even stipulated protective 16 orders require good cause showing
How later courts described this case
- even stipulated protective 16 orders require good cause showing
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
1 J. JACKSON WASTE, SBN 289081
jwaste@fennemorelaw.com
2 FENNEMORE LLP
8080 N. Palm Avenue, Third Floor
3 Fresno, CA 93711
Telephone: (559) 432-4500
4
KEVIN J. ABBOTT, SBN 281312
5
kabbott@fennemorelaw.com
6 FENNEMORE LLP
550 E. Hospitality Lane, Suite 350
7 San Bernardino, CA 92408
Telephone: (909) 723-1700
8
ANTHONY W. AUSTIN, SBN 025351 (Admitted Pro Hac Vice)
9 aaustin@fennemorelaw.com
TYLER D. CARLTON, SBN 035275 (Admitted Pro Hac Vice)
10 tcarlton@fennemorelaw.com
FENNEMORE CRAIG, P.C.
11
2394 East Camelback Road, Suite 600
12 Phoenix, AZ 85016
Telephone: (602) 916-5000
13
Attorneys for Defendant and Counter-claimant,
14 CIRCLE K STORES INC., a Texas Corporation
15
16 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
17 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
18 WESTERN DIVISION (LOS ANGELES)
19 INDO-PHILI, INC., a California Case No.: 2:25-cv-01949-JFW-SSC
corporation,
20 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
21 Plaintiff/Counter-defendant, ORDER
22 v. Courtroom: 7A
Action Filed: March 5, 2025
23 CIRCLE K STORES INC., a Texas
24 Corporation,
25 Defendant/Counter-claimant.
26
27
28
1 1. INTRODUCTION
2 1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to involve
3 production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special
4 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than
5 prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby
6 stipulate to and petition the court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order.
7 The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all
8 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public
9 disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled
10 to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles.
11 1.2 Good Cause Statement. This action is likely to involve discovery of
12 confidential and proprietary information, including without limitation, commercial
13 and financial information, valuation methods, underwriting-related materials, and
14 information reflecting internal business practices and decision-making. Such
15 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other
16 things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding
17 confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, or
18 commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third
19 parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be
20 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court
21 rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of
22 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of
23 discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep
24 confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such
25 material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the
26 end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such
27 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information
28 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so
1 designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential,
2 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public
3 record of this case.
4 1.3 Acknowledgment of Procedure for Filing Under Seal. The parties
5 further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated
6 Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal;
7 Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards
8 that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material
9 under seal.
10 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial
11 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions,
12 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and
13 Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips ex rel. Ests. of Byrd
14 v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210–11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v.
15 Sony Elecs., Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective
16 orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or
17 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be
18 made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The
19 parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL
20 or ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY does not—without the submission of competent
21 evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal
22 qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
23 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then
24 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the
25 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected.
26 See Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677–79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each
27 item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under
28 seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must
1 articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for
2 the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application
3 to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.
4 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in
5 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If
6 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only
7 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall
8 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety
9 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
10
11 2. DEFINITIONS
12 2.1 Action: Indo-Phili Inc. v. Circle K Stores Inc., No. 2:25-cv-01949-JFW-
13 SSC.
14 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
15 of information or items under this Order.
16 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
17 how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
18 protection under Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and as specified
19 above in the Good Cause Statement.
20 2.4 “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items: information
21 (regardless of how generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify
22 for protection under Rule 26(c) and that are so highly sensitive that disclosure to a
23 Receiving Party’s officers, directors, employees, or other non-outside-counsel
24 personnel could create a substantial risk of competitive, commercial, financial, or
25 other serious harm that cannot be avoided by less restrictive means.
26 2.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
27 their support staff).
28 ///
1 2.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
2 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
3 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
4 2.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
5 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
6 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
7 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
8 2.8 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
9 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
10 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
11 2.9 Final Disposition: the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses
12 in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the
13 completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of
14 this Action, including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for
15 extension of time pursuant to applicable law.
