# Opinion

> District Court, C.D. California · January 28, 2026

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11339075

## Case

- **Full name:** Sara Gee, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. JW PEI, Inc.
- **Court:** District Court, C.D. California
- **Decided:** January 28, 2026
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11339075

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- holding that “compelling reason[s]” include “when a 4 court record might be used to ‘gratify private spite or promote public scandal,’ 5 to circulate ‘libelous’ statements, or ‘as sources of business information that 6 might harm a litigant’s competitive standing’”

## Opinion text

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10 SARA GEE, individually and on ) Case No 8:25-cv-00243-JVS-JDE
)
11 behalf of all others similar situated, )
) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
12 Plaintiff, ) ) ORDER
13 )
)
14 v. )
JW PEI, Inc., )
15 )
)
16 Defendant. )
17 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
18 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
19 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public
20 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may
21 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the
22 Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties
23 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all
24 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from
25 public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that
26 are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles.
27 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
28 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists
1 and other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, and/or
2 proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure
3 and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is
4 warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information
5 consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial information,
6 information regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential
7 research, development, or commercial information (including information
8 implicating privacy rights of third parties), personal identifying information of
9 third parties, information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or
10 which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or
11 federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Confidential
12 information will also likely include sensitive and private information related to
13 the named plaintiff and putative class members, including names, shopping
14 habits, and mailing addresses. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of
15 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality
16 of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are
17 entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable
18 necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to
19 address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice,
20 a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent
21 of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical
22 reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has
23 been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause
24 why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
25 3. UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE
26 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that
27 this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential
28 information under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that
1 must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks
2 permission from the court to file material under seal. There is a strong
3 presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial proceedings and
4 records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, good cause
5 must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and
6 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen.
7 Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony
8 Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated
9 protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good
10 cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal
11 justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party
12 seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or
13 Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-
14 ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY does not— without the submission of
15 competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought to be
16 filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—
17 constitute good cause.
18 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial,
19 then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown,
20 and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to
21 be protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th
22 Cir. 2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to
23 be filed or introduced under seal, the party seeking protection must articulate
24 compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the
25 requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application
26 to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.
27 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise
28 protectable in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions
1 can be redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for
2 public viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise
3 protectable portions of the document, shall be filed. Any application that seeks
4 to file documents under seal in their entirety should include an explanation of
5 why redaction is not feasible.
6 4. DEFINITIONS
7
4.1 Action: Gee v. JW PEI, Inc., Case No. 8:25-cv-00243.
8
4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
9
designation of information or items under this Order.
10
4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information,
11
documents, or tangible things, including written discovery responses,
12
deposition testimony, all other information that may be disclosed, as well as
13
compilations or excerpts of such materials (regardless of how such information
14
or materials are generated, stored or maintained), that qualify for protection
15
under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the
16
Good Cause Statement.
17
4.4 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY”
18
Information or Items: Information (regardless of how it is generated, stored or
19
20 maintained) or tangible things that are Confidential but require further limited
21 access for the use in this Action because the Designating Party has reasonable
22 grounds to believe the information or items would, if known to any officer,
23 director, employee, or agent of a Party, a Non-Party, or the public, lead to
24 significant or irreparable harm or injury to the reputation and/or business of
25 the Designating Party or materially impair the legitimate competitive interests
26 of the Designating Party, which cannot be avoided by less restrictive means
27 and include, but are not limited to, financial or commercial information and
28 personal identifying information of third parties.
1 4.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well
2 as their support staff).
3 4.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates
4 information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery
5 as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGH CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEY’S EYES
6 ONLY.”
7
4.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information,
8
regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or
9
maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible
10
things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.
11
4.8 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a
12
matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its
13
counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
14
4.9 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this
15
Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any
16
other outside counsel.
17
4.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation,
18
association or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
19
4.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
20
21 party to this Action but are retained to represent a party to this Action and
22 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law
23 firm that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
24 4.12 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers,
25 directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of
26 Record (and their support staffs).
27 4.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
28 Discovery Material in this Action.
1 4.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
2 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing
3 exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any
4 form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors.
5 4.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
6 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-
7
ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY.”
8
4.16 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
9
Material from a Producing Party.
10
5. SCOPE
11
The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
12
Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
13
extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
14
compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
15
presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
16
Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of
17
the trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the
18
use of Protected Material at trial.
19
6. DURATION
20
21 Once a case proceeds to trial, information used or introduced as an
22 exhibit at trial that was designated as CONFIDENTIAL or HIGHLY
23 CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY or maintained pursuant to
24 this protective order becomes public and will be presumptively available to all
25 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons
26 supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial
27 judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81
28 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in
1 discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents
2 are part of court record) Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092,
3 1097 (9th Cir. 2016) (holding that “compelling reason[s]” include “when a
4 court record might be used to ‘gratify private spite or promote public scandal,’
5 to circulate ‘libelous’ statements, or ‘as sources of business information that
6 might harm a litigant’s competitive standing’”).
7
The confidentiality obligations imposed by this Order upon all other
8
information not used or introduced as an exhibit at trial that was designated as
9
CONFIDENTIAL or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEY’S EYES
10
ONLY or maintained pursuant to this protective order, shall remain in effect
11
until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise
12
directs, even after final disposition of this litigation. Final disposition shall be
13
deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action,
14
with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion
15
and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this
16
Action, including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for
17
extension of time pursuant to applicable law.
18
7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
19
7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for
20
21 Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information
22 or items for protection under this Order must take care to limit any such
23 designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards.
24 The Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of
25 material, documents, items or oral or written communications that qualify so
26 that other portions of the material, documents, items or communications for
27 which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit
28 of this Order.
1 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited.
