Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_07-cv-01029/USCOURTS-caed-2_07-cv-01029-1/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Eagle Advanced Systems Engineering, Inc.
Counter Defendant
Sentech Medical Systems, Inc.
Counter Claimant

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895749.1 1 

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 

COSTELLO LAW CORPORATION 

JOHN P. COSTELLO (Bar No. 161511) 

PAMELA W. BERTANI (Bar No. 182672) 

331 J Street, Suite 200 

Sacramento, CA 95814 

Telephone: (916) 441-2234 

Facsimile: (916) 441-4254 

DOWNEY BRAND LLP 

MICHAEL J. THOMAS (Bar No. 172326) 

MEGHAN M. BAKER (Bar No. 243765) 

555 Capitol Mall, Tenth Floor 

Sacramento, CA 95814-4686 

Telephone: (916) 444-1000 

Facsimile: (916) 444-2100 

Attorneys for Plaintiff 

Eagle Advanced Systems Engineering, Inc. 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

EAGLE ADVANCED SYSTEMS 

ENGINEERING, INC., a California 

Corporation, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

SENTECH MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC., a 

Florida Corporation; and DOES 1 through 

10, inclusive, 

Defendants. 

___________________________________ 

SENTECH MEDICAL SYSMEMS, INC., 

a Florida Corporation, 

 Counterclaimant, 

v. 

EAGLE ADVANCED SYSTEMS 

ENGINEERING, INC., a California 

Corporation, 

 Counterdefendant. 

Case No. 2:07-CV-01029-LKK-GGH 

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 

Case 2:07-cv-01029-LKK -GGH Document 30 Filed 12/17/07 Page 1 of 12
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895749.1 2 

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 

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. 

To permit the parties to produce such sensitive information while safeguarding its confidentiality, 

parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective 

Order, which shall apply to, and govern, all documents, things, discovery responses, and 

testimony designated by the disclosing party in good faith as constituting or containing 

Confidential or Highly Confidential Information or Items under the Protective Order 

2. DEFINITIONS

2.1 Party: All parties to this action and anyone else acting upon their behalf or 

at their direction or control, including, but not limited to, their officers, directors, employees, 

consultants, retained experts, as well as Counsel and their support staff. 

2.2 Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless of the medium 

or manner generated, stored, or maintained (including, but not limited to, testimony, transcripts, 

or tangible things) that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery. 

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

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

developed under Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 

2.4 “Highly Confidential” Information or Items: All extremely sensitive 

“Confidential Information or Items” whose disclosure to another Party or non-party would 

create a substantial risk of serious injury that could not be avoided by less restrictive means. 

2.5 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Discovery Material from a 

Producing Party. 

2.6 Producing Party: a Party or non-party that produces Discovery Material 

in this action. 

Case 2:07-cv-01029-LKK -GGH Document 30 Filed 12/17/07 Page 2 of 12
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895749.1 3 

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 

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

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

Confidential.” 

2.8 Protected Material: any Discovery Material that is designated as 

“Confidential” or as “Highly Confidential.” 

2.9 Outside Counsel: attorneys (and their support staffs) who are not 

employees of a Party but who are retained to represent or advise a Party in this action. 

2.10 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 and who is not a past or a current employee of a Party or 

of a competitor of a Party’s and who, at the time of retention, is not anticipated to become an 

employee of a Party or a competitor of a Party’s. This definition includes a professional jury or 

trial consultant retained in connection with this litigation. 

2.11 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 

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. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

4.1 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 

parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify— so that other 

Case 2:07-cv-01029-LKK -GGH Document 30 Filed 12/17/07 Page 3 of 12
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895749.1 4 

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 

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 ease development process, or to impose unnecessary 

expenses and burdens on other parties), may expose the Designating Party to sanctions. No party 

will indiscriminately or unreasonably stamp or maintain documents as Confidential or Highly 

Confidential, and in no event will publicly available documents such as publications, patents, or 

file histories be stamped Confidential or Highly Confidential. 

This Protective Order shall not apply to information which (a) is public knowledge, (b) is 

acquired in good faith and without subpoena from a third party who has no obligation to maintain 

such confidentiality, or (d) is possessed by the receiving party prior to this action, unless that 

information was obtained under circumstances requiring the receiving party to treat it as 

confidential. 

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. 

4.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 

this Order, 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” or “HIGHLY 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 

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895749.1 5 

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 

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 “HIGHLY 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” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL”) at the top of each 

page that contains Protected Material. 

(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, all protected testimony, 

and further specify any portions of the testimony that qualify as “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL.” 

When it is impractical to identify separately each portion of testimony that is entitled to 

protection, and when it appears that substantial portions of the testimony may qualify for 

protection, the Party or non-party that sponsors, offers, or gives the testimony may invoke on the 

record (before the deposition or proceeding is concluded) a right to have up to 21 days to identify 

the specific portions of the testimony as to which protection is sought and to specify the level of 

protection being asserted (“CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL”). Only those 

portions of the testimony that are appropriately designated for protection within the 21 days shall 

be covered by the provisions of this Stipulated Protective Order. 

Transcript pages containing Protected Material must be separately bound by the court 

reporter, who must affix to the top of each such page the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or 

“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” as instructed by the Party or non-party offering or sponsoring the 

witness or presenting the testimony. 

