Elber Flores v. Nissan North America, Inc.

Summary

This document is a stipulated protective order entered in Elber Flores v. Nissan North America, Inc., pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. It governs the designation, handling, disclosure, challenge, use, and final disposition of confidential discovery materials. The order was signed or stipulated in July 2025 and approved by Magistrate Judge Patricia Donahue.

Holdings

1. The court entered the parties’ stipulated protective order upon a showing of good cause because the action was likely to involve confidential and proprietary information warranting protection from public disclosure and use outside the litigation.
2. Protected material may be used only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle the action and may be disclosed only to the persons and under the conditions specified in the protective order.
3. A party or nonparty may challenge a confidentiality designation through the procedures in the scheduling order and Local Rule 37.1 et seq.; the designating party bears the burden of persuasion, and the designation remains effective pending the court’s ruling unless waived or withdrawn.
4. The protective order does not itself authorize filing confidential material under seal; a party seeking to file protected material under seal must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5 and obtain a court order authorizing sealing of the specific material.
5. After final disposition of the action, and upon written request within the specified period, receiving parties must return or destroy protected material and provide written certification, subject to the order’s archival-copy exception.

Questions Presented

1. Whether good cause supported entry of a stipulated protective order governing confidential discovery material.
2. What procedures and restrictions should govern designation, disclosure, use, challenge, sealing, and final disposition of protected discovery material.

Disposition

other