The opinion
1 FREEMAN MATHIS & GARY, LLP
Albert K. Alikin (SBN 265119)
2 Albert.Alikin@fmglaw.com
Ellin J. Lee (SBN 197076)
3
Ellin.Lee@fmglaw.com
4 Emily Q. Duong (SBN 358160)
Emily.Duong@fmglaw.com
5 550 South Hope Street, 22nd Floor
Los Angeles, California 90071
6
Tel.: (213) 615-7000
7 Fax: (833) 264-2083
Attorneys for Defendant
8
STATE FARM GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY
9
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
10
11 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA – WESTERN DIVISION
12 Case No. 2:25-CV-01370-CAS-RAO
13 District Judge: Christina A. Snyder
STEVEN DEESE, an Individual,
Magistrate Judge: Rozella A. Oliver
14
Plaintiff,
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
15 ORDER
v.
16
STATE FARM GENERAL FAC Filed: March 6, 2025
17 INSURANCE COMPANY, a Trial Date: August 18, 2026
corporation; and DOES 1-30, inclusive,
18
Defendants.
19
20
21
22
1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
23
As the parties have represented that discovery in this action is likely to involve
24
production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special
25
protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting
26
this litigation may be warranted, this Court enters the following Protective Order. This
27
Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery.
28
1 information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable
2 legal principles. Further, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, this Protective Order does
3 not entitle the parties to file confidential information under seal. Rather, when the
4 parties seek permission from the court to file material under seal, the parties must
5 comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5.
6 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
7 In light of the nature of the claims and allegations in this insurance and bad faith
8 action and the parties’ representations that disclosure and discovery activity in this
9 case will involve the production of confidential, proprietary, or private information or
10 records for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any
11 purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted, and in order to
12 expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over
13 confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are
14 entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable
15 necessary uses of such material in connection with this action, to address their handling
16 of such material at the end of the litigation, and to serve the ends of justice, a protective
17 order for such information is justified in this matter.
18 Specifically, State Farm General Insurance Company (“State Farm”) contends
19 that its internal guidelines and procedures contain proprietary intellectual property that
20 was developed by State Farm for exclusive use by State Farm’s claims personnel.
21 State Farm contends that these materials are unique to State Farm, and are the product
22 of internal analyses, and may contain commercial information developed by State
23 Farm and belonging to State Farm and that it maintains certain of the responsive
24 documents in confidence as the documents are not distributed outside of State Farm
25 and are considered by State Farm to be confidential, trade secret protected and
26 proprietary, the dissemination of these materials could cause competitive harm. Other
27 categories of confidential documents from either party may also be sought in this
28 litigation. Additionally, the parties shall not designate any information/documents as
1 confidential without a good faith belief that such information/documents have been
2 maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and that there is good cause or a
3 compelling reason why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
4 Accordingly, State Farm hereby petitions the Court to enter the following
5 Protective Order.
6 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER
7 SEAL
8 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this
9 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under
10 seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the
11 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file
12 material under seal.
13 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial
14 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions,
15 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and
16 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006); Phillips v. Gen. Motors
17 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002); Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc.,
18 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good
19 cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with
20 proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to
21 Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation
22 of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the
23 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought
24 to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—
25 constitute good cause.
26 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then
27 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief
28 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See
1 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item
2 or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal
3 in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must
4 articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for
5 the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to
6 file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.
7 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its
8 entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If
9 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only
10 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document shall be
11 filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should
12 include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
13
14 2. DEFINITIONS
15 2.1 Action: The instant action: STEVEN DEESE, and Individual, v. STATE
16 FARM GENERAL INSURNACE COMPANY, a corporation; and DOES 1-30,
17 inclusive, Case No. 2:25-CV-01370-CAS-RAO.
18 2.2 Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
19 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 protection
22 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause
23 Statement.
24 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
25 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” or “Confidential Information and/or Trade Secret Information.”
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 an
7 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 party
14 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have
15 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which
16 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 support
23 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
24 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and
25 their employees and subcontractors.
26 2.14 Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
27 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “Confidential Information and/or Trade Secret
28 Information.”
1 2.15 Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
2 from a Producing Party.
3
4 3. SCOPE
5 The protections conferred by this Order cover not only Protected Material (as
6 defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected
7 Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material;
8 and (3) any deposition testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their
9 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material, other than during a court hearing or at
10 trial.
11 Any use of Protected Material during a court hearing or at trial shall be governed
12 by the orders of the presiding judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected
13 Material during a court hearing or at trial.
14
15 4. DURATION
16 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations
17 imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise
18 in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be
19 the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with or without
20 prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all
21 appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits
22 for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.
