The opinion
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6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
7 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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DEREK HAMILTON, individual; Case No.: 2:25-cv-02591-MWC-MAR
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Plaintiffs, [Hon. Michelle Williams Court, United
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States District Judge; Hon. Margo A.
11 vs. Rocconi, United States Magistrate Judge]
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COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, a STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
13 California public entity; and DOES 1 ORDER
through 20, inclusive.
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Complaint Filed: March 25, 2025
15 Defendant.
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1 1. INTRODUCTION
2 1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
3 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
4 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure
5 and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted.
6 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the
7 following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does
8 not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that
9 the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited
10 information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable
11 legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below,
12 that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential
13 information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be
14 followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from
15 the court to file material under seal.
16 1.2 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
17 This action is likely to involve confidential documents relating to ongoing
18 investigations, peace officer personnel file documents, as well as personal identifying
19 information of parties and third party witnesses (i.e. addresses, telephone numbers,
20 etc.), for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose
21 other than prosecution of this action is not warranted. Such confidential and
22 proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, documents
23 produced in connection with personnel file information; personal identifying
24 information of any party or third party witness, otherwise generally unavailable to the
25 public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state
26 or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law.
27 Without a Protective Order, such uncontrolled disclosures would result in the
1 following harm: needless intrusion of officer privacy; threats to the privacy and safety
2 of non-party witnesses, officers, and their families/associates; impairment in the
3 collection of third party witness information and statements and related legitimate law
4 enforcement investigations/interests; a chilling of open and honest discussion
5 regarding and/or investigation into alleged misconduct that can erode a public entity’s
6 ability to identify and/or implement any remedial measures that may be required;
7 substantially impair and harm Defendant’s public entity’s interests in candid self-
8 critical analysis, frank internal deliberations, obtaining candid information from
9 witnesses, preserving the safety of witnesses, and preventing pending investigations
10 from being detrimentally undermined by publication of private, sensitive, or
11 confidential information. As such, there is good cause and a particularized need for a
12 Protective Order to preserve the interests of confidentiality and privacy in peace
13 officer personnel file records and associated investigative or confidential records, as
14 well as personal identifying information of parties and third party witnesses.
15 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt
16 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately
17 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the
18 parties are permitted reasonably necessary uses of such material in preparation for
19 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and
20 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this
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 faith
23 belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is
24 good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
25 Further, testimony taken at a deposition may be designated as Confidential by
26 making a statement to that effect on the record at the deposition. Arrangements shall
27 be made with the court reporter transcribing the deposition to separately bind such
1 portions of the transcript containing information designated as Confidential, and to
2 label such portions appropriately. The parties reserve the right to challenge a
3 designation of confidentiality pursuant to the terms set forth under Paragraph 6 of this
4 Order.
5 The parties therefore stipulate that there is Good Cause for, and hereby jointly
6 request that the honorable Court issue/enter, a Protective Order re confidential
7 documents consistent with the terms and provisions of this Stipulation.
8 2. DEFINITIONS
9 2.1 Action: Derek Hamilton v. County of Los Angeles, et al., Case No. 2:25-
10 2591-MWC (DFMx).
11 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
12 of information or items under this Order.
13 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
14 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection
15 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good
16 Cause Statement.
17 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
18 support staff).
19 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
20 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
21 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
22 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
23 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
24 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
25 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
26 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
27 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
1 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
2 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
3 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
4 counsel.
5 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
6 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
7 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party
8 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have
9 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which
10 has appeared on behalf of that party, including support staff.
11 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
12 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
13 support staff).
14 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
15 Discovery Material in this Action.
16 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
17 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
18 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
19 and their employees and subcontractors.
20 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
21 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
22 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
23 from a Producing Party.
24 3. SCOPE
25 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
26 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted
27 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of
1 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties
2 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
3 Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the orders of the trial
4 judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
5 4. DURATION
6 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as
7 confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will
8 be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless
9 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are
10 made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of
11 Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause”
12 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”
13 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the
14 terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
15 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations
16 imposed by this Order will remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise
17 in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition will be deemed to be
18 the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with or without
19 prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all
20 appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time
21 limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to
22 applicable law.
23 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
24 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
25 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this
26 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies
27 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection
1 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that
2 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications
3 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of
4 this Order.
