The opinion
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10 WESTERN DIVISION
11
12 JEREMY WEAVER, an individual Case No. 2:25-cv-01705- HDV-AJRx
13 Plaintiff,
14 vs. [PROPOSED] STIPULATED
PROTECTIVE ORDER
15 CENTRAL TRANSPORT LLC, a
Michigan limited liability company
16
Defendant.
17
18
1. GENERAL
19
1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to involve
20
production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special
21
protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting
22
this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and
23
petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties
24
acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or
25
responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and
26
use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential
27
treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as
28
1 set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle
2 them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the
3 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party
4 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
5 1.2 Good Cause Statement:
6 This action is likely to involve medical records, trade secrets, customer and
7 pricing lists and other valuable research, development, commercial, financial,
8 technical and/or proprietary information for which special protection from public
9 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is
10 warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of,
11 among other things, confidential medical records, business or financial information,
12 information regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential research,
13 development, or commercial information (including information implicating privacy
14 rights of third parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or
15 which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal
16 statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the
17 flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality
18 of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to
19 keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses
20 of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling
21 at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such
22 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information
23 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so
24 designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential,
25 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public
26 record of this case.
27 2. DEFINITIONS
28 2.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit.
1 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
2 of information or items under this Order.
3 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
4 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection
5 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good
6 Cause Statement.
7 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
8 support staff).
9 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
10 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
11 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
12 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
13 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
14 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
15 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
16 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
17 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
18 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
19 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
20 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
21 counsel.
22 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
23 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
24 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party
25 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have
26 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that
27 has appeared on behalf of that party, including support staff.
28 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
1 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
2 support staffs).
3 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
4 Discovery Material in this Action.
5 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
6 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
7 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
8 and their employees and subcontractors.
9 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
10 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
11 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
12 from a Producing Party.
13
14 3. SCOPE
15 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
16 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted
17 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of
18 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties
19 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
20 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
21 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
22
23 4. DURATION
24 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the court-filed information to be introduced
25 that was previously designated as confidential or maintained pursuant to this
26 protective order becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members
27 of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific
28 factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the
1 trial. See Kamakana v. City and Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir.
2 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in
3 discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are
4 part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend
5 beyond the commencement of the trial.
6
7 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
8 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
9 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this
10 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies
11 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection
12 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that
13 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications
14 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of
15 this Order.
16 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
17 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
18 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
19 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party
20 to sanctions.
21 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
22 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
23 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
24 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
25 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
26 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
27 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
28 produced.
1 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
2 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
3 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
4 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix, at a minimum, the legend
5 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
6 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
7 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
8 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
9 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
10 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
11 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
12 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
13 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents
14 it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents,
15 or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing
16 the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL
17 legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions
18 of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
19 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
20 margins).
21 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify
22 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition.
23 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and
24 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on
25 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
26 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
27 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
28 portion(s).
1 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
2 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
3 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
4 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
5 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
6 Order.
7
8 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
9 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
10 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
11 Scheduling Order.
12 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
13 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1, et seq. Any discovery motion must strictly
14 comply with the procedures set forth in Local Rules 37-1, 37-2, and 37-3.
15 6.3 Burden. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding
16 shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an
17 improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on
18 other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
19 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
20 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled
21 under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
22
23 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
24 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
25 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
26 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
27 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
28
1 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving
2 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
3 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
4 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
5 authorized under this Order.
6 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
7 otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
8 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
9 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
10 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
11 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
12 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
13 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
14 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
15 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
16 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
17 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
18 (d) the Court and its personnel;
19 (e) court reporters and their staff;
20 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
21 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
22 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
23 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or
24 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
25 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in
26 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing
27 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they
28 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
1 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
2 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed
3 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be
4 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as
5 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
6 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
7 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
8
9 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
10 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
11 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
12 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
13 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
14 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
15 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
16 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
17 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena
18 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of
19 this Stipulated Protective Order; and
20 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
21 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
22 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
23 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action
24 as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena
25 or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
26 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court
27 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
28
1 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful
2 directive from another court.
3
4 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
5 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
6 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
7 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
8 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
9 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
10 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
11 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce
12 a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an
13 agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential
14 information, then the Party shall:
15 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
16 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
17 with a Non-Party;
18 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
19 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
20 specific description of the information requested; and
21 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-
22 Party, if requested.
23 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within 14
24 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may
25 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request.
26 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce
27 any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality
28 agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court. Absent a court
1 order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
2 protection in this Court of its Protected Material.
3
4 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
5 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
6 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
7 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
8 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
9 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
10 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
11 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
12 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
13
14 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
15 PROTECTED MATERIAL
16 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
17 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
18 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
19 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
20 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
21 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
22 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
23 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
24 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted
25 to the Court.
26
27 12. MISCELLANEOUS
28
1 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
2 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
3 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
4 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
5 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
6 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
7 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
8 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
9 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
10 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
11 Protected Material at issue; good cause must be shown in the request to file under
12 seal. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the Court,
13 then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless
14 otherwise instructed by the Court.
15
16 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
17 After the final disposition of this Action, within 60 days of a written request by
18 the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the
19 Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected
20 Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other
21 format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected
22 Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written
23 certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the
24 Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where
25 appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed, and (2) affirms
26 that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations,
27 summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material.
28 Notwithstanding this provision, counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all
1 pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda,
2 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product,
3 and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected
4 Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material
5 remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).
6
7 14. VIOLATION OF ORDER
8 Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate
9 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary
10 sanctions.
11
12 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
13
14
DATED: August 19, 2025 YADEGAR, MINOOFAR & SOLEYMANI LLP
15
16
17 By: /s/ Navid Soleymani
NAVID SOLEYMANI
18 Attorney for Plaintiff Jeremy Weaver
19
20
21
DATED: August 19, 2025 JACKSON LEWIS P.C
22
23
24
By: /s/ Arek Salibian
25 AREK SALIBIAN
Attorney for Defendant Central Transport
26 LLC
27
28
1 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
2
3 DATED:_8_/2_0_/_2_0_25________ __________________________________
HON. A. JOEL RICHLIN
4 United States Magistrate Judge
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3
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
8 case of ___________ [insert case name and number]. I agree to comply with and
9 to be 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: _________________________________
24
25 Printed name: _______________________________
26
27 Signature: __________________________________
28