defendant.

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Case No. C 06-2104 MMC 

PROTECTIVE ORDER RE 

DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL 

INFORMATION

1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are 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 would 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 

Case 3:06-cv-02104-MMC Document 23 Filed 10/30/06 Page 1 of 11
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[Proposed] Protective Order -- Case No. CV 04-05082 MMC 

extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled under the applicable legal 

principles to treatment as confidential. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 

10, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order creates no entitlement to file confidential 

information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed 

and reflects the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to 

file material under seal. 

2. DEFINITIONS

 2.1 Party: any party to this action, including any party’s officers, directors, 

employees, consultants, retained experts, and outside counsel (and their support staff).

 2.2 Disclosure of Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of 

the medium or manner generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things, 

testimony, transcripts, or tangible things) that are produced or generated in disclosures or 

responses to discovery in this matter. 

 2.3 “Confidential” Information or Items: information (regardless of how 

generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under standards 

developed under F.R.Civ.P. 26(c). 

 2.4 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 

from a Producing Party. 

 2.5 Producing Party: a Party or non-party that produces Disclosure or 

Discovery Material in this action. 

 2.6 Designating Party: a Party or non-party that designates information or 

items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “Confidential.”

 2.7 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 

designated as “Confidential.” 

 2.8 Outside Counsel: attorneys who are not employees of a Party but who are 

retained to represent or advise a Party in this action. 

 2.9 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a Party. 

Case 3:06-cv-02104-MMC Document 23 Filed 10/30/06 Page 2 of 11
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[Proposed] Protective Order -- Case No. CV 04-05082 MMC 

 2.10 Counsel (without qualifier): Outside Counsel and House Counsel (as well 

as their support staffs). 

 2.11 Expert: a person or business entity, including its employees and 

subcontractors, 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 and who is not a current employee of a Party’s competitor and who, at the time of 

retention, has no pending application or offer to become an employee of a Party’s competitor. 

This definition includes a professional jury or trial consultant retained in connection with this 

litigation.

 2.12 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 

services (e.g., photocopying; videotaping; translating; preparing exhibits or demonstrations; 

organizing, storing, retrieving data in any form or medium; etc.) and their employees and 

subcontractors.

3. SCOPE

The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected Material 

(as defined above), but also any information copied or extracted therefrom, as well as all copies, 

excerpts, summaries, or compilations thereof, plus testimony, conversations, or presentations by 

parties or counsel to or in court or in other settings that might reveal Protected Material. 

4. DURATION

The Court’s jurisdiction to enforce the terms of the Order shall continue for six (6) 

months after the final conclusion of all aspects of the litigation. Nonetheless, the parties agree to 

abide by the confidentiality obligations imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a 

Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. 

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. A Designating Party must take care to designate for protection only those 

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[Proposed] Protective Order -- Case No. CV 04-05082 MMC 

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 or retard the case development process, or to impose unnecessary 

expenses and burdens on other parties), expose the Designating Party to sanctions. 

If it comes to a Party’s or a non-party’s attention that information or items that it 

designated for protection do not qualify for protection at all, or do not qualify for the level of 

protection initially asserted, that Party or non-party must promptly notify all other parties that it 

is withdrawing the mistaken 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 stipulated or ordered, 

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 (apart from transcripts of depositions 

or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix the legend 

“CONFIDENTIAL” at the top of each page that contains protected material. 

A Party or non-party that makes original documents or materials available for inspection 

need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which 

material 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 appropriate 

legend (“CONFIDENTIAL”) at the top of each page that contains Protected Material. 

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[Proposed] Protective Order -- Case No. CV 04-05082 MMC 

 (b) for testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings,

that the Party or non-party offering or sponsoring the testimony identify on the record, before the 

close of the deposition, hearing, or other proceeding that the deposition contains confidential 

information. 

 (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 or item is stored the legend 

“CONFIDENTIAL.” 

 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 

failure to designate qualified information or items as “Confidential” does not, standing alone, 

waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. If 

material is appropriately designated as “Confidential” or after the material was initially 

produced, the Receiving Party, on timely notification of the designation, 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. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s 

confidentiality designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable substantial unfairness, unnecessary 

economic burdens, or a later significant disruption or delay of the litigation, a Party does not 

waive its right to challenge a confidentiality designation by electing not to mount a challenge 

promptly after the original designation is disclosed. 

 6.2 Meet and Confer. A Party that elects to initiate a challenge to a 

Designating Party’s confidentiality designation must do so in good faith and must begin the 

process by conferring directly (in voice to voice dialogue; other forms of communication are not 

sufficient) with counsel for the Designating Party. In conferring, the challenging Party must 

explain the basis for its belief that the confidentiality designation was not proper and must give 

the Designating Party an opportunity to review the designated material, to reconsider the 

circumstances, and, if no change in designation is offered, to explain the basis for the chosen 

Case 3:06-cv-02104-MMC Document 23 Filed 10/30/06 Page 5 of 11
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[Proposed] Protective Order -- Case No. CV 04-05082 MMC 

designation. A challenging Party may proceed to the next stage of the challenge process only if it 

has engaged in this meet and confer process first. 

