even stipulated protective 19 orders require good cause showing
How later courts described this case
- even stipulated protective 19 orders require good cause showing
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
1 AMIR NASSIHI (SBN 235936)
anassihi@shb.com
2
SHOOK, HARDY & BACON L.L.P.
3 555 Mission Street, Suite 2300
San Francisco, CA 94105
4 TEL: (415) 544-1900 | FAX: (415) 391-0281
5
NAOKI S. KANEKO (SBN 252285)
6 nkaneko@shb.com
SARAH GARBUZOV (SBN 345909)
7 sgarbuzov@shb.com
SHOOK, HARDY & BACON L.L.P.
8 Jamboree Center
5 Park Plaza, Suite 1600
9
Irvine, CA 92614
10 Tel: (949) 475-1500 | Fax: (949) 475-0016
eserve@shb.com
11
Attorneys for Defendant
12
NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
13
14 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
15 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
16
YANILEYSI CHAVEZ, an
17 individual, Case No. 2:25-cv-03824-SSC
18 Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
19 v. ORDER1
20 NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.,
a Delaware Corporation; and DOES 1
21
through 10, inclusive,
22
23
Defendants.
24
25
26
27 1 This Stipulated Protective Order is substantially based on the model protective
1 1. INTRODUCTION
2 1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to involve
3 production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special
4 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting
5 this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and
6 petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties
7 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or
8 responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and
9 use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential
10 treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as
11 set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle
12 them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the
13 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party
14 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
15 1.2 Good Cause Statement. This action is likely to involve trade secrets,
16 customer and pricing lists and other valuable research, development, commercial,
17 financial, technical and/or proprietary information for which special protection from
18 public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action
19 is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of,
20 among other things, confidential business or financial information, information
21 regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential research,
22 development, or commercial information (including information implicating privacy
23 rights of third parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or
24 which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal
25 statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the
26 flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality
27 of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to
1 of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling
2 at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such
3 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information
4 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so
5 designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential,
6 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public
7 record of this case.
8 1.3 Acknowledgment of Procedure for Filing Under Seal. The parties further
9 acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order
10 does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Local Rule 79-5 sets
11 forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when
12 a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
13 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial
14 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions,
15 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and
16 Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips ex rel. Ests. of Byrd
17 v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210–11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v.
18 Sony Elecs., Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective
19 orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or
20 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be
21 made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The
22 parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL
23 does not—without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing
24 that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or
25 otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
26 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then
27 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief
1 Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677–79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item
2 or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal
3 in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must
4 articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for
5 the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to
6 file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.
7 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its
8 entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If
9 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only
10 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall
11 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety
12 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
13 2. DEFINITIONS
14 2.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit, Case no. 2:25-cv-03824-SSC.
15 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
16 of information or items under this Order.
17 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
18 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection
19 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good
20 Cause Statement
21 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
22 support staff).
23 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
24 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
25 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
26 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of
27 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
1 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
2 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
3 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
4 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
5 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
6 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
7 counsel.
8 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
9 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
10 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party
11 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have
12 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which
13 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
14 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
15 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
16 support staffs).
17 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
18 Discovery Material in this Action.
19 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
20 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
21 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
22 and their employees and subcontractors.
23 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
24 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
25 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
26 from a Producing Party.
27 3. SCOPE
1 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted
2 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of
3 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties
4 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
5 Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the orders of the trial
6 judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
7 4. TRIAL AND DURATION
8 The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order apply through Final Disposition
9 of the Action.
10 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
11 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this Stipulated Protective Order and used
12 or introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available
13 to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported
14 by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance
15 of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180–81 (distinguishing “good cause”
16 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”
17 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, for
18 such materials, the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order do not extend beyond the
19 commencement of the trial.
20 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
21 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
22 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this
23 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies
24 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection
25 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that
26 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications
27 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of
1 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
2 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
3 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
4 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party
5 to sanctions.
6 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
7 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
8 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
9 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
10 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
11 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
12 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
13 produced.
14 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
15 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,
16 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the
17 Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter
18 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a
19 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
20 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
21 markings in the margins).
