The opinion
1 Douglas E. Dexter (State Bar No. 115868)
ddexter@fbm.com
2 Benjamin R. Buchwalter (State Bar No. 301130)
bbuchwalter@fbm.com
3 Emily J. Tripodi (State Bar No. 334054)
etripodi@fbm.com
4 Farella Braun + Martel LLP
One Bush Street, Suite 900
5 San Francisco, California 94104
Telephone: (415) 954-4400
6 Facsimile: (415) 954-4480
7 Attorneys for Defendant AMAZON.COM
SERVICES LLC
8
Mike Chappars (State Bar No. 290137)
9 mike@345law.com
Law Office of Mike Chappars
10 101 Church Street, Suite 30
Los Gatos, California 35030
11 Telephone: (408) 508-3447
Facsimile: (408) 213-5866
12
Attorneys for Plaintiff DIEGO GUTIERREZ
13
14 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
15 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, FRESNO DIVISION
16
17 DIEGO GUTIERREZ, an individual, Case No. 1:24-cv-01366-JLT-BAM
18 Plaintiff, JOINT STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
ORDER
19 vs.
Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe
20 AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC, a
Delaware Limited Liability Company; and Trial Date: February 9, 2027
21 DOES 1 through 20, inclusive,
22 Defendants.
23
24 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between the Parties, Plaintiff Diego Gutierrez and
25 Defendant Amazon.com Services LLC, by and through their respective counsel of record, that in
26 order to facilitate the exchange of information and documents which may be subject to
27 confidentiality limitations on disclosure due to federal laws, state laws, and privacy rights, the
1 1. In this Stipulation and Protective Order, the words set forth below shall have the
2 following meanings:
3 a. “Proceeding” means the above-entitled proceeding, Gutierrez v. Amazon.com
4 Services LLC et al., Case No. 1:24-cv-01366-JLT-BAM.
5 b. “Court” means the Hon. Jennifer L. Thurston, the Hon. Barbara A. McAuliffe, or
6 any other judge to which this Proceeding may be assigned, including Court staff participating in
7 such proceedings.
8 c. “Confidential” means any information which is in the possession of a Designating
9 Party who believes in good faith that such information is entitled to confidential treatment under
10 applicable law.
11 d. “Confidential Materials” means any Documents, Testimony or Information as
12 defined below designated as “Confidential” pursuant to the provisions of this Stipulation and
13 Protective Order.
14 e. “Designating Party” means the Party that designates Materials as “Confidential.”
15 f. “Disclose” or “Disclosed” or “Disclosure” means to reveal, divulge, give, or make
16 available Materials, or any part thereof, or any information contained therein.
17 g. “Documents” means (i) any “Writing,” “Original,” and “Duplicate” as those terms
18 are defined by the Federal Rules of Evidence 1001(a), (d), and (e), which have been produced in
19 discovery in this Proceeding by any person, and (ii) any copies, reproductions, or summaries of all
20 or any part of the foregoing.
21 h. “Information” means the content of Documents or Testimony.
22 i. “Testimony” means all depositions, declarations or other testimony taken or used in
23 this Proceeding.
24 2. The Designating Party shall have the right to designate as “Confidential” any
25 Documents, Testimony or Information that the Designating Party in good faith believes to contain
26 non-public information that is entitled to confidential treatment under applicable law.
27 3. The entry of this Stipulation and Protective Order does not alter, waive, modify, or
1 discovery of matters, including but not limited to any Party’s right to assert the attorney-client
2 privilege, the attorney work product doctrine, or other privileges, or any Party’s right to contest
3 any such assertion.
4 4. Any Documents, Testimony or Information to be designated as “Confidential” must
5 be clearly so designated before the Document, Testimony or Information is Disclosed or produced.
6 The parties may agree that the case name and number are to be part of the “Confidential”
7 designation. The ”Confidential” designation should not obscure or interfere with the legibility of
8 the designated Information.