23 All materials provided by the Parties pursuant to this Protective Order that are
24 designated “CONFIDENTIAL” or “Confidential Information and/or Trade Secret
25 Information.” will be used solely and exclusively for the preparation for and conduct
26 of this litigation, and will not, unless directed by an appropriate Court in an enforceable
27 order, be made available, disclosed, or disseminated in any manner for any business
28 or other purpose whatsoever. Individuals authorized to review “CONFIDENTIAL” or
1 “Confidential Information and/or Trade Secret Information” pursuant to this Protective
2 Order will hold Confidential Information and/or Trade Secret Information in
3 confidence and will not divulge the “CONFIDENTIAL” or “Confidential Information
4 and/or Trade Secret Information,” either verbally or in writing, to any person or entity
5 not otherwise directed to do so by an enforceable Court order. For purposes of this
6 provision, an enforceable Court order does not include a subpoena issued by a private
7 attorney and challenged by any Party or third party.
8
9 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
10 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
11 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this
12 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies
13 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection
14 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that
15 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for
16 which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this
17 Order.
18 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
19 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose
20 (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
21 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party
22 to sanctions.
23 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
24 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
25 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
26 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
27 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of Section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
28 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
1 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
2 produced.
3 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
4 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
5 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions), that the Producing Party affix at
6 a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “Confidential Information and/or
7 Trade Secret Information.” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
8 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
9 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
10 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
11 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
12 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
13 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before
14 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed
15 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “Confidential Information and/or Trade Secret Information.”
16 After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced,
17 the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for
18 protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the
19 Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend to each page that contains
20 Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for
21 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g.,
22 by making appropriate markings in the margins).
23 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the
24 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all
25 protected testimony.
26 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for
27 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
28 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
1 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “Confidential Information and/or Trade Secret Information.”
2 If only a portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing
3 Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
4 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
5 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
6 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon
7 timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts
8 to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
9
10 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
11 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
12 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling
13 Order.
14 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
15 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
16 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
17 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
18 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
19 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived
20 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the
21 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing
22 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
23
24 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
25 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
26 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
27 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
28 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
1 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving
2 Party must comply with the provisions of Section 13 below.
3 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
4 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
5 authorized under this Order.
6 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
7 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
8 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL”
9 or “Confidential Information and/or Trade Secret Information” only to:
10 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well
11 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary
12 to disclose the information for this Action;
13 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
14 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
15 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
16 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
17 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
18 (d) the court and its personnel;
19 (e) court reporters and their staff;
20 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
21 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
22 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
23 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
24 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
25 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the
26 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
27 requests that the witness sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
28 form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will not be permitted to keep any
1 confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
2 Bound” form attached as Exhibit A, unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party
3 or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to
4 depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately bound by the court
5 reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Protective
6 Order; and
7 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
8 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
9 7.3 Inappropriate Disclosures of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items:
10 Confidential Information produced by the Designating Party will not be shared by the
11 Receiving Party with any person or entity not defined in 7.2 (a) through (i) noted
12 above. With respect to disclosures pursuant to 7.2(c) and 7.2(f), at least ten days before
13 the disclosure, the Receiving Party will provide written notice to the Designating Party
14 of the planned disclosure and a copy of Exhibit A executed by the person or entity
15 identified in 7.2(c) or 7.2(f). The parties will meet and confer regarding any objection
16 by the Designating Party and, if they are unable to resolve the dispute, seek appropriate
17 relief from the Court. In the event either party seeks relief from the Court within 10
18 days of notice of the planned disclosure, no disclosure will occur except pursuant to
19 the Court’s order on the objection. In addition, upon demand of the Designating Party,
20 Counsel for the Receiving Party must execute a certification under penalty of perjury
21 advising (1) that the Receiving Party has taken appropriate steps to follow the
22 provisions of the Stipulated Protective Order and (2) that the Receiving Party has
23 undertaken to ensure that all signatories of Exhibit A to the Protective Order are in full
24 compliance with the obligations hereunder. If Counsel for the Receiving Party is
25 unable or unwilling to make such certification, counsel for the Designating Party can
26 seek appropriate relief from the Court including but not limited to the right to withhold
27 additional Confidential Information or Protected Material from production and any
28 other relief as this Court shall deem to be appropriate.
1 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
2 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
3 If a Party is served with a subpoena issued in other litigation that compels
4 disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
5 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “Confidential Information and/or Trade Secret Information,”
6 that Party must:
7 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
8 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
9 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena to issue in
10 the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena is subject
11 to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Protective
12 Order; and
13 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
14 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
15 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
16 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action
17 as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “Confidential Information and/or Trade Secret Information”
18 before a determination by the court from which the subpoena issued. The Designating
19 Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its
20 confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
21 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful
22 directive from another court.
