Opinion

Court: District Court, C.D. California
Filed: Dec 29, 2025
Cited by: 0 cases

The opinion

Richard Lyon (Cal. Bar No. 229288)

rick@dovel.com

2 Jonas Jacobson (Cal Bar No. 269912)

3 jonas@dovel.com

Simon Franzini (Cal. Bar No. 287631)

4 simon@dovel.com

5 DOVEL & LUNER, LLP

201 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 600

Santa Monica, California 90401

7 Telephone: (310) 656-7066

Facsimile: (310) 656-7069

Attorneys for Plaintiff

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

12 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

14 Josh Goldman, each individually and Case No. 2:25-cv-06582-DSF-AJR

15 on behalf of all others similarly

situated,

[PROPOSED] STIPULATED

17 Plaintiff, PROTECTIVE ORDER

V Shred, LLC.,

21 Defendant.

1 Plaintiff Josh Goldman, LLC (“Plaintiff”), by and through its counsel of record

2 Dovel & Luner LLP, and Defendant V Shred, LLC (“Defendant”), by and through its

3 counsel of record, Procel Levine LLP, agree to adopt the Model Protective Order

4 appearing on the website of Honorable A. Joel Richlin, the terms of which are set forth

5 below.

6 1. GENERAL

7 1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to involve

8 production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special

9 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting

10 this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition

11 the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge

12 that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to

13 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only

14 to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the

15 applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3,

16 below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential

17 information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be

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

19 court to file material under seal.

20 1.2 Good Cause Statement. This action is likely to involve trade secrets,

21 customer and pricing lists and other valuable research, development, commercial,

22 financial, technical and/or proprietary information for which special protection from

23 public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is

24 warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of,

25 among other things, confidential business or financial information, information

26 regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development,

27 or commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third

28 parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be

1 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court

2 rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information,

3 to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials,

4 to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure

5 that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation

6 for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and

7 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter.

8 It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for

9 tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has

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

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

12 2. DEFINITIONS

13 2.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit.

14 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of

15 information or items under this Order.

16 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how

17 it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under

18 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause

19 Statement.

20 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their

21 support staff).

22 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or

23 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

24 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of

25 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among

26 other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated

27 in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.

1 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter

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

3 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.

4 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.

5 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel.

6 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or

7 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.

8 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to

9 this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have

10 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that has

11 appeared on behalf of that party, including support staff.

12 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,

13 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their

14 support staffs).

15 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

16 Discovery Material in this Action.

17 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support

18 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or

19 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and

20 their employees and subcontractors.

21 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated

22 as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

23 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material

24 from a Producing Party.

26 3. SCOPE

27 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected

28 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from

1 Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected

2 Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their

3 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.

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

5 judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.

7 4. DURATION

8 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the court-filed information to be introduced

9 that was previously designated as confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective

10 order becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the public,

11 including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to

12 proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v.

13 City and Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good

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

standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the

terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.

5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each

Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order

must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the

appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only those

parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify so

that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for which

protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.

Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that

are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g.,

1 to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary

2 expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.

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

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

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

6 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this

7 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or

8 ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order

9 must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.

10 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

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

12 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial

13 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix, at a minimum, the legend

14 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that

15 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page

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

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

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

19 not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which

20 documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the

21 designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed

22 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants

23 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions

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

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

26 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page

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

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

1 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify

2 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition.

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

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

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

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

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

8 portion(s).

9 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

10 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the

11 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon

12 timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to

13 assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.

15 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

16 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

17 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling

18 Order.

19 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute

20 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1, et seq. Any discovery motion must strictly

21 comply with the procedures set forth in Local Rules 37-1, 37-2, and 37-3.

22 6.3 Burden. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall

23 be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper

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

25 may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived

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

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

28 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.

1 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

2 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is

3 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action

4 only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected

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

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

7 comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).

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

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

10 authorized under this Order.

