# Amini v. Nationwide Ins. Co.

> District Court, E.D. California · June 12, 2024

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10635783

## Case

- **Court:** District Court, E.D. California
- **Decided:** June 12, 2024
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

1 DAVID C. BEACH (State Bar No. 226972)
TROY M. HEISMAN (State Bar No. 343572)
2 COBLENTZ PATCH DUFFY & BASS LLP
One Montgomery Street, Suite 3000
3 San Francisco, California 94104-5500
Telephone: 415.391.4800
4 Facsimile: 415.989.1663
Email: ef-dcb@cpdb.com
5 ef-tmh@cpdb.com

6 Attorneys for Plaintiffs
KEVIN AMINI and MOHSEN VAGHEFI
7

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
11 KEVIN AMINI and MOHSEN VAGHEFI, No. 2:23-cv-0507 KJM DB

12 Plaintiffs,
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
13 v.

14 NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE
COMPANY, and DOES 1-10,
15
Defendants.
16

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1 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
2 Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are likely to involve production of
3 confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
4 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted.
5 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the court to enter the following Stipulated
6 Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on
7 all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure
8 and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
9 under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section
10 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential
11 information under seal. Civil Local Rule 141 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and
12 the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material
13 under seal.
14 2. STATEMENT PURSUANT TO LOCAL RULE 141.1:
15 2.1 Covered Information: Pursuant to Local Rule 141.1(c)(1), Nationwide provides the
16 following description of information subject to protection: claims manuals, procedure manuals or
17 other documents or communications regarding or relating to the handling, processing, and/or
18 investigation of claims submitted to Nationwide under commercial insurance policies between
19 July 2022 and August 2022.
20 2.2 Particularized Need for Protection: Pursuant to Local Rule 141.1(c)(2),
21 Nationwide maintains that a specific, particularized need for protection as to the information
22 covered by this Protective Order exists. Plaintiffs have not been permitted access to these
23 materials and, as such, rely upon Nationwide’s and their counsel’s representations. Nationwide
24 represents to the Court that materials designated to be covered by this Protective Order are limited
25 solely to those which would qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c)
26 and Local Rule 141.1, and does not include information which has been subject to protection on a
27 blanket or indiscriminate basis. Specifically, the documents sought contain confidential business
1 Nationwide’s practices of claims handling. Absent protection, Nationwide would suffer injury if
2 such confidential business information and/or trade secrets were available to the public.
3 Nationwide has a consistent practice of protecting such information against public disclosure in
4 recognition of the competitively sensitive nature of the information.
5 2.3 Showing of Need for a Protective Order: Pursuant to Local Rule 141(c)(3),
6 Nationwide maintains there is a need for protection pursuant to this Protective Order for the
7 convenience or the parties and this Court. The parties seeks to avoid litigation and the expenditure
8 of resources concerning a motion for protective order pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
9 26(c). The entry of this Protective Order prevents the parties and the Court from conducting a
10 document-by-document analysis necessary to obtain protection under Rule 26, in favor of a
11 procedure whereby presumptive protection is afforded based on Nationwide’s and its counsels’
12 representations. As a result, production may be made pursuant to this Protective Oder and, if
13 necessary, will permit challenges to the documents covered by this Protective Order.
14 3. DEFINITIONS
15 3.1 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of
16 information or items under this Order.
17 3.2 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is
18 generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule
19 of Civil Procedure 26(c).
20 3.3 Counsel (without qualifier): Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as
21 well as their support staff).
22 3.4 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items that it
23 produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
24 3.5 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all documents, items or information, regardless
25 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other
26 things, electronically stored information (“ESI”), testimony, transcripts, tangible things, and
27 physical objects), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this
1 3.6 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter pertinent to
2 the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a
3 consultant in this action.
4 3.7 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this action. House
5 Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel.
6 3.8 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal
7 entity not named as a Party to this action.
8 3.9 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this
9 action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this action and have appeared in this action
10 on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party.
11 3.10 Party: any party to this action, including all of its officers, directors, employees,
12 consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support staffs).
13 3.11 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery
14 Material in this action.
15 3.12 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support services
16 (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and collecting,
17 processing, reviewing, organizing, hosting, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and
18 their employees and subcontractors.
19 3.13 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as
20 “CONFIDENTIAL.” Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from
21 a Producing Party.
22 4. SCOPE
23 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected Material
24 (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2)
25 all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony,
26 conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
27 However, the protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order do not cover the following
1 Receiving Party or becomes part of the public domain after its disclosure to a Receiving Party as a
2 result of publication not involving a violation of this Order, including becoming part of the public
3 record through trial or otherwise; and (b) any information known to the Receiving Party prior to
4 the disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the disclosure from a source who obtained
5 the information lawfully and under no obligation of confidentiality to the Designating Party. Any
6 use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by a separate agreement or order.
7 5. DURATION
8 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by this
9 Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order
10 otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims
11 and defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the