5 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
6 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
7 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
8 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party
9 to sanctions.
10 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
11 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
12 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
13 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
14 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
15 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
16 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
17 produced.
18 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
19 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,
20 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the
21 Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter
22 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a
23 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
24 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
25 markings in the margins).
26 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
27 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
1 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before
2 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection will be deemed
3 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants
4 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or
5 portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the
6 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend”
7 to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the
8 material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
9 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
10 margins).
11 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the
12 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all
13 protected testimony.
14 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any
15 other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior
16 of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
17 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
18 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, will identify the protected
19 portion(s).
20 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
21 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
22 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
23 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
24 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
25 Order.
26 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
27 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
1 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
2 Scheduling Order.
3 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party will initiate the dispute
4 resolution process (and, if necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 37.1
5 et seq.
6 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding will be on
7 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
8 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
9 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived
10 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties will continue to afford the
11 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing
12 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
13 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
14 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
15 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
16 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
17 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
18 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving
19 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
20 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
21 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
22 authorized under this Order.
23 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
24 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
25 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
26 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
27 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well
1 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary
2 to disclose the information for this Action;
3 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
4 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
5 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
6 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
7 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
8 (d) the Court and its personnel;
9 (e) court reporters and their staff;
10 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
11 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
12 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
13 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
14 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
15 (h) during their depositions: witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the
16 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
17 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will
18 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
19 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
20 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
21 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be
22 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as
23 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
24 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
25 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
26 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN
27 OTHER LITIGATION
1 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
2 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
3 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
4 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification will
5 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
6 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
7 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena
8 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification will include a copy of
9 this Stipulated Protective Order; and
10 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
11 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
12 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
13 the subpoena or court order will not produce any information designated in this action
14 as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena
15 or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
16 Designating Party will bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court
17 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
18 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful
19 directive from another court.
20 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
21 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
22 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
23 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
24 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
25 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
26 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
27 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
1 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
2 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
3 confidential information, then the Party will:
4 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
5 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
6 with a Non-Party;
7 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
8 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
9 specific description of the information requested; and
10 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-
11 Party, if requested.
12 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within
13 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
14 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
15 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party will not
16 produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
17 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
18 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party will bear the burden and expense
19 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
20 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
21 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
22 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
23 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
24 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
25 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
26 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
27 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
1 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
2 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
3 PROTECTED MATERIAL
4 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
5 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
6 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
7 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
8 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
9 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
10 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
11 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
12 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted
13 to the court.
14 12. MISCELLANEOUS
15 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
16 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
17 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
18 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
19 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
20 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
21 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
22 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
23 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
24 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
25 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal
26 is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public
27 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
1 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
2 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60
3 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
4 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
5 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
6 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
7 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving
8 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same
9 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies
10 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or
11 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,
12 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any
13 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to
14 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
15 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
16 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
17 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
18 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
19 Section 4 (DURATION).
20 14. Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or criminal
21 contempt proceedings, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary
22 authorities, or other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court.
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, || TIS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
2 || Dated: May 28, 2025 IVIE McNEILL WYATT
3 PURCELL & DIGGS
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5 By:
Rickey Ivie, Esq.
6 Marina Samson, Esq.
7 Attorneys for Defendant
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
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g || Dated: May 28, 2025 POINTER & BUELNA, LLP
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ll By:
Adanté D. Pointer, Esq.
12 Patrick M. Buelna, Esq.
13 Attorneys for Plaintiff
DEREK HAMILTON
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15 || Dated: May 28, 2025 POINTER & BUELNA, LLP
16
17 By:
Michael A. Slater, Esq.
18 Attorneys for Plaintiff
19 DEREK HAMILTON
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91 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
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|| DATED: 6/11/2025
HON. MARGO A. ROCCONI
25 United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
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4 I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________
5 [full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and
6 understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States
7 District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of
8 ___________ [insert case name and number]. I agree to comply with and to be
9 bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and
10 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment
11 in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner
12 any 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 Order.
14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
15 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
16 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
17 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [full
18 name] of _______________________________________ [full address and
19 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with
20 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective
21 Order.
22 Date: ______________________________________
23 City and State where signed: _________________________________
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25 Printed name: _______________________________
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27 Signature: __________________________________