Stark

1 Ian A. Rambarran, Bar No. 227366

W. Jason Scott, Bar No. 222204

2 Thomas K. Agawa, Bar No. 175952

KLINEDINST PC

3 801 K Street, Suite 2100

Sacramento, California 95814

4 (916) 282-0100/FAX (916) 444-7544

irambarran@klinedinstlaw.com

5 jscott@klinedinstlaw.com

tagawa@klinedinstlaw.com

6

Attorneys for Defendants BEMIS

7 MANUFACTURING COMPANY and

HOME DEPOT, INC. d/b/a HOME

8 DEPOT

9 Shahid Manzoor, Bar No. 296862

Sachim Kalra, Bar No. 309314

10 MANZOOR LAW FIRM

3017 Douglas Boulevard, Suite 104

11 Roseville, CA 95661

(916) 306-1665/FAX (916) 244-9852

12 shahid@manzoorlawoffice.com

sachin@manzoorlawoffice.com

13

Attorneys for Plaintiffs PAUL STARK

14 and KELLY CAVERLEY

15

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

16

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, SACRAMENTO DIVISION

17

18

PAUL STARK, as an individual, and Case No. 2:25-cv-01888-CKD

19 KELLY CAVERLEY, as an individual,

STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED]

20 Plaintiffs, PROTECTIVE ORDER

21 v. WITH MODIFICATION BY THE

COURT

22 BEMIS MANUFACTURING

COMPANY, A CORPORATION, and

23 HOME DEPOT, INC. d/b/a HOME

DEPOT and DOES 1 through 50,

24 inclusive,

25 Defendants.

26

27

1 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between Plaintiffs PAUL STARK and

2 KELLY CAVERLEY and Defendants BEMIS MANUFACTURING COMPANY

3 and HOME DEPOT, INC. d/b/a HOME DEPOT (collectively the "Parties") by and

4 through their respective counsel of record, that in order to facilitate the exchange of

5 information and documents which may be subject to confidentiality limitations on

6 disclosure due to federal laws, state laws, and privacy rights, the Parties stipulate as

7 follows:

8 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

9 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,

10 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public

11 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be

12 warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to

13 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order.

14 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

15 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, product designs, marketing &

16 distribution, customer and pricing lists and other valuable research, development,

17 commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary information as well as intimate

18 information and/or private personal medical records and information for which

19 special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than

20 prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials

21 and information consist of, among other things, personal sexual information,

22 medical records and information, confidential business or financial information,

23 information regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential research,

24 development, or commercial information (including information implicating privacy

25 rights of third parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or

26 which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or

27 federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to

1 confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties

2 are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable

3 necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to

4 address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a

5 protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the

6 parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons

7 and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been

8 maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it

9 should not be part of the public record of this case.

10 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE

11 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this

12 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information

13 under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as

14 CONFIDENTIAL does not— without the submission of competent evidence by

15 declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as

16 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.

17 The Parties must follow Local Civil Rule 141 setting forth the procedures that

18 must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks

19 permission from the court to file material under seal.

20 The Parties acknowledge that there is a strong presumption that the public has

21 a right of access to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection

22 with non-dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under

23 seal. See Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir.

24 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002),

25 Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even

26 stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of

27 good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal

1 justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to

2 file under seal.

3 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in

4 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If

5 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting

6 only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document,

7 shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their

8 entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.

9 4. DEFINITIONS

10 4.1. Action:

11 Plaintiffs PAUL STARK, as an individual, and KELLY CAVERLEY, as an

12 individual, vs. BEMIS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION, and

13 HOME DEPOT, INC. d/b/a HOME DEPOT and DOES 1 through 50, inclusive,

14 U.S. Dist. Ct. E.D. Cal. Case No. 2:25-cv-01888-CKD.

15 4.2. Challenging Party:

16 A Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of information or items

17 under this Order.

18 4.3. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items:

19 Information (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or

20 tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

21 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement.

22 4.4. Counsel:

23 Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their support staff).

24 4.5. Designating Party:

25 A Party or Non-Party that designates information or items that it produces in

26 disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

27 4.6. Disclosure or Discovery Material:

1 All items or information, regardless of the medium or manner in which it is

2 generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things, testimony,

3 transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or

4 responses to discovery.

5 4.7. Expert:

6 A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter pertinent to

7 the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an expert

8 witness or as a consultant in this Action.

9 4.8. House Counsel:

10 Attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. House Counsel does

11 not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel.

12 4.9. Non-Party:

13 Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity

14 not named as a Party to this action.

15 4.10. Outside Counsel of Record:

16 Attorneys who are not employees of a party to this Action but are retained to

17 represent a party to this Action and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that

18 party or are affiliated with a law firm that has appeared on behalf of that party, and

19 includes support staff.

20 4.11. Party:

21 Any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, employees,

22 consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support

23 staffs).

24 4.12. Producing Party:

25 A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery Material in this

26 Action.

27 4.13. Professional Vendors:

1 Persons or entities that provide litigation support services (e.g., photocopying,

2 videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing,

3 storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and

4 subcontractors.

5 4.14. Protected Material:

6 Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as

7 “CONFIDENTIAL.”

8 4.15. Receiving Party:

9 A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from a Producing

10 Party.

11 5. SCOPE

12 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only

13 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or

14 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or

15 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or

16 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.

17 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the

18 trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of

19 Protected Material at trial.

20 6. DURATION

21 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as

22 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced

23 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all

24 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by

25 specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance

26 of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause”

27 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”

1 terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the deadline to file an appeal of

2 the entry of judgment or order dismissing the Action, whichever is later.

3 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

4 7.1. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for

5 Protection.

6 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection

7 under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material

8 that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate

9 for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written

10 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items

11 or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably

12 within the ambit of this Order.

