The opinion
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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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11 LYNETTE BREGANTE, Case No. 2:24-cv-02873-CSK
12 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING AMENDED
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
13 v.
(ECF No. 14)
14 COMMUNITY PSYCHIATRY
MANAGEMENT LLC, et al.,
15
Def endants.
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17 The parties filed a stipulated protective order on January 6, 2025 (ECF No. 12),
18 which the Court declined to approve because it contained references to local rules from
19 other districts. (ECF No. 31). The parties filed the second stipulated protective order
20 below (ECF No. 14), which the Court has reviewed and finds it comports with the
21 relevant authorities and the Court’s Local Rule. See L.R. 141.1. The Court APPROVES
22 the amended protective order, subject to the following clarification.
23 The Court’s Local Rules indicate that once an action is closed, it “will not retain
24 jurisdiction over enforcement of the terms of any protective order filed in that action.”
25 L.R. 141.1(f); see Bylin Heating Sys., Inc. v. Thermal Techs., Inc., 2012 WL 13237584,
26 at *2 (E.D. Cal. Oct. 29, 2012) (noting that courts in the district generally do not retain
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2 || jurisdiction for disputes concerning protective orders after closure of the case). Thus,
3 | the Court will not retain jurisdiction over this protective order once the case is closed.
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; Dated: January 30, 2025 i s \C
GHI 500 KIM
6 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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2.
JOINT STIPULATION AND {PROPOSED} PROTECTIVE ORDER Case No. 2:24-CV-02873-CSK
2 JCOLSAHYUEAO HC.. WARANTSOOLND ,( PSCB N 238058)
865 Howe Avenue
3 Sacramento, CA 95825
Telephone: (916) 777-7777
4 Facsimile: (916) 924-1829
E-mail: jwatson@justice4you.com
5
Attorneys for Plaintiff
LYNETTE BREGANTE
6
SAMUEL J. MASELLI (SBN 219503)
7
BALDEEP S. UPPAL (SBN 345527)
JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
8
400 Capitol Mall, Suite 1600
Sacramento, CA 95814
9
Telephone: (916) 341-0404
Facsimile: (916) 341-0141
10
E-mail: Samuel.Maselli@jacksonlewis.com
Baldeep.Uppal@jacksonlewis.com
11
Attorneys for Defendants
12 COMMUNITY PSYCHIATRY
MANAGEMENT, LLC, VICTORIA
13 LABRIOLA, and ALEXANDRA WITTMANN
14 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
15 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
16
LYNETTE BREGANTE, Case No. 2:24-CV-02873-CSK
17
Plaintiff, JOINT STIPULATON AND
18 [PROPOSED] PROTECTIVE ORDER
v. REGARDING THE USE AND
19 HANDLING OF CASE MATERIALS
COMMUNITY PSYCHIATRY
20 MANAGEMENT, LLC; MINDPATH Complaint Filed: October 16, 2024
HEALTH LLC; VICTORIA LABRIOLA; Trial Date: Not set
21 ALEXANDRA WITTMANN; and DOES 1
through 10, inclusive,
22
Defendants.
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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, in accordance with Local Rule 141.1, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the
6 court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order
7 does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the
8 protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or
9 items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties
10 further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does
11 not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Local Rule 141 sets forth the
12 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks
13 permission from the court to file material under seal.
14 2. DEFINITIONS
15 2.1 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of
16 information or items under this Order.
17 2.2 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information (regardless of how it is
18 generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualifies for protection under applicable
19 laws and which constitutes non-public information that is proprietary, privileged, private, and/or
20 sensitive in nature, including but not limited to trade secrets, customer lists, business plans,
21 financial information and statements, business plans, intellectual property, cost information,
22 designs, processes and procedures, contracts, and the identification of vendors or agents.
23 2.3 Counsel (without qualifier): Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as
24 well as their support staff).
25 2.4 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items that it
26 produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
27 2.5 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the
28 medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things,
2 responses to discovery in this matter.
3 2.6 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter pertinent to
4 the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a
5 consultant in this action.
6 2.7 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this action. House
7 Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel.
8 2.8 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal
9 entity not named as a Party to this action.