16 2.10 In-House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this
17 Action. In-House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other
18 outside counsel.
19 2.11 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
20 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
21 2.12 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party
22 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have
23 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which
24 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
25 2.13 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
26 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
27 support staffs).
28 ///
1 2.14 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
2 Discovery Material in this Action.
3 2.15 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation- support
4 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
5 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
6 and their employees and subcontractors.
7 2.16 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
8 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
9 2.17 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
10 from a Producing Party.
11
12 3. SCOPE
13 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
14 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
15 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
16 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
17 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
18 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
19 trial judge. This Stipulated Protective Order does not govern the use of Protected
20 Material at trial.
21
22 4. TRIAL AND DURATION
23 The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order apply through Final Disposition
24 of the Action.
25 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
26 CONFIDENTIAL, ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY, or otherwise maintained pursuant
27 to this Stipulated Protective Order and used or introduced as an exhibit at trial
28 becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the public,
1 including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings
2 to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See
3 Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180–81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing
4 documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-
5 related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, for such materials, the
6 terms of this Stipulated Protective Order do not extend beyond the commencement
7 of the trial.
8 Even after Final Disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations
9 imposed by this Stipulated Protective Order shall remain in effect until a Designating
10 Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs.
11
12 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
13 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
14 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
15 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
16 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
17 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
18 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items,
19 or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably
20 within the ambit of this Order.
21 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
22 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
23 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
24 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating
25 Party to sanctions.
26 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
27 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
28 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
1 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
2 this Stipulated Protective Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below),
3 or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies
4 for protection under this Stipulated Protective Order must be clearly so designated
5 before the material is disclosed or produced.
6 Designation in conformity with this Stipulated Protective Order requires:
7 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,
8 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the
9 Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or
10 “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” to each page that contains protected material. If
11 only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the
12 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
13 appropriate markings in the margins).
14 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
15 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
16 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
17 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
18 deemed CONFIDENTIAL or ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY. After the inspecting
19 Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party
20 must determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under
21 this Stipulated Protective Order. Then, before producing the specified documents,
22 the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES
23 ONLY” legend to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or
24 portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also
25 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings
26 in the margins).
27 ///
28 ///
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 all protected testimony.
4 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for
5 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
6 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the
7 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” legend. If only a portion or
8 portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent
9 practicable, 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 material.
13 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
14 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
15 Stipulated Protective Order.
16
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. and with Section 2 of Judge
23 Christensen’s Civil Procedures titled “Brief Pre-Discovery Motion Conference.”
24 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
25 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
26 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
27 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived
28 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the
1 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing
2 Party’s designation until the court rules on the challenge.
3
4 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
5 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
6 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
7 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
8 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
9 conditions described in this Order. When the Action reaches a Final Disposition, a
10 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below.
11 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
12 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
13 authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order.
14 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
15 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
16 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
17 “CONFIDENTIAL” only:
18 (a) to the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
19 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
20 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
21 (b) to the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
22 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
23 (c) to Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
24 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
25 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
26 (d) to the court and its personnel;
27 (e) to court reporters and their staff;
28 ///
1 (f) to professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
2 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
3 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
4 (g) to the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
5 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
6 (h) during their depositions, to witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the
7 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary, provided: (1) the deposing party
8 requests that the witness sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
9 (Exhibit A); and (2) the witness will not be permitted to keep any confidential
10 information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
11 (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court.
12 Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal
13 Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be
14 disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
15 (i) to any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
16 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
17 7.3 Disclosure of “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items.
