The opinion
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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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MILLER ADESMAN, a professional ) Case No. 2:25-cv-01304-MRA-JDE
11 law corporation; BRIAN M. ) )
12 ADESMAN, an individual, )
)
)
13 Plaintiff, ) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
14 ) ) O RDER
v. )
15 )
)
16 JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., a )
national bank association and DOES 1 )
17 )
through 10, inclusive
)
18 )
19 Defendants. )
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Based on the parties’ Stipulation and for good cause shown, the Court finds
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and orders as follows.
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1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
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Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
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proprietary or private information for which special protection from public
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disclosure and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be
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warranted. This Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or
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28 responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and
1 use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential
2 treatment under the applicable legal principles.
3 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
4 This action is likely to involve private financial information and confidential
5 records and other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical
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and/or proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure
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and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted.
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Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among
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other things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding
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confidential business practices, or commercial information (including information
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implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise generally
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unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from
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disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common
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law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt
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resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately
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protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the
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parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for
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and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and
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serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this
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21 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as
22 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good
23 faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and
24 there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
25 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable
26 in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be
27 redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing,
28 omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the
1 document, shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in
2 their entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
3 4. DEFINITIONS
4 4.1 Action: The pending action, captioned Miller Adesman, et al. v.
5 JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Case No. 2:25-cv-01304-MRA-JDE.
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4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
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designation of information or items under this Order.
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4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
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how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
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protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
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the Good Cause Statement.
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4.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
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their support staff).
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4.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
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items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
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“CONFIDENTIAL.”
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4.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
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of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
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among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced
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21 or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.
22 4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
23 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve
24 as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
25 4.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this
26 Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other
27 outside counsel.
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1 4.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or
2 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
3 4.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
4 party to this Action but are retained to represent a party to this Action and have
5 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that
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has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
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4.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
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employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
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support staffs).
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4.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
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Discovery Material in this Action.
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4.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
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support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
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demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
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and their employees and subcontractors.
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4.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
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designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
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4.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
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Material from a Producing Party.
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21 5. SCOPE
22 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
23 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
24 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
25 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
26 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
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1 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
2 trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of
3 Protected Material at trial.
4 6. DURATION
5 Once a case proceeds to trial, information designated as CONFIDENTIAL
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or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced as an exhibit at
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trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the
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public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual
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findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial.
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See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for
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sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard
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when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of
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this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
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7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
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7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
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Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
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this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
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qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
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protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written
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21 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,
22 items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
23 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
24 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
25 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
26 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to
27 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the
28 Designating Party to sanctions.
1 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
2 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
3 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
4 A Party may not designate documents or information as “CONFIDENTIAL”
5 if such documents or information originated from, were created by, or were
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previously possessed by the Receiving Party.
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7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
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this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material
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that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before
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the material is disclosed or produced.
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Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
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(a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
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documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
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proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
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“CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
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contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for
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protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)
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(e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
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A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
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21 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
22 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
23 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
24 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the
25 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine
26 which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order.
27 Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix
28 the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If
1 only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
2 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
3 appropriate markings in the margins).
4 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party
5 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of
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the deposition all protected testimony.
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(c) for information produced in some form other than documentary
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and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent
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place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is
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stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the
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information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable,
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shall identify the protected portion(s).
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7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
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failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
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the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such
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material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make
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reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the
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provisions of this Order.
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8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
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21 8.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
22 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
23 Scheduling Order.
24 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
25 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
26 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a
27 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
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1 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
2 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
3 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
4 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
5 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
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continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
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entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
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challenge.
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10 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
11 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
12 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
13 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such
14 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under
15 the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
16 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL
17 DISPOSITION).
18 Nothing in this Order shall be construed to limit a Party’s ability to
19 communicate with government agencies, regulatory bodies, or the media, or to use
20 any document or information that was lawfully in their possession prior to its
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production in this litigation.
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Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
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location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
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authorized under this Order.
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9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
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otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
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Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
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“CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
1 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
2 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
3 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
4 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel)
5 of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
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(c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
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disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
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“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
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(d) the court and its personnel;
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(e) court reporters and their staff;
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(f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
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Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
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signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
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(g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or
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a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
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(h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in
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the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing
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party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2)
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they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
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21 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
22 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
23 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
24 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone
25 except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
26 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel,
27 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
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1 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
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3 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
4 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
5 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
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(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
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shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
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(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or
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order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
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subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall
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include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
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(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
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pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the
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Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the
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subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action
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as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
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subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
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permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
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protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
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21 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
22 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
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11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO
24 BE PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
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(a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by
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a Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such
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information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected
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by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions
1 should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional
2 protections.
3 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request,
4 to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party
5 is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
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confidential information, then the Party shall:
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(1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
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that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
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agreement with a Non-Party;
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(2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
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Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
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specific description of the information requested; and
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(3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
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Non-Party, if requested.
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(c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court
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within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the
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Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive
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to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the
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Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that
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21 is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a
22 determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party
23 shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its
24 Protected Material.
25 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED
MATERIAL
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27 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has
28 disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized
1 under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a)
2 notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its
3 best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform
4 the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms
5 of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the
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“Acknowledgment an Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.
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13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
8 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL
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When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
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inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
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protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal
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Rule of Civil\ Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify
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whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for
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production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence
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502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure
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of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or
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work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the
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stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
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14. MISCELLANEOUS
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21 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
22 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
23 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
24 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
25 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in
26 this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on
27 any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective
28 Order.
1 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
2 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material
3 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
4 specific Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under
5 seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the
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public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
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15. FINAL DISPOSITION
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After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6, within
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60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must
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return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As
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used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts,
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compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
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Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the
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Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if
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not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that
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(1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was
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returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any
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copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or
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capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel
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21 are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial,
22 deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition
23 and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert
24 work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival
25 copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this
26 Protective Order as set forth in Section 6 (DURATION).
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I 16. VIOLATION
2 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
3 | including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
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| FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
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3 DATED: May 22, 2025
9 je de
11 United States Magistrate Judge
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EXHIBIT A
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, ____________________________ [print or type full name], of
4 _______________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of
5 perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective
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Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of
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California on May 21, 2025, in the case of Miller Adesman, et al. v. JPMorgan
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Chase Bank, N.A., Case No. 2:25-cv-01304-MRA-JDE. I agree to comply with
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and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I
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understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to
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sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will
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not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated
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Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the
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provisions of this Order. I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United
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States District Court for the Central District of California for the purpose of
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enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement
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proceedings occur after termination of this action.
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19 I hereby appoint _____________________________ [print or type full
20 name] of ____________________________________ [print or type full address
21 and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection
22 with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated
23 Protective Order.
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25 Date:____________________________
26 City and State where sworn and signed:___________________________________
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Printed Name: _____________________
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