Opinion

1 SARAH ROBERTSON (SBN 142439)

srobertson@constangy.com

2

CONSTANGY, BROOKS, SMITH &

3 PROPHETE, LLP

601 Montgomery Street, Suite 350

4 San Francisco, CA 94111

Telephone: 415.918.3000

5

Anissa Elhaiesahar (SBN 354942)

6

aelhaiesahar@constangy.com

7 CONSTANGY, BROOKS,

SMITH & PROPHETE, LLP

8 550 West C Street, Suite 1400

San Diego, CA 92101

9

Telephone: (619) 605-6171

10

Attorneys for Defendant

11 CERTUS PEST INC.

12

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

13

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA – EASTERN DIVISION

14

15

MICHAEL MCCREADY, an Case No. 5:24-cv-01396-JGB-SPx

16 individual,

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE

17 Plaintiff, ORDER

18

v. Date Complaint Filed: March 7, 2024

19 Removal Date: July 5, 2024

RESPONSIBLE PEST CONTROL Trial Date: None set

20 INC., a FLORIDA Corporation,

CERTUS PEST INC., a DELAWARE,

21 Corporation, and PURCOR PEST

CONTROL, a CALIFORNIA

22

corporation, and DOES 1-20

23

Defendants.

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26 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

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

28 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public

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

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

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

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

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

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

7 under the applicable legal principles.

8 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

9 The parties anticipate that discovery in this action is likely to involve

10 production of confidential, proprietary, and/or private information for which special

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

12 prosecuting this litigation is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials

13 and information consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial

14 information, information regarding the operational and financial reasons underlying

15 a corporate reorganization, private personnel information including information

16 provided by multiple non-party employees in a confidential Human Resources

17 investigation relating to allegations of a hostile work environment, information

18 pertaining to the reasons for discipline or discharge of employees, including non-

19 parties, and confidential medical records. Such confidential information is otherwise

20 generally unavailable to the public, and may be private, proprietary, privileged or

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

22 decisions, or common law. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition

23 the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties

24 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures

25 or responses to discovery and that the protective it affords from public disclosure

26 and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to

27 confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. It is the intent of the

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

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

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

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

4 This Order shall govern the disclosure of materials designated as

5 “Confidential Material” in this litigation. Confidential Material, as used in this

6 Order, shall refer to any document or item designated as Confidential or Highly

7 Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only, including but not limited to, documents or

8 items produced during discovery, all copies thereof, and the information contained

9 in such material.

10 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE

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

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

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

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

15 from the court to file material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the

16 public has a right of access to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In

17 connection with non-dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a

18 filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172,

19 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th

20 Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis.

21 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a

22 specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary

23 support and legal justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material

24 that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure

25 or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not— without the submission of

26 competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed

27 under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—

28 constitute good cause.

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

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

3 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected.

4 See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each

5 item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under

6 seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by

7 specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again,

8 competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal must be

9 provided by declaration.

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

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

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

13 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall

14 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety

15 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.

16 4. DEFINITIONS

17 4.1 Action: This pending lawsuit.

18 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the

19 designation of information or items under this Order.

20 4.3 “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 4.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well

25 as their support staff).

26 4.5 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 4.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information,

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

3 (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are

4 produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.

5 4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a

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

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

8 4.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this

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

10 outside counsel.

11 4.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation,

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

13 4.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party

14 to this Action but are retained to represent a party to this Action and have appeared

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

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

17 4.11 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 4.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

21 Discovery Material in this Action.

22 4.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support

23 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 4.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

27 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

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1 4.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material

2 from a Producing Party.

3 5. 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 and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of

11 Protected Material at trial.

12 6. DURATION

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

22 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

23 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 within the ambit of this Order.

3 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations

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

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

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

7 Party to sanctions.

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

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

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

11 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in

12 this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material

13 that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before

14 the material is disclosed or produced.

15 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

25 which documents it would like copied and produced During the inspection and

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

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

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

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

2 before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the

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

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

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

6 in the margins).

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

8 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of

9 the deposition all protected testimony.

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

11 and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent

12 place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is

13 stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the

14 information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable,

15 shall identify the protected portion(s).

16 7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

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

18 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.

19 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must

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

21 provisions of this Order.

22 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

23 8.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

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

25 Scheduling Order.

26 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute

27 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.

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1 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a joint

2 stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.

3 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the

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

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

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

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

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

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

10 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

11 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is

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

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

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

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

16 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL

17 DISPOSITION).

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

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

20 authorized under this Order.

21 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

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

23 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated

24 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

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

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

27 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;

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

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

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

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

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

6 (d) the court and its personnel;

7 (e) court reporters and their staff;

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

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

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

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

12 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;

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

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

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

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

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

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

19 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be

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

21 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and

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

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

24 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED

25 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION

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

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

28 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:

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

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

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

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

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

6 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

16 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.

17 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE

18 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

27 confidential information, then the Party shall:

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

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

3 agreement with a Non-Party;

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

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

6 specific description of the information requested; and

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

8 Party, if requested.

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

10 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party

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

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

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

14 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a

15 determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall

16 bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected

17 Material.

18 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED

19 MATERIAL

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

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

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

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

24 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c)

25 inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the

26 terms of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the

27 “Acknowledgment an Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.

28 ///

1 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR

2 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL

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 protection,

5 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil\

6 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever

7 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production

8 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and

9 (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a

10 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work

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

12 protective order submitted to the court.

13 14. MISCELLANEOUS

14 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any

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

16 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this

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

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

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

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

21 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any

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

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

24 specific Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal

25 is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public

26 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.

27 15. FINAL DISPOSITION

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

1 of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all

2 Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this

3 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

17 Order as set forth in Section 6 (DURATION).

18 16. VIOLATION

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

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

21 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

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23 DATED: January 13, 2026 /s/ Karina Godoy

24 Attorneys for Plaintiff

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26 DATED: January 13, 2026 /s/ Sarah Robertson

27 Attorneys for Defendant

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2 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

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DATED: January 28, 2026

5 U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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1 EXHIBIT A

2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

3 I, [full name], of

4 [address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its

5 entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the

6 United States District Court for the Central District of California on

7 [date] in the case of MICHAEL MCCREADY v.

8 RESPONSIBLE PEST CONTROL INC., et al., Case No. 5:24-cv-01396-JGB-SP

9

10 . I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated

11 Protective Order, and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could

12 expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of

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

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

15 or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Stipulated Protective

16 Order.

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

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

19 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after

20 termination of this action. I hereby appoint [full name]

21 of [address and telephone number]

22 As my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any

23 proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.

24 Signature:

25 Printed Name:

26 Date:

27 City and State Where Sworn and Signed:

28