10 2.9 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this
11 action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this action and have appeared in this action
12 on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party.
13 2.10 Party: any party to this action, including all of its officers, directors, employees,
14 consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support staffs).
15 2.11 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery
16 Material in this action.
17 2.12 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support services
18 (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and
19 organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and
20 subcontractors.
21 2.13 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as
22 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
23 2.14 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from a
24 Producing Party.
25 3. SCOPE
26 3.1 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected
27 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected
28 Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any
2 Material. However, the protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order do not cover the
3 following information: (a) any information that is in the public domain at the time of disclosure to
4 a Receiving Party or becomes part of the public domain after its disclosure to a Receiving Party as
5 a result of publication not involving a violation of this Order, including becoming part of the public
6 record through trial or otherwise; and (b) any information known to the Receiving Party prior to
7 the disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the disclosure from a source who obtained
8 the information lawfully and under no obligation of confidentiality to the Designating Party. Any
9 use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by a separate agreement or order.
10 4. DURATION
11 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by this
12 Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order
13 otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims
14 and defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the
15 completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this action,
16 including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to
17 applicable law.
18 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
19 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each Party
20 or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order must take care
21 to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards.
22 The Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents,
23 items, or oral or written communications that qualify – so that other portions of the material,
24 documents, items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
25 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are
26 prohibited. Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an
27 improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber or retard the case development process or to
28 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) expose the Designating Party to
2 for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must promptly notify all other
3 Parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.
4 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this Order
5 (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered,
6 Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so
7 designated before the material is disclosed or produced. Designation in conformity with this Order
8 requires:
9 (a) For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,
10 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing
11 Party affix the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains protected material. If only a
12 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must
13 clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). A
14 Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or materials available for inspection need not
15 designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which material it would
16 like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material
17 made available for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has
18 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which
19 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the
20 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend to each page
21 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies
22 for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by
23 making appropriate markings in the margins).
24 (b) for testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings,
25 that the Designating Party identify on the record, before the close of the deposition, hearing, or
26 other proceeding, all protected testimony.
27 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any
28 other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the
2 If only a portion or portions of the information or item warrant protection, the Producing Party, to
3 the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
4 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to
5 designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s
6 right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a
7 designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated
8 in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
9 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
10 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of
11 confidentiality at any time. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s confidentiality
12 designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial unfairness, unnecessary economic
13 burdens, or a significant disruption or delay of the litigation, a Party does not waive its right to
14 challenge a confidentiality designation by electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the
15 original designation is disclosed.
16 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process
17 by providing written notice of each designation it is challenging and describing the basis for each
18 challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to whether a challenge has been made, the written notice must
19 recite that the challenge to confidentiality is being made in accordance with this specific paragraph
20 of the Protective Order. The parties shall attempt to resolve each challenge in good faith and must
21 begin the process by conferring directly (in voice to voice dialogue; other forms of communication
22 are not sufficient) within 14 days of the date of service of notice. In conferring, the Challenging
23 Party must explain the basis for its belief that the confidentiality designation was not proper and
24 must give the Designating Party an opportunity to review the designated material, to reconsider
25 the circumstances, and, if no change in designation is offered, to explain the basis for the chosen
26 designation. A Challenging Party may proceed to the next stage of the challenge process only if it
27 has engaged in this meet and confer process first or establishes that the Designating Party is
28 unwilling to participate in the meet and confer process in a timely manner.
2 intervention, the Designating Party shall file and serve a motion to retain confidentiality in
3 accordance with the Local Rules within 21 days of the initial notice of challenge or within 14 days
4 of the parties agreeing that the meet and confer process will not resolve their dispute, whichever
5 is earlier. Each such motion must be accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the
6 movant has complied with the meet and confer requirements imposed in the preceding paragraph.
7 Failure by the Designating Party to make such a motion including the required declaration within
8 21 days (or 14 days, if applicable) shall automatically waive the confidentiality designation for
9 each challenged designation. In addition, the Challenging Party may file a motion challenging a
10 confidentiality designation at any time if there is good cause for doing so, including a challenge to
11 the designation of a deposition transcript or any portions thereof. Any motion brought pursuant to
12 this provision must be accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the movant has
13 complied with the meet 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 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
22 7.1 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). Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
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2 this Order.
