The opinion
1 EVANGELINE F. GROSSMAN (SBN 176014)
egrossman@efglawyer.com
2 TONNA K. FAXON (SBN 237605)
tfaxon@efglawyer.com
3 EVANGELINE FISHER GROSSMAN LAW
330 North Indian Hill Blvd.
4 Claremont, CA 91711
Telephone: (909) 626-1934
5 Attorneys for Plaintiffs,
DAVID PERRY ASHTON and MARY JANE ASHTON
6
Carla N. Braunstein (SBN 251198)
7 CBraunstein@wshblaw.com
Adriana G. Valdez (SBN 347324)
8 AValdez@wshblaw.com
WOOD, SMITH, HENNING & BERMAN LLP
9 1401 Willow Pass Road, Suite 700
Concord, California 94520-7982
10 Phone: 925.222.3400 ♦ Fax: 925.356.8250
Attorneys for Defendant
11 ALACRITY SOLUTIONS GROUP LLC
12 JOSHUA N. KASTAN (SBN 284767)
JNK@dkmlawgroup.com
13 KERI L. SALET (SBN 318913)
KLS@dkmlawgroup.com
14 DKM LAW GROUP, LLP
50 California Street, Ste. 1500
15 San Francisco, CA 94111
Telephone: (415) 421-1100
16 Attorneys for Defendant
AMERICAN FAMILY CONNECT PROPERTY AND
17 CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY
18
19 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
20 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
21 FRESNO DIVISION
22 DAVID PERRY ASHTON AND MARY Case No. 1:25-cv-00643-KES-BAM
JANE ASHTON,
23 STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED]
Plaintiffs, PROTECTIVE ORDER
24
v.
25
AMERICAN FAMILY CONNECT Trial Date: May 11, 2027
26 PROPERTY AND CASUALTY
INSURANCE COMPANY; ALACRITY
27 SOLUTIONS GROUP LLC; and DOES 1 TO
50, Inclusive,
1 Defendants.
2
3
4 To facilitate the exchange of information and documents that may be subject to
5 confidentiality limitations on disclosure under or pursuant to federal laws, state laws and/or privacy
6 rights, Plaintiffs DAVID PERRY ASHTON and MARY JANE ASHTON (“Plaintiffs”) on the one
7 hand and Defendants ALACRITY SOLUTIONS GROUP LLC (“Alacrity Solutions”) and
8 AMERICAN FAMILY CONNECT PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY
9 (“American Family”) (collectively “Defendants”) on the other hand (Plaintiffs and Defendants are,
10 each individually, a “Party” or, collectively, the “Parties”) by and through their respective counsel
11 of record, hereby stipulate as follows:
12 1. Purpose and Limitations. This action is likely to involve the exchange of materials
13 which may contain sensitive and/or private medical information of Plaintiffs; intellectual property,
14 proprietary information, trade secrets, confidential internal processes and any similarly sensitive
15 materials of American Family and Alacrity Solutions; as well as trade secret or other confidential
16 research, technical, cost, price, marketing or other commercial information, as is contemplated by
17 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c)(1)(G). The insurance industry is a highly competitive market
18 and disclosing American Family’s and Alacrity Solutions’ trade secrets and confidential or
19 proprietary information could cause irreparable and significant harm to American Family and
20 Alacrity Solutions and its affiliated companies. This Protective Order is intended to prevent this
21 foreseeable harm and any related unforeseeable harm, as well as balance the Parties’ interest in
22 ensuring the production of potentially relevant documents. The purpose of this Order is to protect
23 the confidentiality of such materials as much as practical during the litigation.
24 It is the purpose of this Protective Order and the desire of the Parties to make the broadest
25 range of reasonably relevant documents available without waiving any trade secrets, privilege, or
26 otherwise dissemination confidential or proprietary information, and without subjecting the Parties
27 and the court to additional discovery motions.
1 The Parties acknowledge that this Protective Order does not confer blanket protections on
2 all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and
3 use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under
4 the applicable legal principles. The Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in paragraph 5, below,
5 that this Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil
6 Local Rule 141 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied
7 when a party seeks permission from the courts to file material under seal. The Parties further
8 acknowledge any such production under this Protective Order does not admit or concede the
9 documents or information are relevant or admissible in this litigation.
