even stipulated 19 protective orders require good cause showing
How later courts described this case
- even stipulated 19 protective orders require good cause showing
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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DERRICK MUNZEL WRIGHT, JR., ) Case No.: CV19-4227-JLS (GJS)
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Plaintiff, ) ORDER RE: MOTION FOR
13 ) PROTECTIVE ORDER AS
vs. ) ORDERED BY THE COURT
14 OMAR COVARRUBIAS, ) )
15 Defendant. ) )
16 )
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1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
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Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
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proprietary or private information for which special protection from public
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disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may
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be warranted. Accordingly, the following Protective Order applies to certain
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information disclosed during the course of this litigation. The parties acknowledge
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that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses
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to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use
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extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential
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treatment under the applicable legal principles.
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B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
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1 defendant’s concerns that the documents consist of police reports and private
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information related to parties to this litigation and other individuals who are not
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parties to this litigation, that defendant believes need special protection from
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public disclosure, against plaintiff’s right to discovery in this litigation. The
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defendant is particularly concerned, given the fact that the plaintiff is pro se and
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incarcerated.
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C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER
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SEAL
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As set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Protective Order does not
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entitle the parties to file confidential information under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5
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sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be
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applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
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There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial
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proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive
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motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana
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v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v.
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Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v.
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Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated
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protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good
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cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification,
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must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under
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seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as
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CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the submission of competent evidence by
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declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as
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confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
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Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial,
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then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and
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the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be
1 2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed
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or introduced under seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party
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seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts
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and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence
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supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by
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declaration.
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Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable
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in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be
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redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public
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viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable
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portions of the document, shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file
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documents under seal in their entirety should include an explanation of why
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redaction is not feasible.
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2. DEFINITIONS
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2.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit.
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2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
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designation of information or items under this Order.
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2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
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how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
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protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
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the Good Cause Statement.
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2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
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their support staff).
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2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information
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or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
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“CONFIDENTIAL.”
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2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
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of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
1 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced
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or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
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2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a
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matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to
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serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
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2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this
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Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other
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outside counsel.
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2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association
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or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
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2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
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party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action
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and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law
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firm that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
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2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
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employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
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support staffs).
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2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
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Discovery Material in this Action.
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2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
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support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
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demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
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and their employees and subcontractors.
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2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
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designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
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2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
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Material from a Producing Party.
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3. SCOPE
1 The protections conferred by this Order cover not only Protected Material
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(as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected
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Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected
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Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their
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Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
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Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
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trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
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4. DURATION
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At the conclusion of this litigation, parties in receipt of the
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“CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items shall return all “CONFIDENTIAL”
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Information or Items to the Disclosing party. Additionally, within thirty (30)
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calendar days after the conclusion of this case, the Receiving Parties, or their
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counsel, shall send a signed declaration stating that all “CONFIDENTIAL”
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Information or Items received pursuant to this Protective Order have been
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returned.
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5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
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5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
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Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
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this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
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qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate
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for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written
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communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,
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items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
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unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
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Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
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that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
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purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to
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impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the
1 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
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designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
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promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
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5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
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this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
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stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
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under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
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produced.
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Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
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(a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
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documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
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proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
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“CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
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contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for
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protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)
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(e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
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A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
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need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
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which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
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before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
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deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the
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documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine
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which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order.
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Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix
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the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If
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only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
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Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
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appropriate markings in the margins).
1 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party
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identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of
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the deposition all protected testimony.
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(c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and
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for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on
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the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the
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legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information
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warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify
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the protected portion(s).
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5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
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failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
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the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such
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material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make
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reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the
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provisions of this Order.
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6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
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6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
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designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
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Scheduling Order.
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6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
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resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
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6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be
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on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
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purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
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parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
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Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
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continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
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entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
1 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
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7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that
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is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with
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this Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action.
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Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and
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under the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been
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terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below
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(FINAL DISPOSITION).
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Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
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location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
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authorized under this Order.
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7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
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otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
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Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
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“CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
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(a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
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well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
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necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
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(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
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the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
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(c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
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disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
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“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
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(d) the court and its personnel;
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(e) court reporters and their staff;
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(f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
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Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
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signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
1 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
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custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
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(h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in
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the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing
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party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2)
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they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
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“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
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agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
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deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
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be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone
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except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
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(i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
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mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
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8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
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IN OTHER LITIGATION
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If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
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that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
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“CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
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(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
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shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
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(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or
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order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
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subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall
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include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
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(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
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pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
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If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served
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with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in
1 the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
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permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
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protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
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should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
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to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
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9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
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PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
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(a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
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Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
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produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
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remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
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construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
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(b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
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produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
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subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
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confidential information, then the Party shall:
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(1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-
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Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
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agreement with a Non-Party;
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(2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
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Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
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specific description of the information requested; and
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(3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
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Non-Party, if requested.
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(c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within
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14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving
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Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the
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discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving
1 to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the
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court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden
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and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
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10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
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If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has
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disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized
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under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a)
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notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its
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best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform
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the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms
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of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the
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“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit
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A.
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11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
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PROTECTED MATERIAL
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When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
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inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
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protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal
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Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify
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whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for
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production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence
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502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure
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of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or
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work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the
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stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
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12. MISCELLANEOUS
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12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of
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any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
1 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. No Party waives any right it
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otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or item
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on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no
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Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the
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material covered by this Protective Order.
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12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
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Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material
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may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
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specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material
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under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information
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in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
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13. FINAL DISPOSITION
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After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within
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60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must
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return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As
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used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts,
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compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
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Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the
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Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if
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not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that
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(1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was
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returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any
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copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or
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capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel
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are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial,
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deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition
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and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert
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work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such
archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this
Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).
14. VIOLATION
Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS ORDERED.
DATED: January 19, 2021 Upemn
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GAIL J. STANDISH
12 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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1 EXHIBIT A
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
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I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of
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_________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury
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that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that
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was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California
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on [date] in the case of ___________ [insert formal name of the case and the
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number and initials assigned to it by the court]. I agree to comply with and to
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be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and
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acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and
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punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose
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in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective
14
Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this
15
Order.
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I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for
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the Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated
18
Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of
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this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full
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name] of _______________________________________ [print or type full
21
address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in
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connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this
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Stipulated Protective Order.
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Date: ______________________________________
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City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
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Printed name: _______________________________
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Signature: __________________________________
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