18 Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating
19 Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
20 “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” only to:
21 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, and
22 employees of Outside Counsel of Record to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary
23 for this Action;
24 (b) Experts retained for this Action, to whom disclosure is reasonably
25 necessary, provided that: (i) the Expert has signed the “Acknowledgment and
26 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); and (ii) the Receiving Party maintains the
27 signed acknowledgment;
28 (c) the Court and its personnel, including court reporters and their staff, in
1 connection with this Action;
2 (d) Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this
3 Action, provided they have signed Exhibit A;
4 (e) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, mutually
5 agreed upon by the parties;
6 (f) the author, recipient, or custodian of the document or information, or a
7 person who otherwise possessed or knew the information, only to the extent
8 reasonably necessary and provided that such person is advised of the confidentiality
9 obligation (and, upon request, signs Exhibit A);
10 (g) during depositions, a deponent or deposition witness to whom disclosure
11 is reasonably necessary, provided that the witness is advised of the confidentiality
12 obligation and signs Exhibit A unless the Designating Party agrees otherwise or the
13 Court orders otherwise; and provided further that the witness shall not be permitted
14 to retain any ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY material absent written agreement of the
15 Designating Party or Court order.
16 No other disclosure permitted. ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY material shall not
17 be disclosed to the Receiving Party’s officers, directors, employees, or In-House
18 Counsel absent written consent of the Designating Party or Court order.
19
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” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY,” 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
28 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena
1 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of
2 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 with
6 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this
7 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” before a
8 determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party
9 has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear
10 the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material
11 and nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a
12 Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
13
14 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
15 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
16 9.1 Application. The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order are
17 applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in this Action and designated as
18 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information
19 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
20 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
21 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
22 9.2 Notification. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery
23 request, to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the
24 Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
25 confidential information, then the Party shall:
26 (a) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that
27 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with
28 a Non-Party;
1 (b) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-
2 Party, if requested.
3 9.3 Conditions of Production. If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective
4 order from this court within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying
5 information, the Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential
6 information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a
7 protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its
8 possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-
9 Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the
10 Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its
11 Protected Material.
12
13 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
14 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
15 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
16 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
17 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
18 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
19 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
20 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
21 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A).
22
23 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
24 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL
25 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
26 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
27 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Rule 26(b)(5)(B) of the
28 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This provision is not intended to modify whatever
1 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production
2 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Rules 502(d) and (e) of the Federal Rules
3 of Evidence, insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of
4 a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work
5 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated
6 protective order submitted to the court.
7
8 12. MISCELLANEOUS
9 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Stipulated Protective Order
10 abridges the right of any person to seek its modification by the court in the future.
11 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
12 Stipulated Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to
13 object to disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not
14 addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right
15 to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this
16 Stipulated Protective Order.
17 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
18 Protected Material must comply with Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only
19 be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
20 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal
21 is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public
22 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
23
24 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
25 After the Final Disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraphs 2.9 and 4,
26 within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party
27 must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material.
28 As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts,
1 || compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
2 || Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the
3 || Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if
4 || not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that
5 || (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was
6 || returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any
7 || copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or
8 || capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel is
9 || entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition,
10 || and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial
11 || exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work
12 || product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies
13 || that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order
14 || as set forth in Section 4.
15
16 14. VIOLATION
17 Any violation of this Stipulated Protective Order may be punished by any and
18 || all appropriate measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or
19 || monetary sanctions.
20 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
21 DATED: January 5,2026 —_/s/ Kenneth Roberts
Attorney(s) for Plaintiff(s)
23
DATED: January 5, 2026 Arerthony Austin endant(s)
25
26 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
27 DATED: January 7, 2026
28 United States Magistrate Judge
1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3
4 I, ________________________ [print or type full name], of
5 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury
6 that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was
7 issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on
8 [date] in the case of __________ [insert formal name of the case and the number and
9 initials assigned to it by the court]. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the
10 terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that
11 failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of
12 contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information
13 or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity
14 except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District
16 Court for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of
17 this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
18 termination of this action. I hereby appoint ________________________ [print or
19 type full name] of _________ [print or type full address and telephone number] as
20 my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any
21 proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
22
23 Date: ___________________________
24 City and State where sworn and signed:
25 ___________________________
26 Printed name: ___________________________
27 Signature: ___________________________
28