10 The Parties will limit dissemination of any documents and information as set forth in this
11 Protective Order and are materially relying on the requirements and limitations set forth therein.
12 Additionally, it is the purpose of this Protective Order that the Parties will be provided
13 reasonable assurances that the documents produced subject to this Protective Order:
14 a. Will be used in this litigation and this litigation only.
15 b. Will not be used for commercial purposes;
16 c. Will not be used for non-litigation purposes; and
17 d. Will be destroyed by the Parties and/or their counsel at the conclusion of
18 this litigation.
19 2. Definitions. In this Stipulation and Protective Order, the words set forth below shall
20 have the following meanings:
21 a. “Proceeding” means the above-entitled proceeding, Case No. 1:25-cv-00643-
22 KES-BAM, filed before the United States District Court, Eastern District of California,
23 Fresno Division.
24 b. “Court” means the any judge of the United States District Court, Eastern
25 District of California, Fresno Division, to which this Proceeding may be assigned, including
26 Court staff participating in the Proceeding.
27 c. “Confidential” means any information in the possession of a Designating
1 comment upon trade secrets, proprietary, confidential, privileged, private, personal,
2 sensitive, commercial, financial, or business information.
3 d. “Confidential Material(s)” means any information (regardless of how it is
4 generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under Rule
5 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including materials that contain sensitive
6 and/or private medical information of Plaintiffs, internal, non-public, and proprietary
7 materials, trade secret or other confidential research, technical, cost, price, marketing, or
8 other commercial information, which are, for competitive reasons, normally, kept
9 confidential by the parties, as contemplated by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c)(1)(G).
10 e. “Designating Party” means the Party that designates Materials as
11 “Confidential” pursuant to the provisions of this Stipulation and Protective Order.
12 f. “Disclose,” “Disclosed,” and “Disclosure” mean to reveal, divulge, give, or
13 make available Materials, or any part thereof, or any information contained therein.
14 g. “Document(s)” means (i) any “Writing,” “Original,” and “Duplicate,” as
15 those terms are defined by Federal Rule of Evidence Code 1001, produced in discovery in
16 this Proceeding; and (ii) any copies, reproductions, or summaries of all or any part of the
17 foregoing.
18 h. “Information” means the content of Documents or Testimony.
19 i. “Material(s)” includes, but is not be limited to: documents; correspondence;
20 memoranda; bulletins; customer lists or other material that identify customers or potential
21 customers; price lists or schedules or other matter identifying pricing; minutes; telegrams;
22 letters; statements; cancelled checks; contracts; invoices; drafts; books of account;
23 worksheets; notes of conversations; desk diaries; appointment books; expense accounts;
24 recordings; photographs; motion pictures; compilations from which information can be
25 obtained and translated into reasonably usable form through detection devices; sketches;
26 drawings; notes; reports; instructions; policies; procedures; guidelines; disclosures; cost
27 analysis and timelines; business data, intelligence and analysis; proposals; quotes; other
1 j. “Testimony” means all depositions, declarations, or other testimony taken or
2 used in this Proceeding.
3 3. Scope. The protections conferred by this Protective Order cover not only
4 Confidential Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from
5 Confidential Materia; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Confidential Material;
6 and (3) any Testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their counsel that might reveal
7 Confidential Material.
8 4. Designating Confidential Material. Each party to this litigation that produces or
9 discloses any materials, responses to interrogatories and requests for admission, trial testimony,
10 deposition testimony, and transcripts of trial testimony and depositions, or information that the
11 producing party believes should be subject to this Order may designate the same as
12 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – FOR COUNSEL ONLY.”
13 a. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Confidential Material. A Party
14 or non-party subject to this Protective Order may only designate documents or other
15 information in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” if the Designating Party or non-party has
16 an articulable, good faith basis to believe that each document or other information designated
17 as confidential qualifies for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c).
