Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_09-cv-00669/USCOURTS-cand-4_09-cv-00669-6/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
California River Watch
Plaintiff
Chevron Corporation
Defendant
Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
Defendant

Document Text:

Stipulation and Protective Order Regarding Confidential Information 

CASE NO: 4:09-cv-00669-CW 

288736.4

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ROGERS JOSEPH O’DONNELL 

ROBERT C. GOODMAN (State Bar No. 111554) 

rgoodman@rjo.com 

ANN M. BLESSING (State Bar No. 172573) 

ablessing@rjo.com 

D. KEVIN SHIPP (State Bar No. 245947) 

kshipp@rjo.com 

311 California Street 

San Francisco, California 94104 

Telephone: 415.956.2828 

Facsimile: 415.956.6457 

Attorneys for Defendants 

CHEVRON U.S.A. INC. and 

CHEVRON CORPORATION 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

OAKLAND DIVISION 

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA RIVER 

WATCH, a non-profit corporation, 

 Plaintiff, 

 vs. 

CHEVRON U.S.A. INC., CHEVRON 

CORPORATION, and DOES 1-10, 

Inclusive, 

 Defendants. 

Case No. 4:09-cv-00669-CW

STIPULATION AND PROTECTIVE 

ORDER REGARDING CONFIDENTIAL 

INFORMATION 

Subject to the approval of this Court, Defendants Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and 

Chevron Corp. (collectively “Defendants”) and Plaintiff Northern California River Watch 

(“Plaintiff”) in the matter entitled Northern California River Watch vs. Chevron U.S.A. Inc. 

and Chevron Corporation Case; No. 4:09-cv-00669-CW (the “Action”) hereby stipulate to 

this agreement and proposed protective order (“Stipulation and Protective Order”). 

This Stipulation and Protective Order is designed to: 1) maintain the 

confidentiality of business information, and 2) provide for the return of inadvertently 

produced attorney-client and work product protected information. 

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Confidential Material

1. The term “Confidential Material” as used in this Stipulation and Protective 

Order means trade secrets and commercial and financial information that is entitled to 

confidential treatment, including but not limited to: information which has not been made 

public and which concerns or relates to the processes, operations, type of work, or apparatus, 

or to the production, sales, shipments, purchase, transfers, identification of customers, 

inventories, amount or source of any income, profits, losses, or expenditures of any persons, 

firm, partnership, corporation, or other organization, the disclosure of which information may 

have the effect of causing harm to the competitive position of the person, firm, partnership, 

corporation, or to the organization from which the information was obtained. 

2. In connection with discovery proceedings in this action, the parties may 

designate any documents, things, materials, testimony or other information derived therefrom 

as Confidential Material under the terms of this Stipulation and Protective Order. By 

designating a document, thing, material, testimony or other information derived therefrom as 

Confidential Material, the party 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). 

3. The producing party may designate Confidential Material as follows: 

(a) The producing party may designate documents as Confidential Material 

by placing or affixing on documents produced the word “CONFIDENTIAL.” The 

information may be stamped "CONFIDENTIAL" on one or more pages of the document. 

Stamping “CONFIDENTIAL” on the cover of any multipage document shall designate all 

pages of the document as Confidential Material, unless otherwise indicated by the producing 

party. The information in a series of documents also may be identified as Confidential 

Material by a warning attached to the folder in the compact disk (or similar storage device) 

that contains the documents. If a readily identifiable set of documents contains Confidential 

Material in its entirety, that set may be designated as Confidential Material by a written 

statement provided at the time such documents are produced. All such documents shall be 

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referred to in this Stipulation and Protective Order as “unredacted Confidential Material” and 

shall be treated in their entirety, without specific designation of the particular confidential 

information therein, as confidential in accordance with the provisions of this Stipulation and 

Protective Order. 

(b) The responding party may designate information set forth in an answer 

to an interrogatory as Confidential Material by clearly indicating that portion of the response 

which the party is designating as confidential. Information contained in an answer to any 

question asked during a deposition taken pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 30 or 31 may be so 

designated by a statement indicated on the record during the course of the deposition and on 

the same day that the answer is given, or within thirty (30) days after a party receives a copy 

of the deposition transcript. Any answers given, or exhibits introduced, during the course of a 

deposition that contain Confidential Material shall be treated as confidential under this 

Stipulation and Protective Order. The deposition cover page shall be stamped as follows: 

This deposition contains Confidential Material subject to a 

Stipulation and Protective Order Governing Confidential 

Information entered in Northern California River Watch v. 