9 a. For Documents (apart from transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
10 proceedings), the Designating Party must affix the legend “Confidential” on each page of any
11 Document containing such designated Confidential Material.
12 b. For Testimony given in depositions the Designating Party may either:
13 i. identify on the record, before the close of the deposition, all
14 “Confidential” Testimony, by specifying all portions of the Testimony that
15 qualify as “Confidential;” or
16
17 ii. designate the entirety of the Testimony at the deposition as
18 “Confidential” (before the deposition is concluded) with the right to identify
19 more specific portions of the Testimony as to which protection is sought
20 within 30 days following receipt of the deposition transcript. In
21 circumstances where portions of the deposition Testimony are designated
22 for protection, the transcript pages containing “Confidential” Information
23 may be separately bound by the court reporter, who must affix to the top of
24 each page the legend “Confidential,” as instructed by the Designating Party.
25 c. For Information produced in some form other than Documents, and for any other
26 tangible items, including, without limitation, compact discs or DVDs, the Designating Party must
27 affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the Information
1 protection, the Designating Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the “Confidential”
2 portions.
3 5. The inadvertent production by any of the undersigned Parties or non-Parties to the
4 Proceedings of any Document, Testimony or Information during discovery in this Proceeding
5 without a “Confidential” designation, shall be without prejudice to any claim that such item is
6 “Confidential” and such Party shall not be held to have waived any rights by such inadvertent
7 production. In the event that any Document, Testimony or Information that is subject to a
8 “Confidential” designation is inadvertently produced without such designation, the Party that
9 inadvertently produced the document shall give written notice of such inadvertent production
10 within twenty (20) days of discovery of the inadvertent production, together with a further copy of
11 the subject Document, Testimony or Information designated as “Confidential” (the “Inadvertent
12 Production Notice”). Upon receipt of such Inadvertent Production Notice, the Party that received
13 the inadvertently produced Document, Testimony or Information shall promptly destroy the
14 inadvertently produced Document, Testimony or Information and all copies thereof, or, at the
15 expense of the producing Party, return such together with all copies of such Document, Testimony
16 or Information to counsel for the producing Party and shall retain only the “Confidential”
17 designated Materials. Should the receiving Party choose to destroy such inadvertently produced
18 Document, Testimony or Information, the receiving Party shall notify the producing Party in
19 writing of such destruction within ten (10) days of receipt of written notice of the inadvertent
20 production. This provision is not intended to apply to any inadvertent production of any
21 Information protected by attorney-client or work product privileges. In the event that this
22 provision conflicts with any applicable law regarding waiver of confidentiality through the
23 inadvertent production of Documents, Testimony or Information, such law shall govern.
24 6. In the event that counsel for a Party receiving Documents, Testimony or
25 Information in discovery designated as “Confidential” objects to such designation with respect to
26 any or all of such items, said counsel shall advise counsel for the Designating Party, in writing, of
27 such objections, the specific Documents, Testimony or Information to which each objection
1 Counsel for the Designating Party shall have thirty (30) days from receipt of the written
2 Designation Objections to either (a) agree in writing to de-designate Documents, Testimony or
3 Information pursuant to any or all of the Designation Objections and/or (b) file a motion with the
4 Court seeking to uphold any or all designations on Documents, Testimony or Information
5 addressed by the Designation Objections (the “Designation Motion”). Pending a resolution of the
6 Designation Motion by the Court, any and all existing designations on the Documents, Testimony
7 or Information at issue in such Motion shall remain in place. The Designating Party shall have the
8 burden on any Designation Motion of establishing the applicability of its “Confidential”
9 designation. In the event that the Designation Objections are neither timely agreed to nor timely
10 addressed in the Designation Motion, then such Documents, Testimony or Information shall be de-
11 designated in accordance with the Designation Objection applicable to such material.