18 Any party or non-party may designate information as “CONFIDENTIAL – FOR
19 COUNSEL ONLY” only if, in the good faith belief of the Designating Party, the information
20 is among that considered to be most sensitive by the Party, including but not limited to
21 internal, non-public, and proprietary material, trade secret or other confidential research,
22 development, financial or other commercial information, and includes private information
23 pertaining to Defendant’s employees, current and former, including contact and other
24 personally identifiable information, for which the Parties or any third party have a duty to
25 maintain confidentiality.
26 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are
27 shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to
1 unnecessarily encumber or retard the case development process or to impose unnecessary
2 expenses and burdens on other parties) expose the designating party to sanctions.
3 If it comes to a Party’s attention that information or items that it designated for
4 protection do not qualify for protection, that Party must promptly notify all other Parties that
5 it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.
6 b. Manner and Timing of Designation. Any Documents, Testimony, or
7 Information to be designated as “Confidential” must be clearly so designated before the
8 Document, Testimony, or Information is Disclosed or produced; provided, however, that if
9 a non-Party produces Materials in response to a subpoena, deposition notice, demand or
10 other legal process issued by a Party to this action without a “Confidential” designation, any
11 Party may subsequently designate one or more such documents as “Confidential” within a
12 reasonable period of time not to exceed thirty (30) days, as set forth in paragraph 6 below.
13 The “Confidential” designation should not obscure or interfere with the legibility of the
14 designated Information.
15 i. For Documents (apart from transcripts of depositions or other pretrial
16 or trial proceedings), the Designating Party must affix the legend “Confidential” on
17 each page of any Document containing such designated Confidential Materials.
18 ii. For Testimony given in depositions the Designating Party may either:
19 A. Identify on the record, before the close of the deposition, all
20 “Confidential” Testimony, by specifying all portions of the Testimony that
21 qualify as “Confidential”; or
22 B. Designate the entirety of the Testimony at the deposition as
23 “Confidential” before the close of the deposition, with the right to identify
24 more specific portions of the Testimony as to which protection is sought
25 within 30 days following receipt of the deposition transcript. In
26 circumstances where portions of the deposition Testimony are designated for
27 protection, the transcript pages containing “Confidential” Information shall
1 page the legend “Confidential,” as instructed by the Designating Party.
2 iii. For Information produced in some form other than Documents, and
3 for any other tangible items, the Designating Party must affix in a prominent place
4 on the exterior of the container or containers in which the Information or item is
5 stored the legend “Confidential” or, if not reduced to hard-copy form, may designate
6 any such Information as “Confidential” by cover letter or email specifying the
7 Information being so designated. If only portions of the Information or item warrant
8 protection, the Designating Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify and
9 designate only the “Confidential” portions.
10 iv. Only those persons authorized by this Stipulation and Protective
11 Order may be present for, or review, those portions of any deposition during which
12 Materials designated as “Confidential” are used or disclosed.
13 5. Acknowledgement of Procedure for Filing Under Seal. The Parties acknowledge
14 that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal;
15 Local Rule 141 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied
16 when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
17 6. Challenging Confidentiality Designations. In the event that counsel for a Party
18 receiving Documents, Testimony, or Information designated as “Confidential” objects to such
19 designation with respect to any or all such items, said counsel shall advise counsel for the
20 Designating Party, in writing, of its objections, the specific Documents, Testimony, or Information
21 to which each objection pertains, and the specific reasons and support for such objections (the
22 “Designation Objections”). Counsel for the Designating Party shall then have ten (10) business days
23 from receipt of the written Designation Objections to agree in writing to de-designate the
24 Documents, Testimony, or Information. If the Parties are unable to reach agreement, either Party
25 thereafter may file at any time a motion with the Court, either seeking removal of the “Confidential”
26 designation based on the Designation Objections (in the case of the receiving Party), or seeking to
27 uphold the “Confidential” designation despite the Designation Objections (in the case of the
1 applicable, a court of appeal, of any Designation Objections or Designation Motions, existing
2 designations on the Documents, Testimony, or Information at issue shall remain in place. Regardless
3 of which Party files the Designation Motion, the Designating Party shall have the burden of
4 demonstrating and establishing the applicability of its “Confidential” designation. In the event that
5 there is good cause to request that any such motion be heard on shortened time, any Party may on
6 notice seek an order shortening time for the hearing on any Designation Motion.
