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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9 10 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 12 FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, ) Case No.: 8:19-cv-01728-JVS-JDEx

13 ) Plaintiff, ) 14 ORDER GOVERNING )

CONFIDENTIAL AND SENSITIVE

15 v. ) PERSONAL INFORMATION AS ) 16 TO PLAITIFF AND INDIVIDUAL

STUDENT ADVOCATES TEAM, LLC, ) DEFENDANTS HUNT AND

17 et al., ) LUCERO 18 ) Defendants. ) 19 ) 20 )

21 The Court enters this protective order pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c) and 22 5.2(e), and pursuant to stipulation filed by Plaintiff and Individual Defendants 23 Bradley Hunt and Sean Lucero (the “Parties”). IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 24 I. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 25 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 26 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure 27 and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be warranted. 1 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to, and petition the Court to enter, the 2 following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does 3 not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that 4 the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited 5 information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable 6 legal principles. 7 II. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 8 This action is likely to involve consumers’ sensitive personal information and 9 information produced in response to Plaintiff’s civil investigative demands for which 10 special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 11 prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials 12 and information consist of, among other things, consumers’ sensitive personal 13 information, confidential business or financial information (including information 14 implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise generally 15 unavailable to the public, or information which may be privileged or otherwise 16 protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, 17 or common law. Further, given the claims in this suit, Defendants claim that the 18 information sought could involve individual defendants’ personal/private and 19 confidential information as well as documents that are protected under applicable law 20 as being protected as business trade secrets. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of 21 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of 22 discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep 23 confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such 24 material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the 25 end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such 26 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information 27 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so 1 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public 2 record of this case. 3 III. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE 4 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section X, below, that this 5 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 6 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and 7 the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file 8 material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access 9 to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive 10 motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. 11 City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. 12 Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony 13 Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective 14 orders require good cause showing). And a specific showing of good cause or 15 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification must be 16 made with respect to Confidential Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The 17 parties’ mere designation of disclosure or discovery material as CONFIDENTIAL 18 does not— without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing 19 that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or 20 otherwise protectable—constitute good cause. 21 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 22 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the 23 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. 24 See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each 25 item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under 26 seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by 27 specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent 1 evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by 2 declaration. 3 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 4 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 5 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only 6 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall 7 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety 8 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 9 IV. DEFINITIONS 10 A. “Commission” means Plaintiff, Federal Trade Commission. 11 B. “Party” or “parties” refers to Plaintiff and Individual Defendants 12 Bradley Hunt and Sean Lucero. 13 C. “Confidential Material” means any material that: (1) contains 14 information that is not known to be in the public domain such as trade secrets, 15 confidential commercial or financial information, or confidential research and 16 development information; and (2) reasonably would cause specific or cognizable 17 harm if disclosed publicly or to unauthorized persons. 