Chevron U.S.A Inc., et al., Case No. 4:09-cv-00669-CW. 

4. In addition to producing documents containing unredacted Confidential 

Material pursuant to the provisions of this Stipulation and Protective Order, the parties may 

make available copies of such documents from which Confidential Material has been 

redacted. The parties shall cooperate reasonably with one another in redacting Confidential 

Material from documents for the purposes of preparing exhibits or papers in this action, to the 

extent such redaction is necessary. Such redacted documents may be disclosed to any person 

or party without restriction by any provision of this Stipulation and Protective Order. 

5. Documents produced by the parties prior to the entry of this Stipulation and 

Protective Order may be designated as Confidential Material by the producing party by letter 

to the requesting party mailed within thirty (30) days of the date of entry of this Stipulation 

and Protective Order indicating the Bates number or other information identifying the 

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documents to be so designated, and the documents so designated shall be subject to the terms 

of this Stipulation and Protective Order. 

6. All persons receiving copies of documents, deposition transcripts, responses to 

written discovery, or other matter designated as unredacted Confidential Material shall 

maintain such Confidential Material in their possession in a manner sufficient to protect such 

material against unauthorized disclosure. Any person who is permitted access to unredacted 

Confidential Material in accordance with this Stipulation and Protective Order may make 

copies, duplicates, extracts, summaries, or descriptions of such documents or any portion 

thereof only for the purposes stated in Paragraph 7 below. All copies or duplicates shall be 

subject to the terms of this Stipulation and Protective Order just as if they were originals and 

shall be dealt with under the terms of this Stipulation and Protective Order to protect against 

unauthorized disclosure. 

7. Unredacted Confidential Material shall be used solely for the purpose of 

prosecuting, defending, settling, or otherwise conducting the Action and any appeals thereof, 

and not for any other purpose whatsoever. Except as the Court in this Action may otherwise 

provide, unredacted Confidential Materials and any copies thereof, and notes made thereof, 

shall be disclosed only to counsel for a party to this Action or any appeals thereof, and the 

following “Authorized Persons”: 

(a) the paralegal, clerical, and secretarial staff employed by counsel for a 

party; 

(b) a party, or an officer, director, or employee of a party deemed necessary 

by counsel to aid in the prosecution, defense, or settlement of this Action or any appeals 

thereof; 

(c) Experts or consultants (together with their clerical and secretarial staff) 

retained by a party or its counsel to assist in the prosecution, defense, or settlement of this 

Action or any appeals thereof. 

(d) court reporter(s) employed in this Action or any appeals thereof; 

(e) a witness at any deposition or other proceeding in this Action or any 

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appeals thereof; and 

(f) any other person as to whom the parties in writing agree. 

8. Prior to receiving any unredacted Confidential Material, each Authorized 

Person shall be provided with a copy of this Stipulation and Protective Order and shall 

execute a Nondisclosure Certification in the form of Attachment A. Counsel for the party to 

this Action disclosing the unredacted Confidential Material to an Authorized Person shall 

retain a copy of all such agreements. In the event that further disclosure is made by an 

Authorized Person, consistent with the terms and conditions of this Stipulation and Protective 

Order, such Authorized Person shall forward to counsel for the party that originally disclosed 

the information copies of any Certifications executed by persons to whom such further 

disclosure is made. Counsel for the disclosing party shall, upon request, forward all such 

Certifications to counsel for the other parties. The provisions of this Stipulation and 

Protective Order shall be binding upon each person to whom disclosure is made. Counsel for 

a party to this Action shall be deemed bound by the provisions of this Stipulation and 

Protective Order by virtue of his or her execution of this Stipulation and Protective Order on 

behalf of the party or parties he or she represents. Execution of this Stipulation and 

Protective Order by any counsel for any party in this Action shall be sufficient to bind any 

member or associate of that counsel’s law firm, including non-attorney employees of a law 

firm representing a party to this Action. 