7 7. Access To and Use of Confidential Materials. Access to and/or Disclosure of
8 Confidential Materials designated as “Confidential” shall be permitted only to the following
9 persons:
10 a. The Parties;
11 b. The author(s) of the Confidential Materials and the Designating Party and its
12 employees;
13 c. The Court and its staff, as well as any mediator, arbitrator, settlement judge,
14 or referee agreed to by the Parties or assigned by the Court;
15 d. The attorneys of record in the Proceeding and the affiliated attorneys,
16 paralegals, clerical staff, and secretarial staff employed by such attorneys who are actively
17 involved in the Proceeding and are not employees of any Party;
18 e. The Parties’ in-house attorneys and any paralegals, clerical staff, and
19 secretarial staff employed by such attorneys;
20 f. Those officers, directors, partners, members, employees, and agents of all
21 non-Designating Parties that counsel for such non-Designating Parties deems necessary to
22 aid counsel in the prosecution and defense of this Proceeding, including outside
23 photocopying, data processing, graphic production, stenographers, or videographers utilized
24 by the Parties or their counsel to assist in this Proceeding;
25 g. Court reporters and videographers in this Proceeding (whether at depositions,
26 hearings, or any other proceeding);
27 h. Any deposition, trial, or hearing witness in the Proceeding who, prior to the
1 previously an officer, director, partner, member, employee, or agent of an entity that, prior
2 to the filing of this Proceeding, had access to the Confidential Materials;
3 i. Any deposition, trial, or hearing witness in the Proceeding who, prior to the
4 filing of this Proceeding, did not have access to the Confidential Materials; provided,
5 however, that each such witness given access to Confidential Materials shall be advised that
6 such Materials are being Disclosed pursuant to, and are subject to, the terms of this
7 Stipulation and Protective Order and that they may not be Disclosed other than pursuant to
8 the terms of this Stipulation and Protective Order. On application of a Party, the Court may
9 order that this Stipulation and Protective Order applies to all or any portion(s) of a witness’s
10 testimony, whether or not that witness has signed the Certification Regarding Confidential
11 Discovery Materials attached hereto as Exhibit A;
12 j. Mock jury participants who sign the Certification Regarding Confidential
13 Discovery Materials attached hereto as Exhibit A; and
14 k. Outside experts or expert consultants consulted by the undersigned Parties or
15 their counsel in connection with the Proceeding, whether or not retained to testify at trial or
16 any oral hearing; provided, however, that prior to the Disclosure of Confidential Materials
17 to any such experts or expert consultants, counsel for the Party making the Disclosure shall
18 deliver a copy of this Stipulation and Protective Order to such persons, shall explain its terms
19 to such persons, and shall secure the signature of all such persons on the Certification
20 Regarding Confidential Discovery Materials attached hereto as Exhibit A. It shall be the
21 obligation of counsel, upon learning of any breach or threatened breach of this Stipulation
22 and Protective Order by any such experts or expert consultants, to promptly notify counsel
23 for the Designating Party of such breach or threatened breach; and
24 l. Any other person that the Designating Party agrees to in writing.
25 Confidential Materials shall be used by the persons receiving them solely for the purposes
26 of preparing for, conducting, participating in the conduct of, and/or prosecuting or defending the
27 Proceeding and shall in no event be used for any business, competitive, personal, private, public, or
1 The Parties shall meet and confer regarding the procedures for use of Confidential Materials
2 at trial and shall move the Court for entry of an appropriate order at an appropriate time.