12 7. Access to and/or Disclosure of Confidential Materials designated as “Confidential”
13 shall be permitted only to the following persons:
14 a. the Court;
15 b. (1) Attorneys of record in the Proceedings and their affiliated attorneys, paralegals,
16 clerical and secretarial staff employed by such attorneys who are actively involved in the
17 Proceedings and are not employees of any Party. (2) In-house counsel to the undersigned Parties
18 and the paralegal, clerical and secretarial staff employed by such counsel. Provided, however, that
19 each non-lawyer given access to Confidential Materials shall be advised that such Materials are
20 being Disclosed pursuant to, and are subject to, the terms of this Stipulation and Protective Order
21 and that they may not be Disclosed other than pursuant to its terms;
22 c. those officers, directors, partners, members, employees and agents of all
23 nondesignating Parties that counsel for such Parties deems necessary to aid counsel in the
24 prosecution and defense of this Proceeding; provided, however, that prior to the Disclosure of
25 Confidential Materials to any such officer, director, partner, member, employee or agent, counsel
26 for the Party making the Disclosure shall deliver a copy of this Stipulation and Protective Order to
27 such person, shall explain that such person is bound to follow the terms of such Order, and shall
1 d. court reporters in this Proceeding (whether at depositions, hearings, or any other
2 proceeding);
3 e. any deposition, trial or hearing witness in the Proceeding who previously has had
4 access to the Confidential Materials, or who is currently or was previously an officer, director,
5 partner, member, employee or agent of an entity that has had access to the Confidential Materials;
6 f. any deposition or non-trial hearing witness in the Proceeding who previously did
7 not have access to the Confidential Materials; provided, however, that each such witness given
8 access to Confidential Materials shall be advised that such Materials are being Disclosed pursuant
9 to, and are subject to, the terms of this Stipulation and Protective Order and that they may not be
10 Disclosed other than pursuant to its terms;
11 g. mock jury participants, provided, however, that prior to the Disclosure of
12 Confidential Materials to any such mock jury participant, counsel for the Party making the
13 Disclosure shall deliver a copy of this Stipulation and Protective Order to such person, shall
14 explain that such person is bound to follow the terms of such Order, and shall secure the signature
15 of such person on a statement in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A.
16 h. outside experts or expert consultants consulted by the undersigned Parties or their
17 counsel in connection with the Proceeding, whether or not retained to testify at any oral hearing;
18 provided, however, that prior to the Disclosure of Confidential Materials to any such expert or
19 expert consultant, counsel for the Party making the Disclosure shall deliver a copy of this
20 Stipulation and Protective Order to such person, shall explain its terms to such person, and shall
21 secure the signature of such person on a statement in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A. It shall
22 be the obligation of counsel, upon learning of any breach or threatened breach of this Stipulation
23 and Protective Order by any such expert or expert consultant, to promptly notify counsel for the
24 Designating Party of such breach or threatened breach; and
25 i. any other person that the Designating Party agrees to in writing.
26 8. Confidential Materials shall be used by the persons receiving them only for the
27 purposes of preparing for, conducting, participating in the conduct of, and/or prosecuting and/or
1 9. Any Party to the Proceeding (or other person subject to the terms of this Stipulation
2 and Protective Order) may ask the Court, after appropriate notice to the other Parties to the
3 Proceeding, to modify or grant relief from any provision of this Stipulation and Protective Order.
4 10. Entering into, agreeing to, and/or complying with the terms of this Stipulation and
5 Protective Order shall not:
6 a. operate as an admission by any person that any particular Document, Testimony or
7 Information marked “Confidential” contains or reflects trade secrets, proprietary, confidential or
8 competitively sensitive business, commercial, financial or personal information; or
9 b. prejudice in any way the right of any Party (or any other person subject to the terms
10 of this Stipulation and Protective Order):
11 i. to seek a determination by the Court of whether any particular Confidential
12 Material should be subject to protection as “Confidential” under the terms of this Stipulation and
13 Protective Order; or
14 ii. to seek relief from the Court on appropriate notice to all other Parties to the
15 Proceeding from any provision(s) of this Stipulation and Protective Order, either generally or as to
16 any particular Document, Material or Information.
17 11. Any Party to the Proceeding who has not executed this Stipulation and Protective
18 Order as of the time it is presented to the Court for signature may thereafter become a Party to this
19 Stipulation and Protective Order by its counsel’s signing and dating a copy thereof and filing the
20 same with the Court, and serving copies of such signed and dated copy upon the other Parties to
21 this Stipulation and Protective Order.
