# Keith Feder, M.D., Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc.

> District Court, C.D. California · March 10, 2025

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10820270

## Case

- **Court:** District Court, C.D. California
- **Decided:** March 10, 2025
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

1 SHANNON L. ERNSTER (SBN: 264940)
sernster@grsm.com
2 HELA VAKNIN (SBN: 342083)
hvaknin@grsm.com
3 GORDON REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI, LLP
633 West Fifth Street, 52nd Floor
4 Los Angeles, California 90071
Telephone: (213) 576-5000
5 Facsimile: (213) 680-4470
6 Attorneys for Defendant
AMAZON.COM, INC.
7

8 JONATHAN A. STIEGLITZ (SBN 278028)
Jonathan@stieglitzlaw.com
9 THE LAW OFFICES OF
JONATHAN A. STIEGLITZ
10 11845 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 800
Los Angeles, California 90064
11 Telephone: (323) 979-2063
Facsimile: (323) 488-6748
12
Attorney for Plaintiff
KEITH FEDER, M.D., INC.
13
14 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
15 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
16
17 KEITH FEDER, M.D., INC. Case No. 2:24-cv-07416-SRM-SSC

18
Plaintiff(s),
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
19
v. ORDER1
20
21 AMAZON.COM, INC. and DOES

22 1-10,
23 Defendant(s).