3 When any Confidential Materials, or Information derived from Confidential Materials, are
4 included in any motion or other proceeding, the Party including such Confidential Materials shall
5 follow and comply with those rules. Should counsel for any Party desire to use Confidential
6 Materials, or any portion or summary thereof, during any pretrial proceedings held in open court,
7 counsel shall make reference to the confidentiality thereof in advance, and counsel for the
8 Designating Party may request that any portion of the transcript containing any reference to
9 Confidential Materials be filed under seal with the Court pursuant to this Stipulation and Protective
10 Order.
11 8. Unauthorized Disclosure of Confidential Material. If a Party learns that, by
12 inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Confidential Material to any person or in any
13 circumstance not authorized by this Order, the receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing
14 that the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all
15 unauthorized copies of the Confidential Material, (c) inform the person or person(s) to whom
16 unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request that such person
17 or persons execute the Certification that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
18 9. Inadvertent Production. The inadvertent production by any of the undersigned
19 Parties, or by non-parties to the Proceeding, of any Document, Testimony, or Information during
20 discovery in this Proceeding without a “Confidential” designation shall be without prejudice to any
21 claim that such item is “Confidential”, and such Party shall not be deemed to have waived any rights
22 by such inadvertent production. In the event that any Document, Testimony, or Information that is
23 subject to a “Confidential” designation is inadvertently produced without such designation, the Party
24 that inadvertently produced the document shall give written notice of such inadvertent production
25 within five (5) business days of the inadvertent production, together with a further copy of the
26 subject Document, Testimony, or Information designated as “Confidential” (the “Inadvertent
27 Production Notice”). Within five (5) business days of receipt of such Inadvertent Production Notice,
1 a. destroy the inadvertently produced Document, Testimony, or Information
2 and, to the extent practicable, all copies thereof; or
3 b. at the expense of the Designating Party, return to counsel for the Designating
4 Party such inadvertently produced Document, Testimony, or Information and, to the extent
5 practicable, all copies thereof; or
6 c. commence the process set forth in paragraph 8, below.
7 This provision is not intended to apply to any inadvertent production of any Information
8 protected by the attorney-client or attorney work-product privileges. In the event that this provision
9 conflicts with any applicable law regarding waiver of confidentiality through the inadvertent
10 production of Documents, Testimony, or Information, such law shall govern.
11 10. Non-Party’s Confidential Material Sought to be Produced. The terms of this
12 Protective Order are applicable to information produced by a non-party in this Proceeding and
13 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Any such designation by a non-Party shall have the same force
14 and effect, and create the same duties and obligations, as if made by one of the undersigned Parties.
15 Provided that a copy of this Stipulation and Protective Order has been provided to the producing
16 non-Party, any such designation shall also function as a consent by such producing non-Party to the
17 authority of the Court in the Proceeding to resolve and conclusively determine any motion or other
18 application made by any person or Party with respect to such designation, or any other matter
19 otherwise arising under this Protective Order.
20 11. Confidential Material Subpoenaed or Ordered Produced in Other Litigation. If any
21 person subject to this Stipulation and Protective Order who has custody of any Confidential
22 Materials receives a subpoena or other legal process from any government or other person or entity
23 (“Subpoena”) that may be reasonably interpreted as commanding production of Confidential
24 Materials, the recipient of the Subpoena shall promptly give notice by email of the same to counsel
25 of record for the Designating Party, and shall furnish such counsel with a copy of the Subpoena.
26 Upon receipt of such notice, the Designating Party may, in its sole discretion and at its own cost,
27 timely move to quash or limit the Subpoena and/or seek to obtain confidential treatment of such
1 not produce any Documents, Testimony, or Information pursuant to the Subpoena prior to the date
2 specified for production on the Subpoena or, if a motion to quash or limit the Subpoena is timely
3 filed and pending, until after a final order has been entered denying such motion.
4 12. Violation. Any Party to this action may file a motion requesting the Court to sanction
5 or hold in contempt of Court anyone who violates the terms of this order. Prior to filing any such
6 motion, counsel for the moving Party shall confer in person, by telephone, or by letter with the
7 person(s) who is/are the subject of such motion in a reasonable and good faith attempt to informally
8 resolve the dispute. Any such motion shall be accompanied by a declaration stating facts showing
9 compliance with this paragraph 12.