12 completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this action,
13 including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to
14 applicable law.
15 6. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
16 6.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each Party
17 or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order must take care to
18 limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The
19 Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or
20 oral or written communications that qualify – so that other portions of the material, documents,
21 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within
22 the ambit of this Order.
23 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are
24 shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to
25 unnecessarily encumber or retard the case development process or to impose unnecessary
26 expenses and burdens on other parties) expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
27 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it designated
1 Parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.
2 6.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this Order
3 (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered,
4 Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so
5 designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
6 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
7 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,
8 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing
9 Party affix the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains protected material. If only a
10 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must
11 clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). A
12 Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or materials available for inspection need not
13 designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which material it would
14 like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material
15 made available for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has
16 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which
17 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the
18 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend to each page
19 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies
20 for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by
21 making appropriate markings in the margins).
22 (b) for testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings,
23 that the Designating Party identify on the record, before the close of the deposition, hearing, or
24 other proceeding, all protected testimony.
25 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any
26 other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the
27 container or containers in which the information or item is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.”
1 the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
2 6.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to
3 designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s
4 right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a
5 designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated
6 in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
7 7. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
8 7.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of
9 confidentiality at any time. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s confidentiality
10 designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial unfairness, unnecessary economic
11 burdens, or a significant disruption or delay of the litigation, a Party does not waive its right to
12 challenge a confidentiality designation by electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the
13 original designation is disclosed.
14 7.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution
15 process by providing written notice of each designation it is challenging and describing the basis
16 for each challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to whether a challenge has been made, the written
17 notice must recite that the challenge to confidentiality is being made in accordance with this
18 specific paragraph of the Protective Order. The parties shall attempt to resolve each challenge in
19 good faith and must begin the process by conferring directly (in voice to voice dialogue; other
20 forms of communication are not sufficient) within 14 days of the date of service of notice. In
21 conferring, the Challenging Party must explain the basis for its belief that the confidentiality
22 designation was not proper and must give the Designating Party an opportunity to review the
23 designated material, to reconsider the circumstances, and, if no change in designation is offered, to
24 explain the basis for the chosen designation. A Challenging Party may proceed to the next stage of
25 the challenge process only if it has engaged in this meet and confer process first or establishes that
26 the Designating Party is unwilling to participate in the meet and confer process in a timely
27 manner.
1 intervention, the Designating Party shall file and serve a motion to retain confidentiality under
2 Civil Local Rule 251 (and in compliance with Civil Local Rule 141, if applicable) within 21 days
3 of the initial notice of challenge or within 14 days of the parties agreeing that the meet and confer
4 process will not resolve their dispute, whichever is earlier. Each such motion must be
5 accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the meet
6 and confer requirements imposed in the preceding paragraph. Failure by the Designating Party to
7 make such a motion including the required declaration within 21 days (or 14 days, if applicable)
8 shall automatically waive the confidentiality designation for each challenged designation. In
9 addition, the Challenging Party may file a motion challenging a confidentiality designation at any
10 time if there is good cause for doing so, including a challenge to the designation of a deposition
11 transcript or any portions thereof. Any motion brought pursuant to this provision must be
12 accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the meet
13 and confer requirements imposed by the preceding paragraph.
14 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating
15 Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose
16 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to
17 sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived the confidentiality designation by failing to
18 file a motion to retain confidentiality as described above, all parties shall continue to afford the
19 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s
20 designation until the court rules on the challenge.
21 8. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
22 8.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or
23 produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this case only for prosecuting,
24 defending, or attempting to settle this litigation. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to
25 the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When the litigation has
26 been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
27 DISPOSITION).
1 a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under this Order.
2 8.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered
3 by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any
4 information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
5 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this action, as well as
6 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the
7 information for this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