9. Counsel to any party to the Action or any appeals thereof, who has not 

executed this Stipulation and Protective Order prior to its approval and entry by the Court 

shall execute a counterpart signature page prior to disclosure of Confidential Material to such 

counsel or any other Authorized Person acting on behalf of such counsel or the party he or 

she represents. All such counterpart signature pages shall be filed with the Court. 

10. All depositions in this Action of persons who have specific knowledge of 

Confidential Material shall be held in the presence only of the deponent, the parties, their 

counsel, officers of the Court involved in this Action (including the court reporter), and any 

other persons described in Paragraph 7 who have executed the Nondisclosure Certification 

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attached as Attachment A hereto. If, during the course of a deposition of a witness other than 

one who has specific knowledge of Confidential Material, it becomes necessary to reveal any 

Confidential Material, all persons other than those described in this Paragraph may be asked 

to leave the deposition room and, if asked, shall comply. It shall be the duty of counsel to 

ensure compliance with this Paragraph. The deposition transcript and any exhibits thereto 

shall be treated in accordance with Paragraph 3, above. 

11. If a party seeks to submit, or present to, or file any portion of any pleading, 

motion, deposition transcript or other document with the Court which contains unredacted 

Confidential Material, it shall do so in accordance with United States District Court, Northern 

District of California’s Civil Local Rule 79-5. It will be presumed that all Confidential 

Material is sealable unless the Court determines otherwise or the parties meet and confer and 

agree that the Confidential Material is not sealable. 

12. Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this Stipulation and Protective Order 

shall be deemed to preclude the parties from objecting to the designation of documents or 

other discovery material as Confidential Material. In such event, the party objecting to any 

such designation shall have the burden of filing a motion with the Court challenging such 

designation; the party designating such material as confidential shall have the burden of 

demonstrating that there is good cause to designate the documents or materials as such and 

that they properly are subject to treatment under this Stipulation and Protective Order. 

During the pendency of any motion under this Paragraph, the documents that are the subject 

of such motion shall continue to be treated as confidential under this Stipulation and 

Protective Order. 

13. The provisions of this Stipulation and Protective Order shall not be construed 

as preventing: (a) the disclosure of Confidential Material by the party which designated the 

information as such, and (b) the disclosure of Confidential Material to any judge, special 

master, magistrate or employee of a court for purposes of this Action or any appeals thereof. 

14. In the event that any unredacted Confidential Material is used in any 

proceeding in this Action or any appeals thereof, it shall not thereby lose its confidential 

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status and, to the greatest extent possible, the party using such unredacted Confidential 

Material shall preserve its confidentiality during such use, as required by and consistent with 

the terms of this Stipulation and Protective Order. 

15. In the event of inadvertent disclosure of unredacted Confidential Material by 

any person bound by the terms of this Stipulation and Protective Order, the party making such 

disclosure shall take steps to remedy any breach of confidentiality resulting from the 

disclosure. Steps to be taken shall include, as appropriate, limiting further dissemination of 

the information disclosed, retrieving copies of documents inadvertently circulated, 

withdrawing and refiling papers under seal, and similar actions. In the event of a dispute 

between the parties concerning the scope or application of this Paragraph, any person who is 

bound by the terms of this Stipulation and Protective Order or who has submitted unredacted 

Confidential Material pursuant to this Stipulation and Protective Order may petition the Court 

for appropriate relief. 

16. Within sixty (60) days after the termination of this Action or any appeal 

thereof, or within such other time as counsel for the parties may agree, counsel for the parties 

shall assemble and return to the producing party all unredacted Confidential Material and 

copies of same or certify the destruction thereof. 

17. This Stipulation and Protective Order shall survive the termination of this 

Action, and the Court shall retain jurisdiction to enforce and resolve disputes under this 

Stipulation and Protective Order. All unredacted Confidential Material shall continue to be 

treated as confidential in accordance with this Stipulation and Protective Order. The Clerk of 

the Court shall maintain under seal all papers filed under seal until the Court orders 

otherwise. 

18. Pending Court approval of this Stipulation and Protective Order, counsel for 

any party who has signed this Stipulation and Protective Order and any person who has 

executed the Nondisclosure Certification attached hereto as Attachment A shall be bound by 

the terms of this Stipulation and Protective Order and shall treat all Confidential Material 

received in accordance with the terms thereof. In the event that this Stipulation and 

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Protective Order or a modification hereof agreed to by the parties is not approved by the 

Court, all Confidential Material shall be treated in accordance with Paragraph 16, above. 

