# Christian Waters v. Lockheed Martin Corporation

> District Court, C.D. California · February 5, 2025

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10794798

## Case

- **Court:** District Court, C.D. California
- **Decided:** February 5, 2025
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

1 MKaOreRnG YA. NC,h LoE, BWaIrS N &o. B2O74C8K10IU S LLP
2 Julianne G. Park, Bar No. 312791
300 South Grand Avenue
3 Twenty-Second Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90071-3132
4 Tel: +1.213.612.2500
Fax: +1.213.612.2501
5 karen.cho@morganlewis.com
julianne.park@morganlewis.com
6
MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP
7 Kevin J. Bohm, Bar No. 329569
Anthony E. Birong, Bar No. 356613
8 600 Anton Boulevard, Suite 1800
Costa Mesa, CA 92626-7653
9 Tel: +1.714.830.0600
Fax: +1.714.830.0700
10 kevin.bohm@morganlewis.com
anthony.birong@morganlewis.com
11
12 Attorneys for Defendant
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION
13
14 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
15 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
16
17 CHRISTIAN SKY WATERS, an Case No.: 2:24-CV-08247-JFW-MAA
individual,
18
Plaintiff,
19 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
vs.
20
LOCKHEED MARTIN
21 CORPORATION, a Maryland
Corporation; TERESA SULLIVAN, an
22 individual; COURTNEY BUDGE, an
individual; and DOES 1 through 100,
23 inclusive,
24 Defendants.
25

