Stadish

Petitioners, Joseph and Lyn Stadish, seek a writ of mandate directing the superior court to set aside its order of October 29, 1998, in which it denied petitioners’ motion to compel the production of certain documents, and granted real party Southern California Gas Company’s motion for a protective order. We conclude that under the circumstances of this case, the court was permitted, under the authority of Code of Civil Procedure section 2031, subdivision (e), 1 to issue a protective order. However, we also conclude that the trial court failed to employ the proper procedure in making its rulings, and that as a result, the matter must be remanded for further proceedings.

*1134 Summary of Facts

Petitioners filed an eight-count complaint 2 against Southern California Gas Company (the Gas Company) alleging injuries from exposure to toxic chemicals while living in the vicinity of an underground, natural gas storage field owned by the Gas Company in the City of Playa del Rey. The Playa del Rey field originally housed oil and gas, which resided in its natural condition in the interstices of rock occupying certain strata beneath the surface of the earth. After the oil and gas…

Concurring. — Normally it is permissible to follow the case management order (CMO) procedures which have become common in complex litigation. CMO’s are designed to streamline case processing, to control delay and expense, and to promote just results. A CMO often includes or incorporates a confidentiality order. Confidentiality orders often allow either side unilaterally to designate documents as confidential. Such unilateral designation subjects a designated document to whatever protections are provided by the confidentiality order. The instant case proceeded similarly to this common practice up to this point.

Missing from the instant case, however, are the “declassification” provisions commonly found in CMO’s and related confidentiality orders. Confidentiality orders generally do allow initial unilateral classification as confidential, and hence do allow a document initially to be unilaterally subjected *1147 to protection. For example, a typical CMO clause might provide that after classification as confidential, “the document and the information so classified shall be protected in accordance with this order until the court enters an order changing the classification,” or…

David Keitel, Los Angeles, John McDowell and Rey S. Yang, for Real Party in Interest.

Petitioners, Joseph and Lyn Stadish, seek a writ of mandate directing the superior court to set aside its order of October 29, 1998, in which it denied petitioners' motion to compel the production of certain documents, and granted real party Southern California Gas Company's motion for a protective order. We conclude that under the circumstances of this case, the court was permitted, under the authority of Code of Civil Procedure section 2031, subdivision (e) [1] , to issue a protective order. However, we also conclude that the trial court failed to employ the proper procedure in making its rulings, and that as a result, the matter must be remanded for further proceedings.

Petitioners filed an eight-count complaint [2] against Southern California Gas Company (the Gas Company) alleging injuries from exposure to toxic chemicals while living in the vicinity of an underground, natural gas storage field owned by the Gas Company in the city of Playa del Rey. The Playa del Rey field originally housed oil and gas, which resided in its natural condition in the interstices of rock…