 6.3 Judicial Intervention. A Party that elects to press a challenge to a 

confidentiality designation after considering the justification offered by the Designating Party 

may file and serve a motion under Civil Local Rule 7 (and in compliance with Civil Local Rule 

79-5, if applicable) that identifies the challenged material and sets forth in detail the basis for the 

challenge. Each such motion must be accompanied by a competent declaration that affirms that 

the movant has complied with the meet and confer requirements imposed in the preceding 

paragraph and that sets forth with specificity the justification for the confidentiality designation 

that was given by the Designating Party in the meet and confer dialogue. 

The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating 

Party. Until the court rules on the challenge, 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. 

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 case only for 

prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this litigation. Such Protected Material may be 

disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. 

When the litigation has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of 

section 11, 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 Counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for 

this litigation; 

Case 3:06-cv-02104-MMC Document 23 Filed 10/30/06 Page 6 of 11
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[Proposed] Protective Order -- Case No. CV 04-05082 MMC 

 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the 

Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation; 

 (c) experts (as defined in this Order) to whom disclosure is reasonably 

necessary for this litigation and who have signed the “Agreement to Be Bound by Protective 

Order” (Exhibit A); 

 (d) the Court and its personnel; 

 (e) court reporters, their staffs, and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure 

is reasonably necessary for this litigation; 

 (f) during their depositions and in preparation for their depositions, witnesses 

in the action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary. Pages of transcribed deposition 

testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material must be separately bound by 

the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated 

Protective Order; 

 (g) the author of the document or the original source of the information; and 

 (h) any Party, who then shall have all the rights and duties of a Receiving 

Party.

8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN 

OTHER LITIGATION

If a Receiving Party is served with a subpoena or an order issued in other litigation that 

would compel disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as 

“CONFIDENTIAL,” the Receiving Party must so notify the Designating Party, in writing (by 

fax, if possible) immediately and in no event more than three court days after receiving the 

subpoena or order. Such notification must include a copy of the subpoena or court order. 

The Receiving Party also must immediately inform in writing the Party who caused the 

subpoena or order to issue in the other litigation that some or all the material covered by the 

subpoena or order is the subject of this Protective Order. In addition, the Receiving Party must 

deliver a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order promptly to the Party in the other action that 

caused the subpoena or order to issue. 

Case 3:06-cv-02104-MMC Document 23 Filed 10/30/06 Page 7 of 11
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[Proposed] Protective Order -- Case No. CV 04-05082 MMC 

The purpose of imposing these duties is to alert the interested parties to the existence of 

this Protective Order and to afford the Designating Party in this case an opportunity to try to 

protect its confidentiality interests in the court from which the subpoena or order issued. The 

Designating Party shall bear the burdens and the expenses 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. 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 copies of the Protected Material, 

and (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the 

terms of this Order. 

10. FILING PROTECTED MATERIAL

Without written permission from the Designating Party or a court order secured after 

appropriate notice to all interested persons, a Party may not file in the public record in this action 

any Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must comply 

with Civil Local Rule 79-5. In addition to placing documents in a sealed envelope with 

instructions that the document is filed pursuant to the Stipulated Protective Order and that the 

envelope is not to be opened absent further order of the court, the envelope should be labeled to 

identify the title of the case, the case number, and the title of the document. 

11. FINAL DISPOSITION

Unless otherwise ordered or agreed in writing by the Producing Party, within sixty days 

after the final termination of this action, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material 

to the Producing Party. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, 

abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other form of reproducing or capturing any of the 

Protected Material. With permission in writing from the Designating Party, the Receiving Party 

may destroy some or all of the Protected Material instead of returning it. Whether the Protected 

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[Proposed] Protective Order -- Case No. CV 04-05082 MMC 

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 Designating Party) by the sixty day 

deadline that identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was 

returned or destroyed and that affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, 

abstracts, compilations, summaries or other forms of reproducing or capturing any of the 

Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival 

copy of all pleadings, motion papers, transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence or attorney 

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), above. The Court’s jurisdiction to enforce the terms of the Order shall 

continue for six (6) months after the final conclusion of all aspects of the litigation. 

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

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[Proposed] Protective Order -- Case No. CV 04-05082 MMC 

the material covered by this Protective Order. 

IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 

DATED: October 25, 2006 SEYFARTH SHAW LLP 

By /s/ 

Kamili Williams Dawson 

Attorneys for Defendant 

NOB HILL PROPERTIES, INC. DBA 

HUNTINGTON HOTEL 

DATED: October 25, 2006 EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY 

COMMISSION

By /s/ 

Cindy O’Hara 

Attorney for Plaintiff 

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY 

COMMISSION

PURSUANT TO STIPULATION , IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: October 30, 2006 ____________________________ 

 Honorable Maxine M. Chesney 

 United States District Court Judge 

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[Proposed] Protective Order -- Case No. CV 04-05082 MMC 

EXHIBIT A 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

I, _________________________ [print or type full name], of ______________[print or 

type full address] declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand 

the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the 

Northern District of California on ________[date] in the case of EEOC v. Nob Hill Properties,

Case No. C 06-2104 MMC . I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this 

Stipulated Protective Order. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any 

information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity 

except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 

I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the 

Northern District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of the Stipulated Protective 

Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. 

I hereby appoint ________________[print or type full name] of 

_______________________ [print or type full address and telephone number] as my California 

agent for service of process in connection with this action or any proceeding related to 

enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. 

Date:__________________________________________

City and State where sworn and signed: _____________________________ 

Printed name: ______________________________ 

Signature: ________________________________ 

Case 3:06-cv-02104-MMC Document 23 Filed 10/30/06 Page 11 of 11