10 13. Final Disposition and Return of Documents. Upon written request made within thirty
11 (30) calendar days after the settlement or conclusion of the Proceeding (including all appeals), the
12 undersigned Parties shall have thirty (30) calendar days to either: (a) return to opposing counsel all
13 Confidential Materials of the opposing Party and all copies thereof (except that counsel for each
14 Party may maintain an archive file copy); or (b) destroy all Confidential Materials of the opposing
15 Party and all copies thereof (except that counsel for each Party may maintain an archive file copy);
16 or (c) agree with opposing counsel on an alternative appropriate method for the disposition of
17 Confidential Materials. Counsel for each Party shall confirm in writing to counsel for each other
18 Party that they have complied with the requirements of this paragraph.
19 14. Miscellaneous. Entering into, agreeing to, and/or complying with the terms of this
20 Stipulation and Protective Order shall not:
21 a. Operate as an admission by any person that any particular Document,
22 Testimony, or Information marked “Confidential” contains or reflects trade secrets,
23 proprietary, confidential, or competitively sensitive business, commercial, financial or
24 personal information; or
25 b. Prevent the exercise, or prejudice, the right of any Party or any other person
26 subject to the terms of this Stipulation and Protective Order:
27 i. To seek a determination by the Court of whether any particular
1 Order; or
2 ii. To ask the Court, after appropriate notice, for relief from any
3 provision(s) of this Stipulation and Protective Order, either generally or as to any
4 particular Document, Testimony, or Information.
5 c. Prejudice the right of any Party to waive the applicability of this Stipulation
6 and Protective Order to any Confidential Materials designated by that Party. If the
7 Designating Party uses Confidential Materials in a non-Confidential manner, then the
8 designation shall no longer apply.
9 15. Waiver. This Protective Order is not, and shall not be interpreted as, a waiver by any
10 Party of any right to claim in this Action or otherwise, that the documents or information are
11 privileged or otherwise undiscoverable.
12 In particular, the Parties do not waive, and expressly retain the right to assert in this Action
13 or other investigation or lawsuit, the application of any common law or statutory privileges or any
14 theory of immunity from disclosure of the Confidential Material, in whole or in part, or in any form,
15 and any other confidential information:
16 a. Nothing in this Protective Order shall preclude a Party from seeking and
17 obtaining, on an appropriate showing, additional protection (or relief from protection) with
18 respect to the confidentiality of information or documents produced in this Proceeding. To
19 the extent permitted by law, the Court shall retain jurisdiction to enforce, modify, or
20 reconsider this Stipulation and Protective Order, even after the Proceeding has concluded.
21 b. Nothing in this Protective Order is to be construed or used as a waiver of any
22 rights or procedural or evidentiary objections or privileges under either the applicable
23 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or the Federal Rules of Evidence.
24 16. Modification.
25 a. Any Order hereon may be modified by a writing signed by all of the Parties’
26 attorneys of record, subject to approval by the Court.
27 b. The Court may modify the terms and conditions of this Order for good cause,
1 reasons, at any time in these proceedings. The Parties respectfully request that the
2 Court provide them with notice of the Court’s intent to modify this Order and the
3 content of those modifications, prior to entry of such order.
4 a. Any Party to the Proceeding or other person subject to the terms of this
5 Stipulation and Protective Order may ask the Court, after appropriate notice, to modify or
6 grant relief from any provision of this Stipulation and Protective Order.
7 17. Counterparts. This Stipulation and Protective Order may be executed in
8 counterparts, including by digital signature or facsimile, each of which shall be deemed an original,
9 and all of which shall constitute one document.
10 18. After this Stipulation and Protective Order has been signed by counsel for all Parties,
11 Plaintiff shall be file it with the Court for entry. The Parties agree to be bound by the terms set forth
12 herein with regard to any Confidential Materials that are produced before the Court enters an Order
13 hereon. It is the Parties’ intent to be bound by the terms of this Stipulation and Protective Order
14 pending its entry by the Court, so as to allow for immediate production of Confidential Materials
15 under and subject to the terms hereof.
16 19. The Parties and all signatories to the Certification attached hereto as Exhibit A agree
17 to be bound by this Stipulation and Protective Order. In the event that the Court modifies this
18 Stipulation and Protective Order, or in the event that the Court enters a different Protective Order,
19 the Parties agree to be bound by this Stipulation and Protective Order until such time as the Court
20 may enter such different Protective Order.