8 Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A;
9 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
10 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have
11 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
12 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
13 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment
14 and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
15 (d) the court and its personnel;
16 (e) court reporters and their staff, professional jury or trial consultants, mock
17 jurors, and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and
18 who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
19 (f) during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is
20 reasonably necessary and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
21 (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of
22 transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material must be
23 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted
24 under this Stipulated Protective Order. Every fact witness shall be informed at the start of a
25 deposition that he or she may be shown documents designated as Protected Material and the
26 contents therein are being furnished to the witness solely for use in this litigation. Every fact
27 witness shall be shown a copy of this Order. No fact witness may retain any material designated
1 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
2 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.
3 (h) mediators and any other third party neutrals in alternative dispute resolution
4 processes agreed by the parties or ordered by the Court.
5 9. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER
6 LITIGATION
7 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels
8 disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party
9 must:
10 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
11 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
12 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
13 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is
14 subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective
15 Order; and
16 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by
17 the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
18 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena
19 or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL”
20 before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has
21 obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and
22 expense of seeking protection in that court of its Protected Material – and nothing in these
23 provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this action to
24 disobey a lawful directive from another court.
25 10. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED IN THIS
26 LITIGATION
27 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
1 Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this
2 Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking
3 additional protections.
4 (b) A Non-Party’s use of this Order to protect its Protected Material does not
5 entitle that Non-Party access to the Protected Material produced by any Party or any other Non-
6 Party in this litigation.
7 (c) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce
8 a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement
9 with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then the Party shall:
10 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
11 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a Non-
12 Party;
13 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
14 Protective Order in this litigation, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific
15 description of the information requested; and
16 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-
17 Party.
18 (4) abide by the notice provisions of the agreement when disclosing the
19 Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request.
20 (d) If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall
21 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality
22 agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the
23 contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its
24 Protected Material.
25 11. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
26 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected
27 Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated Protective
1 unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected
2 Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the
3 terms of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
4 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
5 12. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE PROTECTED
6 MATERIAL
7 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently
8 produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the
9 Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This
10 provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order
11 that provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence
12 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a
13 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection,
14 the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the
15 court.
16 13. MISCELLANEOUS
17 13.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to
18 seek its modification by the Court in the future.
19 13.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective
20 Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any
21 information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no
22 Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered
23 by this Protective Order.
24 13.3 Filing Protected Material. Without written permission from the Designating Party
25 or a court order secured after appropriate notice to all interested persons, a Party may not file in
26 the public record in this action any Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
27 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 141. Protected Material may only be filed
1 issue. Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 141, a sealing order will issue only upon a written request
2 establishing that the Protected Material at issue is privileged, protectable as confidential business
3 information and/or a trade secret, or otherwise entitled to protection under the law. If a Receiving
4 Party's request to file Protected Material under seal pursuant to Civil Local Rule 141(b) is denied
5 by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless
6 otherwise instructed by the court.
7 14. FINAL DISPOSITION
8 Within 60 days after the final disposition of this action, as defined in paragraph 4, each
9 Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material.
10 As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
11 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether
12 the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written
13 certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party)
14 by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected
15 Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained
16 any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any
17 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival
18 copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda,
19 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and
20 consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such
21 archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order
22 as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).
23 / / /
24 / / /
25 / / /
26 / / /
27 / / /
1 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
2
3 DATED: June 10, 2024 COBLENTZ PATCH DUFFY & BASS LLP

