Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_10-cv-02051/USCOURTS-caed-1_10-cv-02051-3/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Britz Fertilizers, Inc.
Plaintiff
Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Company
Defendant

Document Text:

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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TED R. FRAME (SBN 023736)

FRAME & MATSUMOTO

201 Washington Street

P.O. Box 895

Coalinga, CA 93210

Tel: (559) 935-1552

Fax: (559) 935-1555

JOAN M. COTKIN (SBN 70665)

NOSSAMAN LLP

777 S. Figueroa Street, 34th Floor

Los Angeles, CA 90017

Tel: (213) 612-7800

Fax: (213) 612-7801

Attorneys for Plaintiff, BRITZ FERTILIZERS, INC. 

MARC S. HINES (SBN 140065)

MICHELLE L. CARDER (SBN 174481)

CHRISTINE M. EMANUELSON (SBN 221269)

HINES SMITH CARDER

3090 Bristol Street, Suite 300

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Tel: (714) 513-1122

Fax: (714) 513-1123

Attorneys for Defendant, NATIONWIDE AGRIBUSINESS INSURANCE 

COMPANY

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, FRESNO DIVISION

BRITZ FERTILIZERS, INC.,

Plaintiff,

v.

NATIONWIDE AGRIBUSINESS 

INSURANCE COMPANY,

Defendant.

Case No. 1:10-CV-02051-AWI-MJS

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

/ / /

/ / /

Case 1:10-cv-02051-AWI-MJS Document 50 Filed 01/17/12 Page 1 of 10
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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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TO THE COURT, ALL PARTIES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE 

COUNSEL OF RECORD: 

IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED to, by and between the 

parties to this action, through their respective attorneys of record, HINES SMITH 

CARDER for Defendant, Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Company 

(“Nationwide”), and FRAME & MATSUMOTO and NOSSAMAN, LLP, for 

Plaintiff Britz Fertilizers, Inc. (“Britz”), that certain documents produced in 

connection with discovery proceedings in this action shall be subject to the 

following confidentiality agreement (“the Agreement”): 

1. The documents that are the subject of this Agreement include: 

a. Proprietary and confidential documents of Nationwide containing

trade secret or other confidential research, development or commercial 

information, and which Nationwide contends are protected by trade secret 

privileges under Civil Code §3426 et seq. and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

26(c) and which Nationwide is producing to Plaintiff pursuant to discovery 

procedures while the above-referenced action is pending and marked by 

Nationwide as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

b. Proprietary and confidential documents of Britz containing 

commercial and financial information which Britz contends are protected by 

privacy rights and by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) which Britz may 

produce pursuant to discovery procedures while the above-referenced action is 

pending and which are marked by Britz as confidential.

The documents described in subsections a. and b. above and marked as 

“CONFIDENTIAL” are herein referred to as the “Confidential Documents.”

Confidential Documents may be marked by the producing party pursuant to the 

terms of the Agreement as “CONFIDENTIAL” at any time, regardless of when 

produced. Further, stamping the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” on the cover of any 

Case 1:10-cv-02051-AWI-MJS Document 50 Filed 01/17/12 Page 2 of 10
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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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multi-page document shall designate all pages of the documents as confidential, 

unless otherwise indicated by the producing party. 

2. The Confidential Documents, and all copies or extracted therefrom, 

excerpts, summaries, compilations, testimony, conversations, presentations by 

parties or counsel to or in court, or in any other settings that might reveal said 

information, and information learned from the Confidential Documents, are 

confidential and proprietary in nature and protected by privacy rights and trade 

secret laws. It is the intent of the parties to preserve the confidentiality of the 

Confidential Documents and the information learned from it. The Confidential 

Documents and the information learned from them are not to be used in any 

fashion other than for the purposes of this litigation, and are not to be disclosed to 

any persons or entities except as set forth in the Agreement, and are to be kept 

confidential to the greatest extent possible, even within the confines of this 

litigation. 