24
25
26
27
1 This Stipulated Protective Order is substantially based on the model
protective order provided under Magistrate Judge Stephanie S.
1. INTRODUCTION
1
1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to
2
involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for
3
which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any
4
purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted.
5
Accordingly, Plaintiff Keith Feder, M.D., Inc. (“Plaintiff”) and Defendant
6
Amazon.com, Inc. (“Defendant”) (Plaintiff and Defendant are collectively
7
referred to herein as the “Parties”) hereby stipulate to and petition the
8
court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order.
9
This Protective Order shall govern any record of information
10
produced in this action and designated pursuant to this Protective Order,
11
including all designated deposition testimony, all designated testimony
12
taken at a hearing or other proceeding, all designated deposition
13
exhibits, interrogatory answers, admissions, documents and other
14
discovery materials, whether produced informally or in response to
15
interrogatories, requests for admissions, requests for production of
16
documents or other formal methods of discovery.
17
This Protective Order shall also govern any designated record of
18
information produced in this action pursuant to required disclosures
19
under any federal procedural rule or local rule of the Court and any
20
supplementary disclosures thereto.
21
This Protective Order shall apply to the Parties and to any
22
nonparty from whom discovery may be sought who desires the protection
23
of this Protective Order.
24
The Parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket
25
protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the
26
protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the
27
limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
1
under the applicable legal principles.
2
1.2 Good Cause Statement.
3
This action arises out of a dispute between Plaintiff and Defendant
4
regarding payment for medical services rendered by Plaintiff to five
5
Patients (“Patients”) enrolled in a health benefit plan funded and
6
sponsored by Defendant.
7
In light of the nature of the claims and allegations in this case, this
8
action necessarily involves the production of confidential information for
9
which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any
10
purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such
11
confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among
12
other things, the personal health information of the Patients and their
13
medical treatment, as well as confidential business information,
14
information regarding confidential business practices, or other
15
confidential information (including information implicating privacy
16
rights of third parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to
17
the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from
18
disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or
19
common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to
20
facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of
21
discovery materials, to adequately protect information the Parties are
22
required and/or entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the Parties
23
are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation
24
for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the
25
litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such
26
information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the Parties that
27
and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has
1
been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good
2
cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
3
4 1.3 Acknowledgment of Procedure for Filing Under Seal. The
Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this
5
Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential
6
information under seal; Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that
7
must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party
8
9
seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access
10
to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with
11
non-dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing
12
under seal. See Kamakana v. City and Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d
13
1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips ex rel. Ests. of Byrd v. Gen. Motors
14
Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210–11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony
15
Elecs., Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated
16
protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of
17
good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and
18
legal justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that
19
a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of
20
Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—
21
without the submission of competent evidence by declaration,
22
establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as
23
confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
24
Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion
25
or trial, then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing
26
must be shown, and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve
27
605 F.3d 665, 677–79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type of
1
information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under
2
seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking
3
protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific
4
facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again,
5
competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under
6
seal must be provided by declaration.
7
Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise
8
protectable in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential
9
portions can be redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted
10
version for public viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or
11
otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be filed. Any
12
application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety
13
should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
14
2. DEFINITIONS
15
2.1 Action: Keith Feder, M.D., Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., United
16
States District Court, Central District of California, Case No. 2:24-cv-
17
07416-SRM-SSC
18
2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
19
designation of information or items under this Order.
20
2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information
21
(regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible
22
things that qualify for protection under Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of
23
Civil Procedure, and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement and
24
below.
25
The term Confidential Information shall include confidential or
26
proprietary technical, scientific, financial, business, health, or medical
27
The term “Confidential Health Information” shall constitute a
1
subset of Confidential Information, and shall be designated as
2
“CONFIDENTIAL” and subject to all other terms and conditions
3
governing the treatment of Confidential Information. Confidential
4
Health Information shall mean information supplied in any form, or any
5
portion thereof, that identifies an individual or subscriber in any manner
6
and relates to the past, present, or future care, services, or supplies
7
relating to the physical or mental health or condition of such individual
8
or subscriber, the provision of health care to such individual or
9
subscriber, or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of
10
health care to such individual or subscriber. Confidential Health
11
Information shall include, but is not limited to, claim data, claim forms,
12
grievances, appeals, or other documents or records that contain any
13
patient health information required to be kept confidential under any
14
state or federal law, including 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and 164 promulgated
15
pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of
16
1996 (see 45 C.F.R. §§ 164.501 & 160.103), and the following subscriber,
17
patient, or member identifiers:
18
a. names;
19
b. all geographic subdivisions smaller than a State, including
20
street address, city, county, precinct, and zip code;
21
c. all elements of dates (except year) for dates directly related to
22
an individual, including birth date, admission date, discharge date,
23
age, and date of death;
24
d. telephone numbers;
25
e. fax numbers;
26
f. electronic mail addresses;
27
h. medical record numbers;
1
i. health plan beneficiary numbers;
2
j. account numbers;
3
k. certificate/license numbers;
4
l. vehicle identifiers and serial numbers, including license plate
5
numbers;
6
m. device identifiers and serial numbers;
7
n. web universal resource locators (“URLs”);
8
o. internet protocol (“IP”) address numbers;
9
p. biometric identifiers, including finger and voice prints;
10
q. full face photographic images and any comparable images;
11
and/or
12
r. any other unique identifying number, characteristic, or code.
13
2.4 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”
14
Information or Items: extremely sensitive “CONFIDENTIAL”
15
Information or Items, the disclosure of which to another Party or Non-
16
Party would create a substantial risk of serious harm that could not be
17
avoided by less restrictive means.
18
2.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as
19
well as their support staff).
20
2.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates
21
information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to
22
discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
23
2.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information,
24
regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or
25
maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and
26
tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or
27
2.8 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in
1
a matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or
2
its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
3
2.9 Final Disposition: the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and
4
defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment
5
herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings,
6
remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits for
7
filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to
8
applicable law.
9
2.10 In-House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a Party to
10
this Action. In-House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of
11
Record or any other outside counsel.
12
2.11 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation,
13
association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
14
2.12 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees
15
of a party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a Party to
16
this Action and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that Party or
17
are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that Party,
18
and includes support staff.
19
2.13 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers,
20
directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel
21
of Record (and their support staffs).
22
2.14 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces
23
Disclosure or Discovery Material in this Action.
24
2.15 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide
25
litigation- support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating,
26
preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or
27
subcontractors.
1
2.16 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that
2
is designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –
3
ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
4
2.17 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
5
Material from a Producing Party.
6
3. SCOPE
7
The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not
8
only Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information
9
copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts,
10
summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any
11
testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel
12
that might reveal Protected Material.
13
Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the
14
orders of the trial judge. This Stipulated Protective Order does not
15
govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
16
4. TRIAL AND DURATION
17
The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order apply through Final
18
Disposition of the Action.
19
Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
20
CONFIDENTIAL or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES
21
ONLY or maintained pursuant to this Stipulated Protective Order and
22
used or introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be
23
presumptively available to all members of the public, including the
24
press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings
25
to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial.
26
See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180–81 (distinguishing “good cause”
27
reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of court
1
record). Accordingly, for such materials, the terms of this Stipulated
2
Protective Order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
3
Even after Final Disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality
4
obligations imposed by this Stipulated Protective Order shall remain in
5
effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court
6
order otherwise directs.
7
5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
8
5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for
9
Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or
10
items for protection under this Order must take care to limit any such
11
designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate
12
standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only
13
those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
14
communications that qualify so that other portions of the material,
15
documents, items, or communications for which protection is not
16
warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
17
Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited.
18
Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been
19
made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case
20
development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on
21
other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
22
If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or
23
items that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that
24
Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is
25
withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
26
5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise
27
of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure
1
or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Stipulated
2
Protective Order must be clearly so designated before the material is
3
disclosed or produced.
4
Designation in conformity with this Stipulated Protective Order
5
requires:
6
(a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
7
documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or
8
trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the
9
legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –
10
ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” to each page that contains protected
11
material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
12
qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify
13
the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
14
margins).
15
A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for
16
inspection need not designate them for protection until after the
17
inspecting Party has indicated which documents it would like copied
18
and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of
19
the material made available for inspection shall be deemed
20
CONFIDENTIAL or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES
21
ONLY. After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it
22
wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which
23
documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this
24
Stipulated Protective Order. Then, before producing the specified
25
documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” or
26
“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” legend to
27
of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party
1
also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
2
appropriate markings in the margins).
3
(b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party
4
identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the
5
close of the deposition all protected testimony.
6
(c) for information produced in some form other than
7
documentary and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party
8
affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers
9
in which the information is stored the “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
10
CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” legend. If only a
11
portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing
12
Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
13
(d) for information disclosed at a hearing or trial that the
14
Designating Party requests the Judge, at the time the information is
15
proffered or adduced, to receive the information only in the presence of
16
those persons designated to receive such information and Court
17
personnel, and to designate the transcript appropriately.
18
(e) Confidential Information marked as “CONFIDENTIAL -
19
ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” may be used solely for the purpose of
20
21
conducting this Litigation and not for any other purpose whatsoever.
5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an
22
inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items does not,
23
standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection
24
under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a
25
designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure
26
that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
27
6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
1
6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may
2
challenge a designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent
3
with the court’s Scheduling Order.
4
6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the
5
dispute resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. and with
6
Section 2 of Judge Christensen’s Civil Procedures titled “Brief Pre-
7
Discovery Motion Conference.”2
8
6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding
9
shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those
10
made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary
11
expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging
12
Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or
13
withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all Parties shall continue to
14
afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
15
entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the court rules on
16
17 the challenge.
7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
18
7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected
19
Material that is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-
20
Party in connection with this Action only for prosecuting, defending, or
21
attempting to settle this Action and for no other action. A Receiving
22
Party shall hold such information received from the disclosing Party in
23
confidence, shall not use it for any business or other commercial
24
purpose, shall not use it for filing or prosecuting any patent application
25
26