22 12. Any Information that may be produced by a non-Party witness in discovery in the
23 Proceeding pursuant to subpoena or otherwise may be designated by such non-Party as
24 “Confidential” under the terms of this Stipulation and Protective Order, and any such designation
25 by a non-Party shall have the same force and effect, and create the same duties and obligations, as
26 if made by one of the undersigned Parties hereto. Any such designation shall also function as a
27 consent by such producing Party to the authority of the Court in the Proceeding to resolve and
1 to such designation, or any other matter otherwise arising under this Stipulation and Protective
2 Order.
3 13. If any person subject to this Stipulation and Protective Order who has custody of
4 any Confidential Materials receives a subpoena or other process (“Subpoena”) from any
5 government or other person or entity demanding production of Confidential Materials, the
6 recipient of the Subpoena shall promptly give notice of the same by electronic mail transmission,
7 followed by either express mail or overnight delivery to counsel of record for the Designating
8 Party, and shall furnish such counsel with a copy of the Subpoena. Upon receipt of this notice, the
9 Designating Party may, in its sole discretion and at its own cost, move to quash or limit the
10 Subpoena, otherwise oppose production of the Confidential Materials, and/or seek to obtain
11 confidential treatment of such Confidential Materials from the subpoenaing person or entity to the
12 fullest extent available under law. The recipient of the Subpoena may not produce any Documents,
13 Testimony or Information pursuant to the Subpoena prior to the date specified for production on
14 the Subpoena.
15 14. Nothing in this Stipulation and Protective Order shall be construed to preclude
16 either Party from asserting in good faith that certain Confidential Materials require additional
17 protection. The Parties shall meet and confer to agree upon the terms of such additional protection.
18 15. If, after execution of this Stipulation and Protective Order, any Confidential
19 Materials submitted by a Designating Party under the terms of this Stipulation and Protective
20 Order is Disclosed by a non-Designating Party to any person other than in the manner authorized
21 by this Stipulation and Protective Order, the non-Designating Party responsible for the Disclosure
22 shall bring all pertinent facts relating to the Disclosure of such Confidential Materials to the
23 immediate attention of the Designating Party.
24 16. This Stipulation and Protective Order is entered into without prejudice to the right
25 of any Party to knowingly waive the applicability of this Stipulation and Protective Order to any
26 Confidential Materials designated by that Party. If the Designating Party uses Confidential
27 Materials in a non-Confidential manner, then the Designating Party shall advise that the
1 17. Without written permission from the Designating Party or a court order secured
2 after appropriate notice to all interested persons, a Party may not file in the public record in this
3 action any Confidential Materials. However, the Parties acknowledge that this Stipulation and
4 Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal. Civil Local
5 Rules 140 and 141 set forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be
6 applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
7 18. The Parties shall meet and confer regarding the procedures for use of Confidential
8 Materials at trial and shall move the Court for entry of an appropriate order.
9 19. Nothing in this Stipulation and Protective Order shall affect the admissibility into
10 evidence of Confidential Materials, or abridge the rights of any person to seek judicial review or to
11 pursue other appropriate judicial action with respect to any ruling made by the Court concerning
12 the issue of the status of Protected Material.
13 20. This Stipulation and Protective Order shall continue to be binding after the
14 conclusion of this Proceeding and all subsequent appeals arising from this Proceeding, except that
15 a Party may seek the written permission of the Designating Party or may move the Court for relief
16 from the provisions of this Stipulation and Protective Order.
17 21. Upon written request made within thirty (30) days after the settlement or other
18 termination of the Proceeding, the undersigned Parties shall have thirty (30) days to either (a)
19 promptly return to counsel for each Designating Party all Confidential Materials and all copies
20 thereof (except that counsel for each Party may maintain in its files, in continuing compliance with
21 the terms of this Stipulation and Protective Order, all work product, and one copy of each pleading
22 filed with the Court, (b) agree with counsel for the Designating Party upon appropriate methods
23 and certification of destruction or other disposition of such Confidential Materials, or (c) as to any
24 Documents, Testimony or other Information not addressed by sub-paragraphs (a) and (b), file a
25 motion seeking a Court order regarding proper preservation of such Materials.
26 22. After this Stipulation and Protective Order has been signed by counsel for all
27 Parties, it shall be presented to the Court for entry. Counsel agree to be bound by the terms set
1 signs this Stipulation and Protective Order.
2 23. The Parties and all signatories to the Certification attached hereto as Exhibit A
3 agree to be bound by this Stipulation and Protective Order pending its approval and entry by the
4 Court. In the event that the Court modifies this Stipulation and Protective Order, or in the event
5 that the Court enters a different Protective Order, the Parties agree to be bound by this Stipulation
6 and Protective Order until such time as the Court may enter such a different Order. It is the
7 Parties’ intent to be bound by the terms of this Stipulation and Protective Order pending its entry
8 so as to allow for immediate production of Confidential Materials under the terms herein.