26

27
28
1 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATION
2 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
3 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
4 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may
5 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to
6 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this
7 Stipulated Protective Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or
8 responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and
9 use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential
10 treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as
11 set forth in Section 13.3 below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle
12 them to file confidential information under seal; Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the
13 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a
14 party seeks permission from the Court to file material under seal.
15
16 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
17 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists and
18 other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or
19 proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure and
20 from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such
21 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other
22 things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding
23 confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, or
24 commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third
25 parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be
26 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes,
27 court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of
28 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of
1 discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to
2 keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses
3 of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their
4 handling at the end of the litigation, and to serve the ends of justice, a protective
5 order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties
6 that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that
7 nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a
8 confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part
9 of the public record of this case.
10
11 3. DEFINITIONS
12 3.1. Action: Christian Sky Waters v. Lockheed Martin Corporation
13 (Case No.: 2:24-CV-08247-JFW-MAA).
14 3.2. Challenging Party: A Party or Nonparty that challenges the designation
15 of information or items under this Stipulated Protective Order.
16 3.3. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information (regardless of
17 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that
18 qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and
19 as specified above in the Good Cause Statement.
20 3.4. Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and In-House Counsel (as well as
21 their support staff).
22 3.5. Designating Party: A Party or Nonparty that designates information or
23 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
24 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
25 3.6. Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless
26 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or
27 maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and
28 tangible things), that is produced or generated in disclosures or
1 responses to discovery in this matter.
2 3.7. Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
3 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its
4 counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
5 3.8. In-House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a party to this
6 Action. In-House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record
7 or any other outside counsel.
8 3.9. Nonparty: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
9 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
10 3.10. Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a
11 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to
12 this Action and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or
13 are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that
14 party, and includes support staff.
15 3.11 Party: Any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
16 employees, consultants, retained experts, In-House Counsel, and
17 Outside Counsel of Record (and their support staffs).
18 3.12. Producing Party: A Party or Nonparty that produces Disclosure or
19 Discovery Material in this Action.
20 3.13. Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation
21 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating,
22 preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or
23 retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and
24 subcontractors.
25 3.14. Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
26 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
27 3.15. Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
28 Material from a Producing Party.
1 4. SCOPE
2 The protections conferred by this Stipulated Protective Order cover not only
3 Protected Material, but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected
4 Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material;
5 and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel
6 that might reveal Protected Material.
7 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
8 trial judge. This Stipulated Protective Order does not govern the use of Protected
9 Material at trial.
10
11 5. DURATION
12 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as
13 confidential or maintained pursuant to this Stipulated Protective Order becomes
14 public and presumptively will be available to all members of the public, including
15 the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to
16 proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See
17 Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006)
18 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery
19 from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of
20 court record). Accordingly, the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order do not
21 extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
22
23 6. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
24 6.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Desginating Material for Protection.
25 Each Party or Nonparty that designates information or items for
26 protection under this Stipulated Protective Order must take care to limit
27 any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the
28 appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
1 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or
2 written communications that qualify so that other portions of the
3 material, documents, items, or communications for which protection is
4 not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this
5 Stipulated Protective Order.
6 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited.
7 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been
8 made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the
9 case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and
10 burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to
11 sanctions.
12 6.2 Manner and Timing of Designations.
13 Except as otherwise provided in this Stipulated Protective Order
14 (see, e.g., Section 6.2(a)), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered,
15 Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this
16 Stipulated Protective Order must be clearly so designated before the
17 material is disclosed or produced.
18 Designation in conformity with this Stipulated Protective Order
19 requires the following:
20 (a) For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
21 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other
22 pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a
23 minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that
24 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the
25 material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party
26 also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by
27 making appropriate markings in the margins).
28 A Party or Nonparty that makes original documents
1 available for inspection need not designate them for protection
2 until after the inspecting Party has indicated which documents it
3 would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
4 before the designation, all of the material made available for
5 inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the
6 inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied
7 and produced, the Producing Party must determine which
8 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this
9 Stipulated Protective Order. Then, before producing the
10 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the legend
11 “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains Protected
12 Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
13 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
14 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
15 markings in the margins).
16 (b) For testimony given in depositions, that the Designating Party
17 identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record,
18 before the close of the deposition, all protected testimony.
19 (c) For information produced in nondocumentary form, and for any
20 other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a
21 prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in
22 which the information is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.”
23 If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
24 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall
25 identify the protected portion(s).
26 6.3 Inadvertent Failure to Designate.
27 If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate qualified
28 information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating
1 Party’s right to secure protection under this Stipulated Protective Order
2 for such material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the
3 Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the
4 material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Stipulated
5 Protective Order.
6
7 7. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
8 7.1 Timing of Challenges.
9 Any Party or Nonparty may challenge a designation of
10 confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling
11 Order.
12 7.2 Meet and Confer.
13 The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute process, which
14 shall comply with Local Rule 37.1 et seq., and with Section 4 of Judge
15 Audero’s Procedures (“Mandatory Telephonic Conference for
16 Discovery Disputes”).1
17 7.3 Burden of Persuasion.
18 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall
19 be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for
20 an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses
21 and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to
22 sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the
23 confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the
24 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under
25 the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
26 challenge.
27
1 Judge Audero’s Procedures are available at
28 https://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/honorable-maria-audero.
1 8. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIALS
2 8.1. Basic Principles.
3 A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed
4 or produced by another Party or by a Nonparty in connection with this
5 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this
6 Action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the