18 D. “Sensitive Personal Information” means any (1) Social Security number; 19 (2) sensitive health-related data including medical records; (3) biometric identifier; 20 or (4) any one or more of the following when combined with an individual’s name, 21 address, or phone number: (a) date of birth, (b) driver’s license or other state 22 identification number, or a foreign equivalent, (c) military identification number, (d) 23 passport number, (e) financial institution account number, (f) credit or debit card 24 number; or (5) other sensitive information relating to an individual entitled to 25 confidential status under applicable law or by order of this Court. 26 V. DESIGNATING CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL 27 A. If a party has a good faith belief that material required to be produced in 1 presumption of public access to material obtained in pretrial discovery, the party must 2 designate such material as follows: 3 1. For paper materials, stamp “CONFIDENTIAL” on each page that 4 contains Confidential Material. 5 2. For electronically stored information, brand it as 6 “CONFIDENTIAL” and mark the electronic storage medium “CONFIDENTIAL.” 7 3. For deposition transcripts, identify the specific pages and line 8 numbers that contain Confidential Material within ten [10] days of receipt of the final 9 transcript. If any testimony is identified as Confidential Material during a 10 deposition, absent agreement on the scope of confidentiality, the entire transcript 11 shall be treated as confidential until ten [10] days after the designating party’s receipt 12 of the final transcript. 13 B. The designating party must designate as confidential only those portions 14 of materials that contain Confidential Material. Mass or indiscriminate designation of 15 materials as Confidential Material is prohibited. 16 VI. CERTIFICATION OF GOOD FAITH DESIGNATIONS 17 For each document production that contains Confidential Material, the party or 18 the party’s counsel must provide a signed declaration at the time of production that: 19 (A) certifies that information designated as Confidential Material contains 20 information not known to be in the public domain; and (B) certifies that good faith 21 efforts were taken to designate as confidential only those materials or portions of 22 materials that meet the definition herein of “Confidential Material.” 23 VII. INADVERTENT FAILURE TO DESIGNATE CONFIDENTIAL 24 MATERIALS 25 An inadvertent failure to designate material as “Confidential Material” prior to 26 production or disclosure to the other side does not preclude a subsequent designation. 27 Any disclosure of such material by the receiving party prior to receiving the 1 designation that such material is confidential shall not be considered a violation of 2 this Order. 3 In the event of subsequent designation of Confidential Material, the parties 4 shall cooperate to protect such material from future dissemination or public access. 5 VIII. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 6 A. Any party receiving Confidential Material may challenge the designating 7 party’s confidentiality designation by sending the designating party a written 8 objection by email that sets forth the objecting party’s basis for why the material is 9 not confidential. 10 B. Within seven [7] days of a written objection to the designation of 11 Confidential Material, the designating party and the objecting party must meet and 12 confer in good faith to resolve the objection. 13 C. If the designating party and the objecting party are unable to resolve the 14 dispute, the designating party must move the Court for a protective order to uphold 15 the confidentiality designation within seven [7] days of the meet and confer. Failure 16 to seek a protective order within seven [7] days of the meet and confer terminates 17 confidential treatment for the material. 18 D. The burden of establishing that the confidentiality designation is proper 19 is on the designating party. 20 E. Any person or entity receiving Confidential Material may use the 21 procedures set forth in this section to challenge the designating party’s confidentiality 22 designation. 23 IX. PERMITTED DISCLOSURES OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIALS AND 24 SENSITIVE PERSONAL INFORMATION 25 A. Confidential Material or Sensitive Personal Information may be 26 disclosed only to: 27 1. the Court and court personnel; 1 2. the parties’ counsel and the parties’ counsel’s designated 2 employees; 3 3. experts, consultants, contractors, or other persons consulted or 4 retained by the parties or counsel to assist in this litigation (including their 5 employees), provided that they sign Exhibit 1 or execute FTC Form X33- 6 Nondisclosure Agreement for Contractors; 7 4. any person (and his or her counsel) who had prior access to the 8 Confidential Material or Sensitive Personal Information or participated in a 9 communication that is the subject of the Confidential Material or Sensitive 10 Personal Information; 11 5. any other witnesses or persons whom the disclosing party believes 12 in good faith may be witnesses (and their respective counsel), provided that 13 they have signed Exhibit 1 and, with respect to Confidential Material, under the 14 following conditions: 15 a) The party seeking to disclose the Confidential Material 16 must, prior to disclosure, provide written notice to the 17 designating party of its intent to disclose Confidential 18 Material and identify the witness to whom Confidential 19 Material will be disclosed; 20 b) The designating party shall have three [3] days from the 21 date of the written notice to object to the proposed 22 disclosure; 23 c) If the designating party objects within the three [3]-day 24 period, the party seeking the disclosure may not disclose the 25 material to the witness, but may file a motion seeking Court 26 authorization to make such disclosure; and 27 1 d) If the designating party does not object within the three [3]- 2 day period, the party may disclose the Confidential Material 3 to the witness identified in the written notice]; and 4 6. any other persons or entities as required by law or as authorized 5 by this Court. 