9 This Stipulation and Protective Order may be executed in counterparts.
10
11 Dated: August 5, 2025 FARELLA BRAUN + MARTEL LLP
12
13 By: /s/ Emily J. Tripodi
Emily J. Tripodi
14
Attorneys for Defendant AMAZON.COM SERVICES
15 LLC
16 Dated: August 5, 2025 LAW OFFICE OF MIKE CHAPPARS
17
18 By: /s/ Mike Chappars
Mike Chappars
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Attorneys for Plaintiff DIEGO GUTIERREZ
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 CERTIFICATION RE CONFIDENTIAL DISCOVERY MATERIALS
3 I hereby acknowledge that I, ___________________________________[NAME],
4 ______________________________________________ [POSITION AND EMPLOYER], am
5 about to receive Confidential Materials supplied in connection with the Proceeding, Diego
6 Gutierrez v. Amazon.com Services LLC et al., Case No. 1:24-cv-01366-JLT-BAM. I certify that I
7 understand that the Confidential Materials are provided to me subject to the terms and restrictions
8 of the Stipulation and Protective Order filed in this Proceeding. I have been given a copy of the
9 Stipulation and Protective Order; I have read it, and I agree to be bound by its terms.
10 I understand that Confidential Materials, as defined in the Stipulation and Protective Order,
11 including any notes or other records that may be made regarding any such materials, shall not be
12 Disclosed to anyone except as expressly permitted by the Stipulation and Protective Order. I will
13 not copy or use, except solely for the purposes of this Proceeding, any Confidential Materials
14 obtained pursuant to this Protective Order, except as provided therein or otherwise ordered by the
15 Court in the Proceeding.
16 I further understand that I am to retain all copies of all Confidential Materials provided to
17 me in the Proceeding in a secure manner, and that all copies of such Materials are to remain in my
18 personal custody until termination of my participation in this Proceeding, whereupon the copies of
19 such Materials will be returned to counsel who provided me with such Materials.
20 I declare under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the State of California, that the
21 foregoing is true and correct. Executed this _____ day of ______, 20__, at __________________.
22 DATED:_________________________ BY: _________________________________
23 Signature
_________________________________
24 Title
_________________________________
25 Address
_________________________________
26 City, State, Zip
_________________________________
27 Telephone Number
1 ATTESTATION
2 I hereby attest that all other signatories listed, and on whose behalf the filing is submitted,
3 concur in the filing’s content and have authorized the filing.
4 Dated: August 5, 2025 FARELLA BRAUN + MARTEL LLP
5
6 By: /s/ Emily J. Tripodi
Emily J. Tripodi
7
Attorneys for Defendant AMAZON.COM SERVICES
8 LLC
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1 ORDER
2 The Court has reviewed the Joint Stipulated Protective Order filed by Plaintiff Diego
3
Gutierrez (“Plaintiff”) and Defendant Amazon.com Services LLC (“Defendant”), through their
4
counsel of record, requesting that the Court enter an Order.
5
Having considered the above stipulation, and finding good cause, the Court adopts the
6
signed Joint Stipulated Protective Order. (Doc. 20.) The parties are advised that pursuant to the
7
8 Local Rules of the United States District Court, Eastern District of California, any documents
9 subject to the protective order to be filed under seal must be accompanied by a written request
10 which complies with Local Rule 141 prior to sealing. The party making a request to file
11
documents under seal shall be required to show good cause for documents attached to a non-
12
dispositive motion or compelling reasons for documents attached to a dispositive motion. Pintos v.
13
Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-78 (9th Cir. 2009). Within five (5) days of any
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15 approved document filed under seal, the party shall file a redacted copy of the sealed document.
16 The redactions shall be narrowly tailored to protect only the information that is confidential or was
17 deemed confidential.
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Additionally, the parties shall consider resolving any dispute arising under the protective
19
order according to the Court’s informal discovery dispute procedure.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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23 Dated: August 6, 2025 /s/ Barbara A. McAuliffe _
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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