3. In the event a producing party marks any document or testimony 

“CONFIDENTIAL” which the other party believes is not protected by any trade 

secret privilege or is not confidential or proprietary in nature, the parties shall 

within thirty (30) days of the objecting party’s request, meet and confer in good 

faith regarding removal of the “CONFIDENTIAL” designation. In the event the 

parties are unable to reach an agreement regarding designation of the documents 

as Confidential Documents subject to this Agreement or designation of testimony 

as subject to the restrictions of this Agreement, the objecting party shall move the 

Court for an order de-designating the subject document(s) as “CONFIDENTIAL,” 

and nothing within this Agreement or corresponding order shall preclude the 

objecting party from making such motion. The burden of persuasion of any 

challenge proceeding shall be on the designating party. The parties agree to 

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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continue to afford the material confidential protection until the Court rules on any 

such motion. 

4. The parties agree the parties need not file a motion for protective 

order pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26. 

5. Immediately following the conclusion of this litigation, either by 

settlement, judgment, dismissal or otherwise, counsel for the party or parties to 

which Confidential Documents were produced shall destroy the Confidential 

Documents, including any copies made of the Confidential Documents and 

including any extracts and/or summaries of the Confidential Documents 

containing information taken from the Confidential Documents. Each party shall 

provide written notice to the other side that the Confidential Documents have been 

destroyed or, in the alternative, return the Confidential Documents to the other 

side with a cover letter confirming all Confidential Documents have been 

returned. The parties and Counsel for the parties shall not discuss the Confidential 

Documents or information gleaned from the Confidential Documents at all with 

any person or party at any time after conclusion of the litigation, other than with 

their respective counsel and clients in the above-captioned action, counsel for 

Plaintiff, counsel for Nationwide, and the Court under seal. 

6. The Confidential Documents shall be disclosed only to:

a. The Court and its officers in accordance with Paragraph 8 herein; 

b. Counsel of Record for the parties and the staff assigned to assist 

Counsel of Record in this matter; 

c. Any experts or consultants retained by any of the Parties; provided 

such expert or consultant complies with Paragraph 7 herein; 

d. Witnesses during depositions in accordance with Paragraph 9 

herein; 

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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e. Persons recording testimony involving such Confidential 

information, including Court reporters, stenographers and audio and/or video 

technicians, and clerical staff employed by any of the foregoing; 

f. Mediators who may be authorized by the parties to mediate the 

case; and

g. Such other persons as hereafter may be designated by written 

stipulation of the parties, or by the Order of the Court.

To “disclose” the Confidential Documents means to provide the 

Confidential Documents, or any one of them, to provide any documents which 

discuss the Confidential Documents, or to discuss or refer to any of the contents of 

the Confidential Documents. 

7. The Confidential Documents shall be disclosed to an expert or 

consultant under Paragraph 6 of the Agreement only upon the expert or consultant 

signing Exhibit 1 to the Agreement. Said expert or consultant witnesses shall not 

disclose the Confidential Documents to any person or entity. Said expert or 

consultant shall return the Confidential Documents and all copies thereof, 

including extracts and/or summaries of the Confidential Documents containing 

information taken from the Confidential Documents, to the party’s respective 

counsel at the conclusion of the litigation. The original of such signed Exhibit 1 

shall be retained by counsel for each party who intends to or does provide such 

expert or consultant any such Confidential Documents, until the conclusion of the 

above-captioned action, including any appeals. If requested to do so by counsel 

for any party, counsel shall provide a copy of such declarations to counsel making 

the request, unless such disclosure would provide information not otherwise 

subject to discovery (e.g., identification of non-testifying consultant experts or 

retained experts prior to expert disclosure date or identification of potential 

witnesses in violation of work product protection or any privilege). The parties 

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agree not to use these declarations for any purpose other than monitoring and 

enforcing compliance with this Order. The parties further agree to treat the 

declarations as confidential. 

8. The Confidential Documents, and any documents or testimony 

disclosing its contents, shall be treated as confidential. Without written 

permission from the designating counsel, or a court order secured after appropriate 

notice to all interested parties, the other party may not file in the public record in 

this action any Confidential Documents. Any party that wishes to file under seal 

any Confidential Documents in connection with a motion, trial or appeal in this 

action, must comply with Local Rule 141. 