21 SO STIPULATED.
22
23 DATED: September 26, 2025 EVANGELINE FISHER GROSSMAN LAW
24
25
By: /s/ Tonna K. Faxon
26 EVANGELINE F. GROSSMAN
TONNA K. FAXON
27 Attorneys for Plaintiffs DAVID PERRY ASHTON and
MARY JANE ASHTON
1 DATED: September 29, 2025 WOOD, SMITH, HENNING & BERMAN LLP
2
3
By: /s/ Adriana G. Valdez
4 CARLA N. BRAUNSTEIN
ADRIANA G. VALDEZ
5 Attorneys for Defendant ALACRITY SOLUTIONS
GROUP, LLC
6
7
8 DATED: September 29, 2025 DKM LAW GROUP, LLP
9
10
By: /s/ Keri L. Salet
11 JOSHUA N. KASTAN
KERI L. SALET
12 Attorneys for Defendant AMERICAN FAMILY
CONNECT PROPERTY AND CASUALTY
13 INSURANCE COMPANY
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22
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 CERTIFICATION REGARDING CONFIDENTIAL DISCOVERY MATERIALS
3 I, [Name, Position, and Employer],
4 hereby acknowledge and agree that I am about to receive Confidential Materials supplied in
5 connection with the Proceeding, Case No. 1:25-cv-00643-KES-BAM, filed before the United States
6 District Court, Eastern District of California, Fresno Division. I understand that the said Materials
7 are provided to me subject to the terms and restrictions of the Stipulation and Protective Order filed
8 in the Proceeding, to which this Certification is attached as Exhibit A. I have been given a copy of
9 the Stipulation and Protective Order, I have read and understand it, and I agree to be bound by its
10 terms.
11 I understand that Confidential Materials, including any notes or other records that may be
12 made regarding any such Materials, shall not be Disclosed to anyone except as expressly permitted
13 by the Stipulation and Protective Order. I will not copy or use, except solely for the purposes of this
14 Proceeding, any Confidential Materials obtained pursuant to this Protective Order, except as
15 provided therein or otherwise ordered by the 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 foregoing
21 is true and correct. Executed on , 20 , at ______ [city], [state].
22 By:
Signature
23
24
Printed Name
25
26 Address
27
Telephone Number
1 ORDER
2 The Court has reviewed the Stipulation and Protective Order filed by Plaintiffs David
3 Perry Ashton and Mary Jane Ashton (“Plaintiffs”) and Defendants American Family Connect
4 Property and Casualty Insurance Company and Alacrity Solutions Group, LLC (“Defendants”)
5 through their counsel of record, requesting that the Court enter an Order.
6 Having considered the above stipulation, and finding good cause, the Court adopts the
7 signed stipulation and protective order, (Doc. 12), subject to the following:
8 Page 13, lines 18-20: “To the extent permitted by law, the Court shall retain jurisdiction
9 to enforce, modify, or reconsider this Stipulation and Protective Order, even after the Proceeding
10 has concluded.” is hereby struck and replaced with “To the extent permitted by law, the Court
11 shall retain jurisdiction to enforce, modify, or reconsider this Stipulation and Protective Order,
12 up to and until the termination of this action.”
13 The parties are advised that pursuant to the Local Rules of the United States District
14 Court, Eastern District of California, any documents subject to the protective order to be filed
15 under seal must be accompanied by a written request which complies with Local Rule 141 prior
16 to sealing. The party making a request to file documents under seal shall be required to show
17 good cause for documents attached to a non-dispositive motion or compelling reasons for
18 documents attached to a dispositive motion. Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665,
19 677-78 (9th Cir. 2009). Within five (5) days of any approved document filed under seal, the
20 party shall file a redacted copy of the sealed document. The redactions shall be narrowly tailored
21 to protect only the information that is confidential or was deemed confidential.
22 Additionally, the parties shall consider resolving any dispute arising under the protective
23 order according to the Court’s informal discovery dispute procedure.
24 IT IS SO ORDERED.
25 Dated: September 29, 2025 /s/ Barbara A. McAuliffe _
26 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
27