2 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made
3 for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development
4 process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
5 expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
6 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items
7
that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating
8
Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the
9
inapplicable designation.
10
7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise
11
provided in this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of
12
Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be
13
clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
14
Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
15
(a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
16
documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
17
proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
18
“CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”) or “HIGHLY
19
CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY” (hereinafter “HIGHLY
20
21 CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY legend”), to each page that
22 contains protected material. For electronic information produced in native
23 format, such that it is impractical to affix the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or
24 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY” to each page
25 (e.g., excel files), the filename may contain the designation
26 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEY’S EYES
27 ONLY” and the native format document may be produced with a pdf slipsheet
28 with the “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-
1 ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY” label. If only a portion of the material on a
2 page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the
3 protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins or by
4 identifying the protected portions on a slipsheet).
5 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for
6 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting
7
Party has indicated which documents it would like copied and produced.
8
During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material made
9
available for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the
10
inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced,
11
the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof,
12
qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified
13
documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” or
14
“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY legend” to each
15
page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a
16
page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the
17
protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
18
(b) for testimony given in depositions, or in other pretrial
19
proceedings, that the Designating Party identifies the Disclosure or Discovery
20
21 Material on the record, whenever practical, before the close of the deposition,
22 hearing, or other proceeding, all protected testimony. The Designating Party or
23 Non-Party may also designate the testimony that is entitled to protection or a
24 portion of the testimony as containing Confidential Information after
25 transcription of the proceedings. A Party will have until thirty (30) days after
26 receipt of the deposition transcript to inform the other party or parties to the
27 Action of the portions of the transcript to be designated “CONFIDENTIAL”
28 or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY” and until
1 such designation is made either on the record or after transcription of the
2 proceedings, the entire transcript shall be treated as “HIGHLY
3 CONFIDENTIAL – FOR ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY.”
4 (c) The use of a document as an exhibit at a deposition shall not in
5 any way affect its designation as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
6 CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY.” Transcripts containing
7
Protected Material shall have an obvious legend on the title pages that the
8
transcript contains Protected Material. The Designating Party shall inform the
9
court reporter of this requirement.
10
(d) for information produced in some form other than
11
documentary and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix
12
in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the
13
information is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or
14
portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the
15
extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
16
7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an
17
inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items does not,
18
standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under
19
this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the
20
21 Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is
22 treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
23 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
24 8.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
25 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
26 Scheduling Order.
27 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
28 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
1 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a
2 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
3 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be
4 on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an
5 improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens
6 on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the
7
Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all
8
parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection
9
to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court
10
rules on the challenge.
11
9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
12
9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that
13
is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection
14
with this Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this
15
Action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of
16
persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has
17
been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section
18
15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
19
Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party
20
21 at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the
22 persons authorized under this Order.
23 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
24 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating
25 Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
26 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
27 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this
28 Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is
1 reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
2 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House
3 Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary
4 for this Action;
5 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to
6 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed
7
the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), as well as
8
their support staff;
9
(d) the court and its personnel;
10
(e) court reporters and their staff;
11
(f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
12
Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this
13
Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
14
Bound” (Exhibit A);
15
(g) the author or recipient of a document containing the
16
information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew
17
the information;
18
(h) during their depositions, (A) employees or representatives of
19
the Producing Party, as reasonably necessary to conduct the deposition; and
20
21 (B) witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the Action to whom disclosure is
22 reasonably necessary provided they will not be permitted to keep any
23 confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and
24 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the
25 Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition
26 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be
27 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone
28 except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
1 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting
2 personnel, retained by the parties to assist in settlement discussions.
3 9.3 Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEY’S EYES
4 ONLY” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or
5 permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose
6 any information or item designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
7
(a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this
8
Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is
9
reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
10
(b) House Counsel of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is
11
reasonably necessary for this Action and who has signed the
12
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to be Bound” (Exhibit A);
13
(c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to
14
whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed
15
the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), provided
16
that the Expert is not a current officer, director, or employee of a competitor of
17
a Party or anticipated to become one;
18
(d) the court and its personnel;
19
(e) court reporters and their staff;
20
21 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
22 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this
23 Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
24 Bound” (Exhibit A);
25 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the
26 information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew
27 the information;
28
1 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses,
2 in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the
3 deposing party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A
4 hereto (“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”); and (2) they will
5 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign Exhibit
6 A, unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court.
7
Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal
8
Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not
9
be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective
10
Order; and
11
(i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting
12
personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement
13
discussions.
14
10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
15
PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
16
If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other
17
litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this
18
Action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-
19
ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY,” that Party must:
20
21 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such
22 notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
23 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena
24 or order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered
25 by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification
26 shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
27 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
28 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If
1 the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the
2 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this
3 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-
4 ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY” before a determination by the court from
5 which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the
6 Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden
7
and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and
8
nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging
9
a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another
10
court.
11
12 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO
BE PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
13