11 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise

12 ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party

13 may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

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

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

16 disclose the information for this Action;

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

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

19 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom

20 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the

21 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);

22 (d) the Court and its personnel;

23 (e) court reporters and their staff;

24 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional

25 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have

26 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);

27 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a

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

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

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

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

4 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the

5 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed

6 by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed deposition

7 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately

8 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted

9 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and

10 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,

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

13 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED

14 IN OTHER LITIGATION

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

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

17 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:

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

19 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

20 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue

21 in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order

22 is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this

23 Stipulated Protective Order; and

24 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by

25 the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.

26 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the

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

28 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or

1 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The

2 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court

3 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as

4 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive

5 from another court.

7 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE

8 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION

9 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party

10 in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by

11 Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief

12 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting

13 a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.

14 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce

15 a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an

16 agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information,

17 then the Party shall:

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

19 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a

20 Non-Party;

21 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective

22 Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific

23 description of the information requested; and

24 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-

25 Party, if requested.

26 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within 14 days

27 of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce

28 the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the

1 Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any

2 information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement

3 with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court. Absent a court order to the

4 contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this

5 Court of its Protected Material.

7 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

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

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

11 the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve

12 all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to

13 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request

14 such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”

15 that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

17 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

18 PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

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

21 obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

22 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be

23 established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege

24 review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach

25 an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by

26 the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their

27 agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the Court.

1 12. MISCELLANEOUS

2 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any

3 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.

4 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this

5 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to

6 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this

7 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground

8 to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.

9 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any

10 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may

11 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific

12 Protected Material at issue; good cause must be shown in the request to file under seal.

13 If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the Court, then the

14 Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless otherwise instructed

15 by the Court.

17 13. FINAL DISPOSITION

18 After the final disposition of this Action, within 60 days of a written request by

19 the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the

20 Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected

21 Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format

22 reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material

23 is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the

24 Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the

25 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected

26 Material that was returned or destroyed, and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not

27 retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing

28 or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, counsel are

1 entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and

2 hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits,

3 expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if

4 such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or

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

6 Section 4 (DURATION).

8 14. VIOLATION OF ORDER

9 Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate measures

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

12 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

Dated: December 24, 2025 Respectfully submitted,

15 By: /s/ Richard Lyon

16 Richard Lyon (Cal. Bar No. 229288)

rick@dovel.com

Jonas Jacobson (Cal. Bar No. 269912)

18 jonas@dovel.com

Simon Franzini (Cal. Bar No. 287631)

simon@dovel.com

20 DOVEL & LUNER, LLP

201 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 600

Santa Monica, California 90401

22 Telephone: (310) 656-7066

23 Facsimile: (310) 656-7069

Attorneys for Plaintiff

25 By: /s/ Jeremiah Levine

Brian Procel (Cal. Bar No. 218657)

Brian@Procel-Law.com

27 Marty Pritikin (Cal. Bar No. 210845)

Marty@Procel-Law.com

1 Jeremiah Levine (Cal. Bar No. 288377)

Jeremiah@ProcelLevine.com

- PROCEL LEVINE, LLP

3 401 Wilshire Blvd, Floor 12

Santa Monica, CA 90401-1456

4 Phone: (424) 788-4538

6 Attorneys for Defendant

8 ||FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

10 ||/DATED: 12/29/2025

HQN.A. JOEL RICHLIN

11 United States Magistrate Judge

22.

Protective Order 13 Case No. 2:25-cv-06582-DSF-AJR

EXHIBIT A

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________ [full

address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and

understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District

Court for the Central District of California on ____________ [date] in the case of

___________ [insert case name and number]. I agree to comply with and to be

bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and

acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in

the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any

information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or

entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.

I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for

the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this

Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after

termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [full

name] of _______________________________________ [full address and

telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with

this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective

Order.

Date: ______________________________________

City and State where signed: _________________________________

Printed name: _______________________________

Signature: __________________________________

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.