3 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered
4 by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any
5 information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
6 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this action, as well as
7 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the
8 information for this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
9 Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A;
10 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
11 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed
12 the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
13 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure
14 is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and
15 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
16 (d) the court and its personnel;
17 (e) court reporters and their staff, professional jury or trial consultants, mock
18 jurors, and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and
19 who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
20 (f) during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is
21 reasonably necessary and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
22 (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of
23 transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material must be
24 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted
25 under this Stipulated Protective Order.
26 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
27 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.
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2 LITIGATION
3 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels
4 disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party
5 must:
6 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
7 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
8 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
9 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is
10 subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective
11 Order; and
12 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by
13 the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
14 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena
15 or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL”
16 before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has
17 obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and
18 expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material – and nothing in these
19 provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this action to
20 disobey a lawful directive from another court.
21 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED IN THIS
22 LITIGATION
23 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
24 Party in this action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Non-
25 Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this
26 Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking
27 additional protections.
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2 a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement
3 with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then the Party shall:
4 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
5 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a Non-
6 Party;
7 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
8 Protective Order in this litigation, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific
9 description of the information requested; and
10 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-
11 Party.
12 (c) If the Non-Party fails to object or seek a protective order from this court
13 within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may
14 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-
15 Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its
16 possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a
17 determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the
18 burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
19 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
20 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected
21 Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated Protective
22 Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the
23 unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected
24 Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the
25 terms of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
26 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
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2 MATERIAL
3 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently
4 produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the
5 Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision
6 is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that
7 provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence
8 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a
9 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection,
10 the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the
11 court.
12 12. MISCELLANEOUS
13 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to
14 seek its modification by the court in the future.
15 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective Order
16 no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any
17 information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no
18 Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered
19 by this Protective Order.
20 12.3 Filing Protected Material. Without written permission from the Designating Party
21 or a court order secured after appropriate notice to all interested persons, a Party may not file in
22 the public record in this action any Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
23 Protected Material must comply with Local Rule 141. Protected Material may only be filed under
24 seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue.
25 Pursuant to Local, a sealing order will issue only upon a request establishing that the Protected
26 Material at issue is privileged, protectable as a trade secret, or otherwise entitled to protection
27 under the law. If a Receiving Party's request to file Protected Material under seal pursuant to Local
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2 record pursuant to Local Rule 141 unless otherwise instructed by the court.
3 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
4 Within 60 days after the final disposition of this action, as defined in paragraph 4, each
5 Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material.
6 As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
7 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether
8 the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written
9 certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party)
10 by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material
11 that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,
12 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
13 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy
14 of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda,
15 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant
16 and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival
17 copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set
18 forth in Section 4 (DURATION).
19 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
20
/s/ Joshua H. Watson
21 DATED: January 13, 2025 By:____________________________________
JOSHUA H. WATSON
22 Attorney for Plaintiff
LYNETTE BREGANTE
23
24
/s/ Samuel J. Maselli
25 DATED: January 13, 2025 By:_____________________________________
SAMUEL J. MASELLI
26
Attorneys for Defendants
27 COMMUNITY PSYCHIATRY
MANAGEMENT, LLC, VICTORIA
28 LABRIOLA, and ALEXANDRA WITTMANN
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I,_____________________________________________ [print or type full name], of
4 ______________________________________________ [print or type full address], declare
5 under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective
6 Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California on
7 ______________ in the case of Lynette Bregante v. Community Psychiatry Management, LLC et
8 al., Case No. 2:24-CV-02873-CSK. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of
9 this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could
10 expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will
11 not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective
12 Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
13 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the
14 Eastern District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective
15 Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action.
16 I hereby appoint ___________________________________________ [print or type full name]
17 of _____________________________________________________ [print or type full address
18 and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action
19 or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
20
21 Date: ______________________________________
22
23 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
24
25 Printed name: _______________________________
26
27 Signature: __________________________________
28