The opinion
1 Kevin R. Sutherland (State Bar No. 163746)
Autumn E. Lewis (State Bar No. 295584)
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CLYDE & CO US LLP
3 355 S. Grand Avenue, Suite 1400
Los Angeles, California 90071
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Telephone: (213) 358-7600
5 Facsimile: (213) 358-7650
Email: kevin.sutherland@clydeco.us
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autumn.lewis@clydeco.us
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Attorneys for Defendant
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TURK HAVA YOLLARI, A.O. DBA
9 TURKISH AIRLINES
10 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
11 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
12 VANESSA LYNN TAHA, an individual, ) Case No. 2:24-cv-08375-AB(AJRx)
)
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Plaintiff, ) STIPULATION AND PROPOSED
14 ) PROTECTIVE ORDER
v. )
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)
16 TURK HAVA YOLLARI, A.O., d/b/a )
TURKISH AIRLINES, INC., a foreign )
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company, and DOES 1 to 10, Inclusive, )
18 )
)
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Defendants. )
20 )
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22 1. GENERAL
23 1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to involve
24 production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special
25 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than
26 prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby
27 stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective
1 on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from
2 public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are
3 entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties
4 further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated
5 Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal;
6 Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the
7 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file
8 material under seal.
9 1.2 Good Cause Statement. This action is likely to involve trade secrets,
10 customer and pricing lists and other valuable research, development, commercial,
11 financial, technical and/or proprietary information for which special protection
12 from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this
13 action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information
14 consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial information,
15 information regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential
16 research, development, or commercial information (including information
17 implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise generally
18 unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from
19 disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common
20 law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt
21 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately
22 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the
23 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for
24 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and
25 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this
26 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as
27 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good
1 there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
2 2. DEFINITIONS
3 2.1 Action: Vanessa Lynn Taha v. Turk Hava Yollari, A.O. dba Turkish
4 Airlines, Case No. 2:24-cv-08375-AB(AJRx).
5 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
6 designation of information or items under this Order.
7 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
8 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
9 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
10 the Good Cause Statement.
11 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
12 their support staff).
13 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information
14 or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
15 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
16 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
17 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
18 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced
19 or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
20 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a
21 matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to
22 serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
23 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this
24 Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other
25 outside counsel.
26 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association,
27 or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
1 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
2 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action
3 and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law
4 firm that has appeared on behalf of that party, including support staff.
5 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
6 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
7 support staffs).
8 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
9 Discovery Material in this Action.
10 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
11 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
12 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
13 and their employees and subcontractors.
14 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
15 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
16 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
17 Material from a Producing Party.
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19 3. SCOPE
20 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
21 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
22 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
23 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
24 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
25 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
26 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
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1 4. DURATION
2 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the court-filed information to be
3 introduced that was previously designated as confidential or maintained pursuant
4 to this protective order becomes public and will be presumptively available to all
5 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported
6 by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in
7 advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172,
8 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing
9 documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when
10 merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this
11 protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
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13 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
14 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
15 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
16 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
17 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
18 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
19 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,
20 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
21 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
22 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited.
23 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an
24 improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process
25 or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the
26 Designating Party to sanctions.
27 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
1 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
2 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
3 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
4 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
5 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
6 produced.
7 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
8 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
9 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
10 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix, at a minimum, the legend
11 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
12 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
13 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the
14 protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
15 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
16 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
17 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
18 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
19 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the
20 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine
21 which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order.
22 Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix
23 the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If
24 only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the
25 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
26 appropriate markings in the margins).
27 / /
1 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party
2 identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the
3 deposition.
4 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary
5 and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent
6 place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is
7 stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the
8 information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable,
9 shall identify the protected portion(s).
10 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
11 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
12 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such
13 material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make
14 reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the
15 provisions of this Order.
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17 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
18 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
19 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
20 Scheduling Order.
21 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
22 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1, et seq. Any discovery motion must
23 strictly comply with the procedures set forth in Local Rules 37-1, 37-2, and 37-3.
24 6.3 Burden. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding
25 shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an
26 improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on
27 other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the
1 parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to
2 which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on
3 the challenge.
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5 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
6 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that
7 is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
8 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
9 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under
10 the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
11 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
12 DISPOSITION).
13 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
14 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
15 authorized under this Order.
16 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
17 otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
18 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
19 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
20 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action,
21 as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
22 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
23 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel)
24 of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
25 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
26 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
27 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
1 (e) court reporters and their staff;
2 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
3 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action
4 and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit
5 A);
6 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information
7 or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
8 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in
9 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing
10 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2)
11 they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
12 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
13 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed
14 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
15 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone
16 except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
17 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
18 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
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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 shall
26 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
27 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
1 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy
2 of 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
6 with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in
7 this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which
8 the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
9 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
10 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
11 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
12 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
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14 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
15 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
16 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
17 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
18 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
19 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
20 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
21 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
22 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
23 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
24 confidential information, then the Party shall:
25 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-
26 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
27 agreement with a Non-Party;
1 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
2 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
3 specific description of the information requested; and
4 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
5 Non-Party, if requested.
6 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within
7 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving
8 Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the
9 discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving
10 Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject
11 to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the
12 Court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden
13 and expense of seeking protection in this Court of its Protected Material.
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15 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
16 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has
17 disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized
18 under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a)
19 notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its
20 best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform
21 the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms
22 of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the
23 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit
24 A.
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1 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
2 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL
3 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
4 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
5 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal
6 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify
7 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for
8 production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence
9 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure
10 of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or
11 work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the
12 stipulated protective order submitted to the Court.
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14 12. MISCELLANEOUS
15 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of
16 any 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
20 this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on
21 any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective
22 Order.
23 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
24 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material
25 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
26 specific Protected Material at issue; good cause must be shown in the request to
27 file under seal. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied
1 unless otherwise instructed by the Court.
2 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
3 After the final disposition of this Action, within 60 days of a written request
4 by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material
5 to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all
6 Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and
7 any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether
8 the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a
9 written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to
10 the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category,
11 where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed, and
12 (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
13 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
14 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, counsel are entitled to retain
15 an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
16 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
17 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if
18 such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain
19 or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth
20 in Section 4 (DURATION).
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22 14. VIOLATION OF ORDER
23 Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate
24 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary
25 sanctions.
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1 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
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Dated: September 15, 2025 CLYDE & CO US LLP
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By:/s/ Autumn E. Lewis
7 KEVIN R. SUTHERLAND
AUTUMN E. LEWIS
8 Attorneys for Defendant
TURK HAVA YOLLARI, A.O. DBA
9 TURKISH AIRLINES
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Dated: September 15, 2025 NELSON & FRAENKEL LLP
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13 By:/s/ Nicole C. Andersen
STUART R. FRAENKEL, ESQ.
14 NICOLE C. ANDERSEN, ESQ.
Attorneys for Plaintiff
15 VANESSA LYNN TAHA
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1 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
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3 DATED:_9_/1_6_/2_0_2_5________ _________________________________
4 HON. A. JOEL RICHLIN
United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
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I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________
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[full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and
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understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States
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District Court for the Central District of California on ____________ [date] in the
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case of Vanessa Lynn Taha v. Turk Hava Yollari, A.O. dba Turkish Airlines, Case
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No. 2:24-cv-08375-AB(AJRx). I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the
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terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that
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failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of
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contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any
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information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person
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or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
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I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District
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Court for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms
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of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur
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after termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________
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[full name] of _______________________________________ [full address and
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telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection
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with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated
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Protective Order.
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Date: ______________________________________
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City and State where signed: _________________________________
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Printed name: _______________________________
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Signature: __________________________________