7 categories of persons and under the conditions described in this
8 Stipulated Protective Order. When the Action reaches a final
9 disposition, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of
10 Section 14 below.
11 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a
12 Receiving Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that
13 access is limited to the persons authorized under this Stipulated
14 Protective Order.
15 8.2. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items.
16 Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing
17 by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any
18 information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
19 (a) The Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record, as well as
20 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is
21 reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
22 (b) The officers, directors, and employees (including In-House
23 Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is
24 reasonably necessary for this Action;
25 (c) Experts of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably
26 necessary for this Action and who have signed the
27 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
28 (d) The Court and its personnel;
1 (e) Court reporters and their staff;
2 (f) Professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
3 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably
4 necessary or this Action and who have signed the
5 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to be Bound” (Exhibit A);
6 (g) The author or recipient of a document containing the
7 information or a custodian or other person who otherwise
8 possessed or knew the information;
9 (h) During their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses,
10 in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary
11 provided: (i) the deposing party requests that the witness sign
12 the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit
13 A); and (ii) the witness will not be permitted to keep any
14 confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment
15 and Agreement to Be Bound,” unless otherwise agreed by the
16 Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed
17 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal
18 Protected Material may be separately bound by the court
19 reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted
20 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
21 (i) Any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting
22 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged
23 in settlement discussions.
24
25 9. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
26 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
27 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
28 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
1 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
2 (a) Promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
3 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
4 (b) Promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
5 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered
6 by the subpoena or order is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order.
7 Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective
8 Order; and
9 (c) Cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
10 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be
11 affected.
12 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
13 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this
14 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the Court from which the
15 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
16 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
17 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
18 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
19 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
20
21 10. A NONPARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
22 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
23 10.1. Application.
24 The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order are applicable to
25 information produced by a Nonparty in this Action and designated as
26 “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Nonparties in
27 connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief
28 provided by this Stipulated Protective Order. Nothing in these
1 provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Nonparty from seeking
2 additional protections.
3 10.2. Notification.
4 In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery
5 request, to produce a Nonparty’s confidential information in its
6 possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the Nonparty
7 not to produce the Nonparty’s confidential information, then the Party
8 shall:
9 (a) Promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the
10 Nonparty that some or all of the information requested is subject
11 to a confidentiality agreement with a Nonparty;
12 (b) Promptly provide the Nonparty with a copy of the Stipulated
13 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery
14 request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the
15 information requested; and
16 (c) Make the information requested available for inspection by the
17 Nonparty, if requested.
18 10.3. Conditions of Production.
19 If the Nonparty fails to seek a protective order from this Court within
20 fourteen (14) days after receiving the notice and accompanying
21 information, the Receiving Party may produce the Nonparty’s
22 confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the
23 Nonparty timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not
24 produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to
25 the confidentiality agreement with the Nonparty before a
26 determination by the Court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the
27 Nonparty shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in
28 this Court of its Protected Material.
1
2 11. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
3 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
4 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
5 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party immediately must (1) notify in
6 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (2) use its best efforts
7 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (3) inform the person or
8 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this
9 Stipulated Protective Order, and (4) request such person or persons to execute the
10 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to be Bound” (Exhibit A).
11
12 12. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
13 PROTECTED MATERIAL
14 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
15 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
16 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal
17 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify
18 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for
19 production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence
20 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure
21 of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work
22 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the Stipulated
23 Protective Order submitted to the Court.
24
25 13. MISCELLANEOUS
26 13.1 Right to Further Relief.
27 Nothing in this Stipulated Order abridges the right of any person
28 to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
1 13.2 Right to Assert Other Objections.
2 By stipulating to the entry of this Stipulated Protective Order, no
3 Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing
4 or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in
5 this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to
6 object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered
7 by this Stipulated Protective Order.
8 13.3 Filing Protected Material.
9 A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must
10 comply with Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed
11 under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
12 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected
13 Material under seal is denied by the Court, then the Receiving Party may
14 file the information in the public record unless otherwise instructed by
15 the Court.
16
17 14. FINAL DISPOSITION
18 After the final disposition of this Action, within sixty (60) days of a written
19 request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected
20 Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
21 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
22 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
23 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving
24 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the
25 same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that
26 (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was
27 returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any
28 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or
1 || capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, counsel is
2 || entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings; motion papers; trial, deposition,
3 || and hearing transcripts; legal memoranda; correspondence; deposition and trial
4 || exhibits; expert reports; attorney work product; and consultant and expert work
5 || product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival
6 || copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective
7 || Order as set forth in Section 5.
8
9] 15. VIOLATION
10 Any violation of this Stipulated Order may be punished by any and all
11 || appropriate measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or
12 || monetary sanctions.
13
14 | IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
15
16 || Dated: February 4, 2025 /s/ Anthony E. Birong
17 Attorney(s) for Plaintiff(s)
18
19 || Dated: February 4, 2025 _/s/ Thomas H. Schelly
20 Attorney(s) for Defendant(s)
21
22 | FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. ;
23 yw
24 || Dated: February 5, 2025
25 Maria A. Audero
26 United States Magistrate Judge
27
28
15 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, [full name], of
4 __________ [address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its
5 entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the
6 United States District Court for the Central District of California on ____________
7 [date] in the case of Christian Sky Waters v. Lockheed Martin Corporation, et al.
8 (Case No.: 2:24-CV-08247-JFW-MAA). I agree to comply with and to be bound by
9 all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, and I understand and acknowledge
10 that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature
11 of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any
12 information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any
13 person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Stipulated
14 Protective Order.
15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
16 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms
17 of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings
18 occur after termination of this action. I hereby appoint
19 [full name] of [address and telephone number] as
20 my California agent for service of process in with this action or any proceedings
21 related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
22
23 Signature: __________________________
24 Printed Name: __________________________
25 Date: __________________________
26 City and State Where Sworn and Signed: __________________________
27
28

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10794798. Public record. Not legal advice.