(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” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL.” If only portions of the information or 

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895749.1 6 

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 

item warrant protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 

portions, specifying whether they qualify as “Confidential” or as “Highly Confidential.” 

4.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. Inadvertent failure of counsel to 

designate or mark any document, thing, or testimony as Confidential or Highly Confidential 

Information as provided above shall not preclude the disclosing party from promptly thereafter 

in good faith making such a designation and requesting the receiving party to so mark and treat 

such documents and things so designated. The receiving party, however, shall incur no liability 

for disclosures made prior to notice of such designations. 

5. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

5.1 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. 

5.2 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 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 

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. 

5.3 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 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 

Case 2:07-cv-01029-LKK -GGH Document 30 Filed 12/17/07 Page 6 of 12
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895749.1 7 

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 

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. 

6. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

6.1 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. 

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Order, no Highly Confidential Information of the 

other party shall be brought onto or maintained on any premises owned or leased by, or otherwise 

under the control of the receiving party, whether such Highly Confidential Information is 

intangible, magnetic, electronic, or other machine-readable form. 

6.2 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 and who have signed the “Confidentiality Undertaking” that is attached hereto 

as Exhibit A; 

(b) The officers, directors and no more than three (3) non-officer 

employees of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation 

and who have signed the “Confidentiality Undertaking” (Exhibit A); 

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895749.1 8 

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 

(c) Experts (as defined in this Order) and Professional Vendors of the 

Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have 

signed the “Confidentiality Undertaking” (Exhibit A); 

(d) The Court and its personnel; 

(e) Court reporters and their staffs to whom disclosure is reasonably 

necessary for this litigation; 

(f) During their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom 

disclosure is reasonably necessary and who have signed the “Confidentiality Undertaking” 

(Exhibit A). 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. 

6.3 Disclosure of “HIGHLY 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 “HIGHLY 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 and who have signed the “Confidentiality Undertaking” that is attached hereto 

as Exhibit A; 

(b) Experts (as defined in this Order) (1) and Professional Vendors to 

whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation, and (2) who have signed the 

“Confidentiality Undertaking” (Exhibit A); 

(c) The Court and its personnel; 

(d) Court reporters and their staffs to whom disclosure is reasonably 

necessary for this litigation; and 

(e) The author of the document or the original source of the 

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895749.1 9 

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 

information. 

7. 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” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL,” the Receiving Party must so notify the 

Designating Party, in writing (by e-mail, if possible) immediately and in no event more than five 

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 promptly 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. 

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. 

8. 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, 

(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 “Confidentiality Undertaking” 

that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 

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895749.1 10 

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 

9. FILING PROTECTED MATERIAL

Unless waived by the designating party upon consultation with opposing counsel, no No 

information designated Confidential or Highly Confidential, nor any documents disclosing, 

reproducing, or paraphrasing, in whole or part, Confidential or Highly Confidential Information 

may be filed or submitted to the Court unless the submission complies with the procedures set 

forth in Local Rule 39-141 for filing documents under seal. 

10. TRIAL

This Stipulated Protective Order, insofar as it restricts the communication, use, or 

disclosure of Protected Material, shall not apply to the introduction, use, or disclosure of such 

materials and information, and testimony related thereto, as evidence at trial. Nothing in this 

order shall be construed to prohibit any Party from seeking further relief from the Court regarding 

the communication, use or disclosure of Protected Material during courtroom proceedings. 

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 

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. 

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895749.1 11 

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 

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. 

IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 

DATED: December 10, 2007 DOWNEY BRAND LLP 

 By: /s/ Michael J. Thomas 

 MICHAEL J. THOMAS 

 Attorney for Plaintiff/Counterdefendant 

 Eagle Advanced Systems Engineering, Inc. 

DATED: December 8, 2007 NIXON VANDERHYE P.C. 

 By: /s/ Robert A. Rowan 

 ROBERT A. ROWAN 

 Attorney for Plaintiff/Counterdefendant 

 Eagle Advanced Systems Engineering, Inc. 

PURSUANT TO THE STIPULATION, IT IS SO ORDERED. ** 

DATED: 12/17/07 /s/ Gregory G. Hollows

 U.S. Magistrate Judge 

** See modification to paragraph 9. 

 

Eagle.po 

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895749.1 12 

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 

Exhibit A

Confidentiality Undertaking 

1. I have read and understand the attached Agreed Protective Order concerning 

confidential information that has been entered in Eagle Advanced Systems Engineering, Inc. v 

SenTech Medical Systems, Inc., C.A. No. 2:07-CV-1029 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern 

District of California in Sacramento. 

2. I understand that I may be given access to Confidential or Highly Confidential 

Information, and in consideration of that access, I agree that I shall be bound by all the terms of 

the Protective Order. 

3. I understand that I am to retain all originals and copies of the Confidential or Highly 

Confidential Information in a secure manner and that all copies will be destroyed or returned to 

the counsel who provided me with it within 60 days after termination of this action. 

4. I understand that all Confidential or Highly Confidential Information shall be used 

solely for the purposes of this action and shall not, directly or indirectly, be used for any other 

purpose and that any use of Confidential or Highly Confidential Information, or any information 

obtained therefrom, in any manner contrary to the provisions of the Protective Order will subject 

me to the sanctions of the Court. 

Date:_____________________________ Signature:_________________________________ 

Position:__________________________ Name (print):_______________________________ 

Firm Address:__________________________________________________________________ 

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