27
2 Judge Christensen’s Procedures are available at
(of any type) or patent reissue or reexamination request, and shall not
1
disclose it to any person, except as hereinafter provided. Such Protected
2
Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under
3
the conditions described in this Order. When the Action reaches a Final
4
Disposition, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of
5
section 13 below.
6
All documents, including attorney notes and abstracts, which
7
contain another Party’s Confidential Information, shall be handled as if
8
they were designated pursuant to Paragraph 5.
9
Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving
10
Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is
11
limited to the persons authorized under this Stipulated Protective
12
Order.
13
7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items.
14
Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the
15
Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or
16
item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only:
17
(a) to the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this
18
Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record
19
(excluding experts and investigators) to whom it is reasonably necessary
20
to disclose the information for this Action;
21
(b) to the officers, directors, and employees (including House
22
Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably
23
necessary for this Action;
24
(c) to Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to
25
whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
26
signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
27
(e) private court reporters and their staff to whom disclosure is
1
reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
2
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
3
(f) to professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
4
Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for
5
this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement
6
to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
7
(g) to the author or recipient of a document containing the
8
information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or
9
knew the information;
10
(h) during their depositions, to witnesses, and attorneys for
11
witnesses, in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary,
12
provided: (1) the deposing party requests that the witness sign the
13
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); and (2) the
14
witness will not be permitted to keep any confidential information
15
unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
16
(Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or
17
ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or
18
exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately
19
bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except
20
as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order;
21
(i) Stenographers and videographers engaged to transcribe or
22
record depositions conducted in this action provided that such
23
individuals agree in writing, in the form attached at Appendix A, to be
24
bound by the terms of this Order; and
25
(j) to any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting
26
personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in
27
7.3 Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’
1
EYES ONLY” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the
2
court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving
3
Party may disclose any information or item designated “HIGHLY
4
CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” only to:
5
(a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action,
6
as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record (excluding
7
experts and investigators) to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose
8
the information for this Action;
9
(b) House Counsel;
10
(c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to
11
whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
12
signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
13
(d) the court and its personnel;
14
(e) private court reporters and their staff to whom disclosure is
15
reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
16
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
17
(f) the author or recipient of a document containing the
18
information; and
19
(g) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting
20
personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the Parties engaged in
21
settlement discussions.
22
8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
23
PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
24
If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in
25
other litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items
26
designated in this Action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
27
(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such
1
notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
2
(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the
3
subpoena or order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the
4
material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective
5
Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated
6
Protective Order; and
7
(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to
8
be pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be
9
affected.
10
If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the
11
Party served with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any
12
information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
13
CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” before a determination by
14
the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has
15
obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party
16
shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of
17
its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be
18
construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this
19
Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
20
9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
21
PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
22
9.1 Application. The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order
23
are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in this Action and
24
designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL --
25
ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by Non-Parties
26
in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief
27
as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
1
9.2 Notification. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid
2
discovery request, to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in
3
its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-
4
Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then the
5
Party shall:
6
(a) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the
7
Non-Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a
8
confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
9
(b) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
10
Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a
11
reasonably specific description of the information requested; and
12
(c) make the information requested available for inspection by
13
the Non-Party, if requested.
14
15 9.3 Conditions of Production. If the Non-Party fails to seek a
protective order from this court within 14 days of receiving the notice
16
and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce the
17
Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request.
18
If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party
19
shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is
20
subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a
21
determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the
22
Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in
23
24
this court of its Protected Material.
10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED
25
MATERIAL
26
If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it
27
not authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving
1
Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of
2
the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all
3
unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
4
persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of
5
this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the
6
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A).
7
11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
8
OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL
9
When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that
10
certain inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege
11
or other protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set
12
forth in Rule 26(b)(5)(B) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This
13
provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be
14
established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without
15
prior privilege review. Pursuant to Rules 502(d) and (e) of the Federal
16
Rules of Evidence, insofar as the Parties reach an agreement on the
17
effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the
18
attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the Parties may
19
incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order
20
submitted to the court.
21
12. MISCELLANEOUS
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12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Stipulated
23
Protective Order abridges the right of any person to seek its
24
modification by the court in the future.
25
12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry
26
of this Stipulated Protective Order, no Party waives any right it
27
information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated
1
Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
2
ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this
3
Stipulated Protective Order.
4
12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under
5
seal any Protected Material must comply with Local Rule 79-5.
6
Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court
7
order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue.
8
If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the
9
court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public
10
record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
11
13. FINAL DISPOSITION
12
After the Final Disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph
13
4, within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each
14
Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing
15
Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all
16
Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
17
summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
18
Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or
19
destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to
20
the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the
21
Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by
22
category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was
23
returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not
24
retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other
25
format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material.
26
Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel is entitled to retain an archival
27
1 || transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial
4 || exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and
3 || expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material.
4 || Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material
5 || remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4.
6 || 14. MIOLATION
7 Any violation of this Stipulated Protective Order may be punished
g || by any and all appropriate measures including, without limitation,
g || contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions at the discretion of the
19 || Court.
11
IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
13
14 DATED: March 6, 2025 /s/ Jonathan A. Stieglitz
15 Attorney(s) for Plaintiff(s)
16
17 DATED:_March 6, 2025 /s/_ Shannon L. Ernster
18 Attorney(s) for Defendant(s)
19
20
21 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
ZA —
|| DATED: March 10, 2025
24 STEPHANIE S. CHRISTENSEN
25 United States Magistrate Judge
26
27
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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
5
penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the
6
Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States
7
District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the
8
case of __________ [insert formal name of the case and the
9
number and initials assigned to it by the court]. I agree to
10
comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated
11
12 Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so
13 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of
14 contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner
15 any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective
16 Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the
17 provisions of this Order.
18 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States
19 District Court for the Central District of California for the purpose of
20 enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such
21
enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I
22
hereby appoint ________________________ [print or type full name]
23
of _________ [print or type full address and telephone number] as
24
25
26
27
1 my California agent for service of process in connection with this action
2 or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective
3 Order.
4
5 Date: ___________________________
6 City and State where sworn and
7 ___________________________
signed:
8
Printed name: ___________________________
9
Signature: ___________________________
10

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10820270. Public record. Not legal advice.