Opinion

1 BLANK ROME LLP

Travis K. Jang-Busby (SBN 283256)

2 travis.jangbusby@blankrome.com

Nicole N. Wentworth (SBN 334007)

3 nicole.wentworth@blankrome.com

2029 Century Park East, 6th Floor

4 Los Angeles, CA 90067

Telephone: 424.239.3400

5 Facsimile: 424.239.3434

6 Attorneys for Defendant,

HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL, INC.,

7

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9 FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

10

11 DE VON HART, Case No. 2:25-cv-05950-CV-RAO

12 Plaintiff, an STIPULATED PROTECTIVE

individual, ORDER1

13

vs. Complaint Filed: May 5, 2025

14 Trial Date: January 12, 2027

HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL,

15 INC. and DOES 1 through 50

inclusive,

16

Defendant.

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28 1 This Stipulated Protective Order is substantially based on the model protective

1 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

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

3 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public

4 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may

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

6 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this

7 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to

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

9 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment

10 under the applicable legal principles.

11

12 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

13 This action is likely to involve trade secrets or other commercially sensitive

14 information, and sensitive and personal information of non-parties for which special

15 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than

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

17 and information consist of, among other things, confidential business information,

18 information regarding confidential business practices, commercial information

19 (including information implicating privacy rights of third parties), information

20 otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or

21 otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case

22 decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to

23 facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery

24 materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep

25 confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of

26 such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling

27 at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such

28 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information

1 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so

2 designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential,

3 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public

4 record of this case.

5

6 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL

7 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that

8 this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential

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

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

11 the court to file material under seal.

12 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial

13 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions,

14 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City

15 and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006); Phillips v. Gen.

16 Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002); Makar-Welbon v. Sony

17 Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective

18 orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or

19 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be

20 made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The

21 parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL

22 does not—without the submission of competent evidence by declaration,

23 establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential,

24 privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.

25 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial,

26 then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and

27 the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be

28 protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir.

1 2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed

2 or introduced under seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party

3 seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts

4 and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence

5 supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by

6 declaration.

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

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

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

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

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

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

13

14 2. DEFINITIONS

15 2.1 Action: Devon Hart v. Honeywell International, Inc., et al., United

16 States District Court for the Central District of California, Case No. 2:25-cv-05950-

17 CV-RAO.

18 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the

19 designation of information or items under this Order.

20 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of

21 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for

22 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in

23 the Good Cause Statement.

24 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as

25 their support staff).

26 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or

27 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as

28 “CONFIDENTIAL.”

1 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless

2 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,

3 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things) that are produced or

4 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.

5 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter

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

7 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.

8 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.

9 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside

10 counsel.

11 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or

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

13 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a

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

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

16 that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.

17 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,

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

19 support staffs).

20 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

21 Discovery Material in this Action.

22 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation

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

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

25 and their employees and subcontractors.

26 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

27 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

28 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery

1 Material from a Producing Party.

2

3 3. SCOPE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

11

12 4. DURATION

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

14 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or

15 introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available

16 to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons

17 supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial

18 judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing

19 “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from

20 “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of court

21 record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the

22 commencement of the trial.

23

24 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

25 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

26 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under

27 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that

28 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for

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

2 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,

3 items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept

4 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.

5 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations

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

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

8 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the

9 Designating Party to sanctions.

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

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

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

13 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in

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

15 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection

16 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or

17 produced.

18 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

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

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

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

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

23 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for

24 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)

25 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).

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

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

28 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and

1 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be

2 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the

3 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine

4 which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order.

5 Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the

6 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a

7 portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also

8 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings

9 in the margins).

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

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

12 deposition all protected testimony.

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

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

15 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the

16 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information

17 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the

18 protected portion(s).

19 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

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

21 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such

22 material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make

23 reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the

24 provisions of this Order.

25

26 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

27 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

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

1 Scheduling Order.

2 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute

3 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.

4 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on

5 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper

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

7 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating

8 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall

9 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is

10 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the

11 challenge.

12

13 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

14 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is

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

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

17 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the

18 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a

19 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL

20 DISPOSITION).

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

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

23 authorized under this Order.

24 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

25 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a

26 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated

27 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

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

1 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably

2 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;

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

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

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

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

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

8 (d) the court and its personnel;

9 (e) court reporters and their staff;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

20 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed

21 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may

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

23 except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and

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

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

26 //

27 //

28 //

1 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED

2 IN OTHER LITIGATION

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

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

5 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:

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

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

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

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

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

11 include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and

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

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

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

15 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this

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

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

18 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking

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

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

21 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.

22

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

24 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION

25 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a

26 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information

27 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the

28 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be

1 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.

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

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

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

5 confidential information, then the Party shall:

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

7 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality

8 agreement with a Non-Party;

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

10 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably

11 specific description of the information requested; and

12 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the

13 Non-Party, if requested.

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

15 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party

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

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

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

19 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.

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

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

22

23 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

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

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

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

28 efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the

1 person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of

2 this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment

3 and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

4

5 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

6 PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

8 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other

9 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal

10 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify

11 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for

12 production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence

13 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure

14 of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work

15 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated

16 protective order submitted to the court.

17

18 12. MISCELLANEOUS

19 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any

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

21 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this

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

23 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in

24 this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on

25 any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective

26 Order.

27 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any

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

1 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the

2 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material

3 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information

4 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.

5

6 13. FINAL DISPOSITION

7 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60

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

9 return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As

10 used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts,

11 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the

12 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the

13 Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if

14 not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that

15 (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was

16 returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any

17 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or

18 capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel

19 are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial,

20 deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition

21 and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert

22 work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival

23 copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective

24 Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).

25

26 14. VIOLATION

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

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

1 |} IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

2

3 DATED: January 27, 2026

; /s/Liane Katzenstein Ly

LIANE LY LAW

6 || LIANE KATZENSTEIN LY, Esq.

Attorneys for Plaintiff,

7 || DEVON HART

8 || KINGSLEY SZAMET EMPLOYMENT LAWYERS

ERIC B. KINGSLEY, Esq.,

9 || Attorneys for Plaintiff,

DEVON HART

10

11 ||) DATED: January 27, 2026

12

13 || /s/Nicole N. Wentworth

14 || BLANK ROME LLP

Travis K. J ang-Busby

15 || Nicole N. Wentwort

Attorneys for Defendant,

16 |} HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL, INC.

17

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

19

90 DATED: 1/28/2026

21 *

23 || HON. ROZELLA A. OLIVER

United States Magistrate Judge

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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

7 was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California

8 on _________ [date] in the case of Devon Hart v. Honeywell International, Inc., et

9 al., Case No. 2:25-cv-05950-CV-RAO. I agree to comply with and to be bound by

10 all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge

11 that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature

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

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

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

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

16 the Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated

17 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of

18 this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full

19 name] of _______________________________________ [print or type full

20 address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in

21 connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this

22 Stipulated Protective Order.

23 Date: ______________________________________

24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________

25

26 Printed name: _______________________________

27

28 Signature: _________________________________