9. During any deposition in which any of the Confidential Documents 

or confidential material subject to this Agreement are offered as an exhibit, or a 

witness is questioned about the specific contents of same, whether or not offered 

as an exhibit, all persons present at the deposition shall agree to observe the 

confidentiality of the Confidential Documents, the material and the terms of the 

Agreement. Said agreement shall be placed on the record at the deposition, and 

the Agreement shall me made an exhibit to the deposition. No witness shall be 

permitted to take any of the Confidential Documents, or any copies of same, from 

the deposition, nor shall they be permitted to retain any of the Confidential 

Documents, nor shall they be permitted to disclose any of the Confidential 

Documents. Within thirty (30) days of receipt of the original or a certified copy of 

the deposition transcript, if the designating party contends testimony pertaining to 

any document marked “CONFIDENTIAL” is subject to this Agreement, counsel 

shall provide written notice to the other party’s counsel of the page and line 

numbers so designated. If a document designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” is used 

as an exhibit at a deposition, that document and the deposition testimony 

concerning it shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL” matter regardless of whether a 

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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party makes any formal designation thereof in connection with the deposition. If 

any portion of a deposition transcript is designated and/or deemed a 

“CONFIDENTIAL” matter, including exhibits, any production or lodging of the 

transcript in its entirety shall be produced and/or lodged under seal pursuant to 

Paragraph 8, above.

10. The parties reserve the right to seek an order from the Court, on 

noticed motion, to modify or change this Agreement, including the right to have 

documents designated as confidential deemed not confidential. This Agreement 

and the Confidential Documents governed hereby can only be deemed not 

confidential by an order of the Court upon motion or by stipulation. 

11. Notwithstanding the termination of this action by settlement, 

judgment, dismissal or otherwise, the United States District Court for the Eastern

District of California shall retain jurisdiction to enforce the Agreement. 

IT IS SO STIPULATED. 

DATED: December ___, 2011 HINES SMITH CARDER

By: ________________________

Marc S. Hines

Michelle L. Carder

Christine M. Emanuelson 

Attorneys for Defendant, 

NATIONWIDE AGRIBUSINESS 

INSURANCE COMPANY

DATED: December ___, 2011 FRAME & MATSUMOTO

By: ________________________

Ted R. Frame, Esq.

Attorney for Plaintiff, 

BRITZ FERTILIZERS, INC.

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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DATED: December ___, 2011 NOSSAMAN LLP

By: ________________________

Joan M. Cotkin, Esq.

Terry C. Leuin, Esq.

Attorneys for Plaintiff, 

BRITZ FERTILIZERS, INC.

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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EXHIBIT 1

I, ________________________________________, declare: 

1. I hereby acknowledge that I have read the Stipulated Protective Order 

regarding the Confidential Documents (hereinafter “Order”) in the case of Britz 

Fertilizers, Inc. v. Nationwide Agribusiness Insurance Company, U.S. District 

Court for the Eastern District of California, Case No. 1:10:CV-02051-AWI-MJS

(the “Lawsuit”) and I understand the terms of the Order and agree to abide by and 

be bound by the terms of the Order. 

2. I further acknowledge that I understand that the Confidential 

Documents may not be disclosed to anyone, except as authorized by this Order.

3. I further acknowledge that the Confidential Documents may not be 

used for any purpose other than as required for my work in the Lawsuit. I further 

understand and acknowledge that any dissemination or use of such Confidential 

Documents or information in a manner inconsistent with the Order may subject 

me to contempt proceedings. 

4. I hereby consent to the jurisdiction of said Court for purposes of 

enforcing this Order. 

5. Upon final dissolution of the Lawsuit, I shall return all copies of the 

Confidential Documents to the attorney, entity or person that retained me or my 

firm in the Lawsuit, or that provided me with the Confidential Documents. 

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California 

that the foregoing is true and correct. 

Dated: _________________ By: ____________________________

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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ORDER

Based on the above Stipulation, and good cause appearing, 

IT IS ORDERED that the Stipulated Protective Order, the terms of which 

are set forth above, be in force as a Protective Order of this Court, and that the 

parties, person and entities to whom the Confidential Documents, information and 

materials, as defined in the Stipulated Protective Order, be released shall be

subject to and bound by the terms and conditions of the Stipulated Protective 

Order. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: January 13, 2012 /s/Michael J. Seng 

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE DEAC_Signature-END:

ci4d6

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