13 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations

14 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper

15 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose

16 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating

17 Party to sanctions.

18 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it

19 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must

20 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.

21 7.2. Manner and Timing of Designations.

22 Except as otherwise provided in this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or

23 ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this

24 Order must be clearly so designated at or before the material is disclosed or

25 produced as is practicable.

26 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

27 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,

1 the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter

2 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page or at the beginning of the documents if

3 the whole documents is considered Confidential. If only a portion of the material on

4 a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the

5 protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).

6 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection

7 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated

8 which documents it would like copied and produced.

9 After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and

10 produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions

11 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified

12 documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each

13 page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a page

14 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected

15 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).

16 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies

17 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the

18 deposition all protected testimony.

19 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for

20 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the

21 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend

22 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants

23 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected

24 portion(s).

25 7.3. Inadvertent Failures to Designate.

26 If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate qualified information

27 or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure

1 designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the

2 material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.

3 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

4 8.1. Timing of Challenges.

5 Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of confidentiality at any

6 time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order.

7 8.2. Meet and Confer.

8 The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process under

9 Local Rule 251 et seq.

10 8.3. Joint Stipulation.

11 Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a joint stipulation pursuant

12 to Local Rule 251(c).

13 8.4. Burden

14 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the

15 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose

16 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may

17 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived

18 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the

19 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the

20 Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.

21 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

22 9.1. Basic Principles.

23 A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or produced

24 by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action only for

25 prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material

26 may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions

27 described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party

1 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a

2 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons

3 authorized under this Order.

4 9.2. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items.

5 Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the

6 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item

7 designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

8 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well

9 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary

10 to disclose the information for this Action;

11 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the

12 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;

13 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) and outside counsel of the Receiving

14 Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have

15 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A) [TO BE

16 NEGOTIATED AND PREPARED BY PARTIES AND ATTACHED TO

17 STIPULATION AND PROPOSED ORDER];

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 a

24 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;

25 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the

26 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party

27 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they

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

4 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except

5 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and

6 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel,

7 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.

8 (j) any consultants that parties may hire in this matter to help them litigate

9 this matter, and may not be later be designated a retained expert witness.

10 (k) any outside counsel of record for any party.

11 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED

12 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION

13 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation

14 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as

15 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:

16 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification

17 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

18 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order

19 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the

20 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include

21 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and

22 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be

23 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the

24 Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the

25 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action

26 as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the

27 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s

1 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions

2 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action

3 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.

4 11. 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

7 Non-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

12 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is

13 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s

14 confidential information, then the Party shall:

15 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that

16 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-Party,

22 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

25 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery

26 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall

27 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the

1 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and

2 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.

3 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

4 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed

5 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this

6 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in

7 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts

8 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or

9 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,

10 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment an

11 Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.

12 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

13 PROTECTED MATERIAL

14 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain

15 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,

16 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in

17 Federal Rule of Civil\ Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended

18 to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that

19 provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of

20 Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of

21 disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client

22 privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in

23 the stipulated protective order submitted to the court.

24 14. MISCELLANEOUS

25 14.1. Right to Further Relief.

26 Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek its modification

27 by the Court in the future.

1 By stipulating to the entry of this Protective Order, no Party waives any right

2 it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or item

3 on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party

4 waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material

5 covered by this Protective Order.

6 14.3. Filing Protected Material.

7 A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must comply with

8 Local Civil Rule 141. Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a

9 court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material. If a Party’s

10 request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the court, then the

11 Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless otherwise

12 instructed by the court.

13 15. FINAL DISPOSITION

14 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6, within 60

15 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return

16 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in

17 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,

18 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected

19 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving

20 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same

21 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies

22 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or

23 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,

24 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any

25 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to

26 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing

27 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert

1 || materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or

2 || constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in

3 || Section 6 (DURATION).

41/16. VIOLATION

5 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures

6 || including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.

7 IT IS SO STIPULATED.

8 This Stipulated Protective Order may be executed and submitted in

9 || counterparts and, when all signatures are provided, shall constitute a complete

10 || agreement.

11

x

00 12 MANZOOR LAW FIRM, INC.

Oy

2B

14

15 |} DATED: December 1, 2025 By: /S/ Shahid Manzoor

Shahid Manzoor

16 Sachin Kalra

17 Attorneys for Plaintiffs PAUL STARK and

ig KELLY CAVERLEY

19 KLINEDINST PC

20

21

ahi Aga

22 ||DATED: December 1, 2025 By: Yor

73 Tan A. Rambarran

W. Jason Scott

24 Thomas K. Agawa

25 Attorneys for Defendants BEMIS

MANUFACTURING COMPANY and

26 HOME DEPOT, INC. d/b/a HOME

7 DEPOT

28

15

1 ORDER

2 The Court has reviewed the parties’ stipulated protective order. (ECF No. 13.)

3 || The stipulation comports with the relevant authorities and the court’s applicable

local rule. See L.R. 141.1. The Court APPROVES the protective order, subject to

5 || the following clarifications. The Court’s Local Rules indicate that once an action is

6 || closed, it “will not retain jurisdiction over enforcement of the terms of any

7 || protective order filed in that action.” L.R. 141.1(f); see also, e.g., MD Helicopters,

8 || Inc. v. Aerometals, Inc., 2017 WL 495778 (E.D. Cal., Feb. 03, 2017) (noting that

9 |) courts in the district generally do not retain jurisdiction for disputes concerning

10 || protective orders after closure of the case). Thus, the Court will not retain

11 || jurisdiction over this protective order once the case is closed.

12 || Dated: December 5, 2025 Ao ae oe

Casdp Kk. Ager

CAROLYNK.DELANEY 4

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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