22 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
23 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
24 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before
25 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection will be deemed
26 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants
27 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or
1 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend”
2 to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the
3 material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
4 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
5 margins).
6 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the
7 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all
8 protected testimony.
9 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any
10 other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior
11 of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
12 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
13 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, will identify the protected
14 portion(s).
15 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
16 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
17 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
18 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
19 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
20 Order.
21 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
22 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
23 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
24 Scheduling Order.
25 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
26 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. and with Section 2 of Judge
27 Christensen’s Civil Procedures titled “Brief Pre-Discovery Motion Conference.”
1 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
2 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
3 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
4 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived
5 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the
6 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing
7 Party’s designation until the court rules on the challenge.
8 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
9 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
10 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
11 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
12 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
13 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving
14 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
15 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
16 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
17 authorized under this Order.
18 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
19 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
20 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
21 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
22 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well
23 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary
24 to disclose the information for this Action;
25 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
26 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
27 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
1 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
2 (d) the Court and its personnel;
3 (e) court reporters and their staff;
4 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
5 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
6 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
7 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
8 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
9 (h) during their depositions, witnesses ,and attorneys for witnesses, in the
10 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
11 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will
12 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
13 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
14 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
15 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be
16 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as
17 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
18 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
19 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
20 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
21 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
22 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
23 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
24 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
25 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification will
26 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
27 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
1 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification will include a copy of
2 this Stipulated Protective Order; and
3 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
4 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
5 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
6 the subpoena or court order will not produce any information designated in this action
7 as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena
8 or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
9 Designating Party will bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court
10 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
11 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful
12 directive from another court.
13 A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
14 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
15 9.1 Application. The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order are applicable
16 to information produced by a Non-Party in this Action and designated as
17 “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in connection with
18 this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing
19 in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking
20 additional protections.
21 9.2 Notification. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery
22 request, to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the
23 Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
24 confidential information, then the Party shall:
25 (a) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that
26 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with
27 a Non-Party;
1 Party, if requested.
2 9.3 Conditions of Production. If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective
3 order from this court within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying
4 information, the Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential
5 information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a
6 protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its
7 possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-
8 Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the
9 Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its
10 Protected Material.
11 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
12 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
13 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
14 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
15 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
16 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
17 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
18 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
19 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A).
20 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
21 PROTECTED MATERIAL
22 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
23 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
24 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Rule 26(b)(5)(B) of the
25 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This provision is not intended to modify whatever
26 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production
27 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Rules 502(d) and (e) of the Federal Rules
1 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work
2 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated
3 protective order submitted to the court.
4 12. MISCELLANEOUS
5 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
6 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
7 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
8 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
9 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
10 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
11 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
12 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
13 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
14 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
15 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is
16 denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public
17 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
18 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
19 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60
20 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
21 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
22 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
23 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
24 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party
25 must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person
26 or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by
27 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed
1 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
2 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an
3 archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
4 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
5 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
6 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
7 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
8 Section 4 (DURATION).
9 14. VIOLATION
10 Any violation of this Stipulated Protective Order may be punished by any and
11 all appropriate measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or
12 monetary sanctions.
13
14 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
15
16 Dated: July 9, 2025 QUILL & ARROW, LLP.
17
18 By /s/Andrew Jung
ANDREW JUNG
19
DANJA STOCCA
20
Attorneys for Plaintiff
21 YANILEYSI CHAVEZ
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1 Dated: July 31, 2025 SHOOK, HARDY & BACON L.L.P.
2
3 By /s/ Sarah Garbuzov
AMIR NASSIHI
4
NAOKI S. KANEKO
5 SARAH GARBUZOV
6 Attorneys for Defendant
NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC
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1 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
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3 DATED: August 4, 2025
4 STEPHANIE S. CHRISTENSEN
; United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________
4 [full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and
5 understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States
6 District Court for the Central District of California on _________ [date] in the case
7 of Yanileysi Chavez v. Nissan North America, Inc., Case No. 2:25-cv-03824-SSC.
8 I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective
9 Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me
10 to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I
11 will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this
12 Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with
13 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: _________________________________
24 Printed name: _______________________________
25 Signature: __________________________________
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