Privileged Material

19. During discovery, attorney-client privileged and attorney work product 

protected information may be inadvertently disclosed through documents, testimony, or other 

means (“Privileged Material”). Plaintiff and Defendants stipulate that such inadvertent 

disclosure of Privileged Material does not constitute a waiver. Pursuant to Federal Rules of 

Evidence Rule 502(d), this Stipulation and Protective Order shall be binding on all persons 

and entities in all state and federal proceedings, whether or not they are parties to the matter 

before the Court. 

20. The terms “attorney-client privilege” and “work product protected” as used in 

this Stipulation and Protective Order shall have the same meaning as those phrases are giving 

in Federal Rules of Evidence Rules 502(f)(1)-(2). 

21. If a party discovers or suspects that Privileged Material was produced 

inadvertently, the material shall only be examined to the extent necessary to determine that it 

is Privileged Material. 

22. If a party discovers or suspects that it has received Privileged Material, that 

party shall immediately notify counsel for the opposing party or parties by email. 

23. If a party discovers or suspects that it has produced or otherwise transmitted 

Privileged Material to another party, it shall immediately inform the receiving party by email. 

24. If a party receives notice or discovers that it is in possession of Privileged 

Material, it shall immediately take steps to prevent any further inadvertent disclosure. In 

addition, the receiving party shall transmit the Privileged Material to the party or attorney 

holding the attorney-client privilege or work product protection within five (5) business days. 

25. If a party disputes the claim that material is Privileged Material, the parties will 

attempt to resolve the dispute informally or refrain from using the material until a order can 

be obtained by the Court. 

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This agreement may be signed by counsel in counterparts. 

Attachments: Attachment A – Nondisclosure Certification 

IT IS SO STIPULATED 

Dated: May__, 2010 ROGERS JOSEPH O’DONNELL 

 By: _________________________________ 

 ROBERT C. GOODMAN 

Attorneys for DEFENDANTS CHEVRON 

U.S.A. INC. AND CHEVRON 

CORPORATION 

Dated: May___, 2010 LAW OFFICE OF JACK SILVER 

By: _____________________________________ 

JACK SILVER 

Attorneys for NORTHERN CALIFORNIA 

RIVER WATCH. 

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Attachment A 

NONDISCLOSURE CERTIFICATION

The undersigned is currently working at ________________, which is located at 

__________________. [During the past one (1) year period, the undersigned has been

employed or otherwise engaged as an attorney or employee of, or a consultant or contractor 

to, the following entity, located at the following address:

Company Name:______________ 

Address:____________________]

The undersigned hereby states, under penalty of perjury, that he/she has read the 

Stipulation and Protective Order Protecting Confidential Information entered by the Court in 

Northern California River Watch v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc, et al., Case No. 4:09-cv-00669-CW, 

understands the terms thereof, and agrees, upon threat of penalty of contempt of court, civil 

claims by the party whose claim of confidentiality has been breached, and/or criminal 

penalties under 18 U.S.C. § 1905 or 42 U.S.C. § 9604(e)(7)(B), to be bound by such terms. 

The undersigned further agrees to submit to the jurisdiction of the Court in connection with 

any claim that he/she failed to abide by the terms of the Stipulation and Protective Order. 

The undersigned further agrees to keep any Confidential Material obtained by him/her within 

his/her exclusive possession, place the material in a secure and segregated location, and 

agrees not to disclose the material other than to those to whom disclosure is specifically 

authorized by the Stipulation and Protective Order. He/she further agrees not to use or 

disclose the material other than as authorized by the Stipulation and Protective Order. The 

undersigned agrees that the pledge of secrecy under this agreement continues in perpetuity 

after the above-captioned litigation is concluded. 

Executed this ____ day of ________________________, in 

_______________________________. 

___________________________ 

 [SIGNED] 

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IT IS SO ORDERED. 

PURSUANT TO STIPULATION IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 

The Court finds that good cause exists for the issuance of an order requiring 

limited disclosure of Confidential Information and for the claw back of inadvertently 

disclosed Privileged Material. Entry of this Protective Order is appropriate pursuant to 

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). 

Dated: May 12, 2010 

 HONORABLE CLAUDIA WILKEN 

 United States District Court Judge 

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