14 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced
15 by a Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or
16 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY.” Such
17 information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is
18 protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these
19 provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking
20 additional protections.
21
(b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery
22
request, to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession,
23
and the Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the
24
Non-Party’s confidential information, then the Party shall:
25
(1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-
26
Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a
27
confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
28
1 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
2 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a
3 reasonably specific description of the information requested; and
4 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
5 Non-Party, if requested.
6 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court
7
within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the
8
Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information
9
responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective
10
order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession
11
or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party
12
before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the
13
Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court
14
of its Protected Material.
15
12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED
16
MATERIAL
17
If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has
18
disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not
19
authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must
20
21 immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized
22 disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the
23 Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized
24 disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request such
25 person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment an Agreement to Be
26 Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.
27
28
1 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL
2

3 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
4 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
5 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in
6 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to
7
modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that
8
provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal
9
Rule of Evidence 502(b), an inadvertent disclosure of information covered by
10
the attorney-client privilege or work-product protection does not operate as a
11
waiver of that protection if: (1) the disclosure is inadvertent; (2) the holder of
12
the privilege or protection took reasonable steps to prevent disclosure; and (3)
13
the holder promptly took reasonable steps to rectify the error, including (if
14
applicable) following Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). Pursuant to
15
Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an
16
agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or information
17
covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties
18
may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to
19
the court.
20
21 14. MISCELLANEOUS
22 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of
23 any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
24 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
25 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object
26 to disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not
27 addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any
28
1 right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered
2 by this Protective Order.
3 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
4 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected
5 Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the
6 sealing of the specific Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected
7
Material under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file
8
the information in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
9
15. FINAL DISPOSITION
10
After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6,
11
within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving
12
Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such
13
material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all
14
copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing
15
or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is
16
returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification
17
to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the
18
Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies (by category,
19
where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed
20
21 and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
22 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of
23 the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to
24 retain an archival copy of all documents filed with the court, trial, deposition,
25 and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and
26 trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert
27 work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such
28
1 || archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to
2 Protective Order as set forth in Section 6 (DURATION).
3 16. VIOLATION
4 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
> || including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary
6 sanctions.
Based on the Parties’ Stipulation, FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS
ORDERED.
9
10
11 || DATED: January 28, 2026
12 je de
13
14 J on D. EARLY :
nited States Magistrate Judge
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
19

1
EXHIBIT A
2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3

4
I declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and
5
understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United
6 States District Court for the Central District of California in the case of Gee v.
7 JW PEI, Inc., Case No. 8:25-cv-00243. I agree to comply with and to be
8 bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and
9 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and
10 punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not
11 disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this
12 Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance
13 with the provisions of this Order.
14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District
15 Court for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the
16 terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings
17 occur after termination of this action.
18
19 Date:
20 City and State where sworn and signed:
21
22 Printed name:
23 Signature:
24

25
26
27
28

---

Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11339075. Public record. Not legal advice.