4

5 By: /s/ Troy M. Heisman
TROY M. HEISMAN
6 Attorneys for Plaintiffs
KEVIN AMINI and MOHSEN VAGHEFI
7
DATED: June 10, 2024 DENTONS US LLP
8

9
By: /s/ Emily Nozick (as authorized on June 10, 2024)
10 SONIA MARTIN
EMILY NOZICK
11
Attorneys for Defendant
12 NATIONWIDE MUTUAL INSURANCE
COMPANY
13
14 ORDER
15 Pursuant to the parties’ stipulation, IT IS SO ORDERED.
16 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT:
17 1. Requests to seal documents shall be made by motion before the same judge who will
18 decide the matter related to that request to seal.
19 2. The designation of documents (including transcripts of testimony) as confidential
20 pursuant to this order does not automatically entitle the parties to file such a document with the court
21 under seal. Parties are advised that any request to seal documents in this district is governed by
22 Local Rule 141. In brief, Local Rule 141 provides that documents may only be sealed by a written
23 order of the court after a specific request to seal has been made. L.R. 141(a). However, a mere
24 request to seal is not enough under the local rules. In particular, Local Rule 141(b) requires that
25 “[t]he ‘Request to Seal Documents’ shall set forth the statutory or other authority for sealing, the
26 requested duration, the identity, by name or category, of persons to be permitted access to the
27 document, and all relevant information.” L.R. 141(b).
1 3. A request to seal material must normally meet the high threshold of showing that
2 “compelling reasons” support secrecy; however, where the material is, at most, “tangentially
3 related” to the merits of a case, the request to seal may be granted on a showing of “good cause.”
4 Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1096-1102 (9th Cir. 2016); Kamakana
5 v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1178-80 (9th Cir. 2006).
6 4. Nothing in this order shall limit the testimony of parties or non-parties, or the use of
7 certain documents, at any court hearing or trial – such determinations will only be made by the court
8 at the hearing or trial, or upon an appropriate motion.
9 5. With respect to motions regarding any disputes concerning this protective order which
10 the parties cannot informally resolve, the parties shall follow the procedures outlined in Local Rule
11 251. Absent a showing of good cause, the court will not hear discovery disputes on an ex parte basis
12 or on shortened time.
13 6. The parties may not modify the terms of this Protective Order without the court’s
14 approval. If the parties agree to a potential modification, they shall submit a stipulation and
15 proposed order for the court’s consideration.
16 7. Pursuant to Local Rule 141.1(f), the court will not retain jurisdiction over enforcement
17 of the terms of this Protective Order after the action is terminated.
18 8. Any provision in the parties’ stipulation that is in conflict with anything in this order is
19 hereby DISAPPROVED.
20 DATED: June 11, 2024 /s/ DEBORAH BARNES
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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1 EXHIBIT A

2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

3 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of _________________
4 [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and
5 understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for
6 the Eastern District of California on ____________________ in the case of Kevin Amini and
7 Mohsen Vaghefi v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., Case No. 2:23-CV-00507-KJM-DB in the
8 United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division. I agree to
9 comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand
10 and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the
11 nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or
12 item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict
13 compliance with the provisions of this Order.
14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the
15 Eastern District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective
16 Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action.
17 I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of
18 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and telephone number]
19 as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any proceedings
20 related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
21

22 Date: ______________________________________
23 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
24 Printed name: _______________________________
25 Signature: __________________________________
26

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10635783. Public record. Not legal advice.