23
24 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
25 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
26 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
27 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “Confidential
28 Information and/or Trade Secret Information”. Such information produced by Non-
1 Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief
2 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting
3 a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
4 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
5 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
6 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
7 confidential information, then the Party shall:
8 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
9 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
10 with a Non-Party;
11 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Protective Order
12 in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description
13 of the information requested; and
14 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-
15 Party, if requested.
16 (c) If a Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14
17 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may
18 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request.
19 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce
20 any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality
21 agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court
22 order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
23 protection in this court of its Protected Material.
24
25 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
26 All confidential information must be held in confidence by those inspecting or
27 receiving it and must be used only for purposes of this action. Counsel for each Party
28 and each person receiving confidential information must take reasonable precautions
1 to prevent the unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of such information. If a
2 Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected
3 Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Protective
4 Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating
5 Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized
6 copies of the Protected Material and to prevent further disclosure by the Party and the
7 person(s) receiving the unauthorized disclosure, (c) inform the person or persons to
8 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d)
9 request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
10 Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
11
12 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
13 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL
14 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
15 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
16 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
17 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
18 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
19 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
20 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
21 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
22 parties may incorporate their agreement in the protective order submitted to the court.
23
24 12. MISCELLANEOUS
25 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
26 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
27 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
28 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
1 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
2 Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use
3 in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
4 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
5 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
6 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
7 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is
8 denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public
9 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
10
11 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
12 (a) After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section 4, within 30
13 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must destroy
14 all Protected Material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes
15 all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or
16 capturing any of the Protected Material. The Receiving Party must submit a written
17 certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the
18 Designating Party) by the 30 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where
19 appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms
20 that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations,
21 summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material,
22 and (3) affirms that the Receiving Party has obtained a certification, which can be
23 produced on demand from the Designating Party, from each of the parties that signed
24 Exhibit A to this Protective Order signifying that each Exhibit A signatory has
25 identified (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was shared
26 and has been destroyed and affirms that each Exhibit A signatory has not retained
27 any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or
28 capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are
1 entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and
2 hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits,
3 expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if
4 such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
5 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
6 Section 4 (Duration).
7 (b) Nothing in this Protective Order disallows State Farm from: (a)
8 complying with any state or federal law or regulation, including reporting of
9 information to a regulator or government entity as permitted and/or required by
10 applicable state and federal law; (b) adding information discovered that is relevant to
11 a claim to the relevant electronic record in its electronic claim system; (c) disclosing
12 evidence of a crime or fraud; (d) retaining information necessary to meet mandated
13 retention requirement; or (e) retaining copies of Confidential Materials that may exist
14 on back-up media or other computer or archive storage not regularly accessed by
15 business users in the ordinary course, provided that, should a copy of the Confidential
16 Materials be accessed, it will be used for a purpose consistent with this Order.
17 (c) Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate
18 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary
19 sanctions, including but not limited to counsel’s failure to comply with their
20 obligations thereunder – both during the pendency of this matter and after the
21 resolution of this matter.
22
23 14. VIOLATION
24 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including,
25 without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
26
27
28
1}IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
2
DATED: February 6, 2026
3
4 | S/Jason Bendel
Jason Bendel
5 | Bendel Law Group
6
Attorney for Plaintiff
7 | Steven Deese
8
9 | DATED: February 6, 2026
10
/s/Ellin J. Lee
11} Albert K. Alikin
12 | Ellin J. Lee
Emily Duong
13
14 | Attorneys for Defendant
State Farm General Insurance Company
15
16
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
17
18
DATED: 2/6/2026
19
20
21 Rael in Qa, OC.
97 | HON. ROZELLA A. OLIVER
33 United States Magistrate Judge
24
25
26
27
28
17
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 that
6 I have read in its entirety and understand the Protective Order that was issued by the
7 United States District Court for the Central District of California on _________ in the
8 case of STEVEN DEESE, and Individual v. STATE FARM GENERAL INSURNACE
9 COMPANY, a corporation; and DOES 1-30, inclusive, Case No. 2:25-CV-01370-
10 CAS-RAO. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Protective
11 Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to
12 sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not
13 disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Protective Order
14 to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
15 At the conclusion of this matter, I agree to provide a certification signifying that each
16 Exhibit A signatory has identified (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected
17 Material that was shared and has been destroyed and that I have not retained any
18 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or
19 capturing any of the Protected Material.
20 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
21 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
22 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this
23 action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of
24 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and
25 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with
26 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Protective Order.
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28 Date: ______________________________________
1 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
2 Printed name: _______________________________
3 Signature: __________________________________
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