6 B. Notwithstanding the limitations set forth in Section IX.A and subject to 7 taking appropriate steps to preserve confidentiality, the Commission may use or 8 disclose Confidential Material or Sensitive Personal Information to other 9 governmental entities, as provided by 16 C.F.R. §§ 4.9–4.11, 15 U.S.C. §§ 46(f) and 10 52, or any other legal obligation imposed upon the Commission. Such entities 11 include officers and employees of Federal or State law enforcement agencies 12 (including duly authorized employees of the Commission) and congressional 13 committees. 14 X. USE OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL IN LITIGATION 15 A Party that seeks to file under seal any Confidential Material must comply 16 with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Confidential Material may only be filed under seal 17 pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Confidential Material. 18 A party seeking to file Confidential Material with the Court must either redact such 19 material before filing or file such material under seal concurrently with a motion to 20 seal the material, in accordance with Local Rule 79-5.2.2(b), unless the designating 21 party consents to the public filing of such material or the Court orders that such 22 material may be filed publicly. If a Party’s request to file Confidential Material under 23 seal is denied by the court, then the receiving party may file the information in the 24 public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 25 XI. USE OF SENSITIVE PERSONAL INFORMATION IN LITIGATION 26 No party may publicly disclose any Sensitive Personal Information without 27 prior approval of this Court. A party seeking to file Sensitive Personal Information 1 the Sensitive Personal Information is relevant and necessary for the Court’s 2 understanding of the issues presented. In such circumstances, a party must file any 3 unredacted Sensitive Personal Information under seal concurrently with a motion to 4 seal the information, in accordance with Local Rule 79-5.2.2(b). 5 XII. TREATMENT OF CONFIDENTIAL MATERIALS AND SENSITIVE 6 PERSONAL INFORMATION AFTER LITIGATION 7 Within sixty [60] days of final resolution of all claims asserted in this action, 8 all parties, experts, contractors, consultant, or other person retained by any party to 9 assist in this litigation, as well as any witness or non-party, must destroy or return all 10 Confidential Material and Sensitive Personal Information they obtained during the 11 course of the litigation, except as follows: 12 A. Designating parties may maintain copies of all of their own Confidential 13 Material and Sensitive Personal Information. 14 B. The Commission shall retain, return, or destroy Confidential Material or 15 Sensitive Personal Information in accordance with 16 C.F.R. § 4.12, and may retain 16 such information to assist with other ongoing law enforcement matters or policy or 17 research matters consistent with the Commission’s mission, provided that the 18 Commission continues to take all appropriate steps to protect the confidentiality of 19 the materials. 20 C. Any law enforcement agency other than the Commission that has 21 received copies of any Confidential Material or Sensitive Personal Information may 22 retain such information to assist with other ongoing law enforcement matters, 23 provided that the law enforcement agency continues to take all appropriate steps to 24 protect the confidentiality of the materials. 25 D. Any congressional committee may maintain copies of Confidential 26 Materials and Sensitive Personal Information obtained from the Commission as 27 required under 15 U.S.C. § 57b-2 and 16 C.F.R. § 4.11(b). 1 2 This Order continues to govern Confidential Material and Sensitive Personal 3 || Information after the conclusion of the case, absent further order of the Court. 4 5 Pursuant to the parties’ Stipulation (Dkt. 45) and for good cause shown, IT IS 6 | SO ORDERED. 7 8 g | DATED: March 26, 2020 10 ; i 7 11 ‘

J D. EARLY

12 nited States Magistrate Judge 13 Hon. John D. Early 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

1 EXHIBIT 1 2 3 4 5

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8 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 10 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 11 12 FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, ) Case No.: 8:19-cv-01728-JVS-JDE

13 )

Plaintiff, ) 14 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BE )

BOUND BY PROTECTIVE ORDER

15 v. )

) 16

STUDENT ADVOCATES TEAM, LLC, )

17 et al., ) 18 ) Defendants. ) 19 ) 20 ) 21 22 I, _________________________, acknowledge that I have been provided with 23 a copy of the Protective Order entered in this action, I have reviewed it and 24 understand its terms, and I agree to be bound by its terms and be subject to the 25 jurisdiction of this Court in all matters relating to the Protective Order. 26 I will treat all Confidential Material and Sensitive Personal Information, as 27 defined in the Protective Order, strictly in accordance with the terms set forth in the 1 Information with any unauthorized individual or entities, other than my counsel. I 2 acknowledge that any unauthorized use or disclosure of such materials by me may 3 constitute contempt of court. 4 I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. 5 Date: 6 Signature 7

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