The opinion
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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SOUTHERN DIVISION
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ALEXANDRA GRANT, MIKAYLA ) Case No: 8:25-cv-01793-FWS-JDE
11 BARRE, JESSICA BEAR, KIERA )
) CLASS ACTION
12 GUTIERREZ, BRYN JOHNSON, )
ALEXANDRA LELAND, RUBY ) STIPULATION AND PROPOSED
13 MCCULLOUGH, ALIYAH ) PROTECTIVE ORDER
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14 TREADWELL, and CARISSA WARD, )
individually and on behalf of all others ) Complaint Filed: August 13, 2025
15 similarly situated, ) Trial Date: February 9, 2027
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16 ) Magistrate Judge: Hon. John D. Early
Plaintiffs, )
17 v. ) )
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CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY IRVINE, )
19 )
Defendant. )
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21 Based on the Parties’ Stipulation (Dkt. 69), for good cause shown, the Court
22 finds and orders as follows.
23 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
24 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
25 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure
26 and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be warranted.
27 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following
1 blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection
2 it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or
3 items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles.
4 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
5 Plaintiffs have served discovery seeking information and documents that
6 Defendant contends is protected by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of
7 1974 (“FERPA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g. As explained further below, FERPA and its
8 regulations provide certain privacy rights to educational records. FERPA and its
9 regulations state that prior consent of a student is not required to disclose information
10 when “such information is furnished in compliance with judicial order, or pursuant to
11 any lawfully issued subpoena, upon condition that parents and the students are notified
12 of all such orders or subpoenas in advance of the compliance therewith by the
13 educational institution or agency...” 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(b)(2)(B). See 34 CFR §
14 99.31(a)(9)(i), (ii).
15 Defendant has objected to several discovery requests propounded by Plaintiffs
16 on the ground potentially responsive information includes information Defendant
17 contends is protected by FERPA. Based on Defendant’s review to date, Defendant
18 believes these responsive documents include information protected from disclosure,
19 such as student financial aid, health, and other protected information. They include
20 documents with squad and roster lists for each Division II team, including the women’s
21 tennis and swimming & diving teams, documents showing participation and
22 competition results for each Division II team, competition reports for each Division II
23 sport, Countable Athletically Related Activities (“CARA”) reports for each Division
24 II team, and other documents.
25 The parties agree that FERPA protects disclosure of student’s education records,
26 but this does not include information that would otherwise fall under the definition of
27 “directory information.” Directory information is defined in 34 C.F.R. § 99.3.
1 electronic mail address; photograph; date and place of birth; major field of study; grade
2 level; enrollment status (e.g., undergraduate or graduate, full-time or part-time); dates
3 of attendance; participation in officially recognized activities and sports; weight and
4 height of members of athletic teams; degrees, honors, and awards received; and the
5 most recent educational agency or institution attended.” 34 C.F.R. § 99.3.1 Defendant
6 has limited the information it designates as “directory information” by excluding grade
7 level. The parties agree that documents containing solely containing directory
8 information, in conformance with CUI’s designation of directory information that
9 excludes grade level, are not subject to this stipulation, unless a given student has opted
10 out of directory information disclosures.
11 Before producing any FERPA protected documents, the Defendant will make
12 reasonable efforts to notify the third-party student so that the third-party student may
13 seek protective action. If the Court enters this Order, Defendant’s reasonable efforts
14 are satisfied if they provide advance notice to third-party students at their Concordia
15 University Irvine email address or last known mailing address within fourteen (14)
16 days of the receipt of the discovery request or fourteen (14) days of this Court’s Order,
17 whichever is later. Consistent with its policies, Defendant shall not produce any
18 FERPA protected documents unless (a) forty-five (45) days expires after the third-party
19 student is sent notice and (b) the third-party student has not filed a motion for a
20 protective order. If a third-party student files a motion for a protective order, FERPA
21 protected documents related to that third-party student shall not be produced until the
22 Court resolves that motion.
23 Accordingly, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality
24 of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep
25 confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonably necessary uses of such
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1 Plaintiffs do not concede that the information and documents at issue with
1 material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the
2 end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such
3 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will
4 not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated
5 without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public
6 manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this
7 case.
8 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE
9 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this
10 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under
11 seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the
12 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file
13 material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access
14 to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive
15 motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v.
16 City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen.
17 Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony
18 Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective
19 orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or
20 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be
21 made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The
22 parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL
23 or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEYS EYES ONLY does not— without
24 the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material
25 sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise
26 protectable—constitute good cause.
27 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then
1 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See
2 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item
3 or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal,
4 the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific
5 facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent
6 evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by
7 declaration.
8 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in
9 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If
10 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only
11 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall
12 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety
13 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
14 4. DEFINITIONS
15 4.1: Action: Grant, et al. v. Concordia University Irvine, N.D. Cal. Case No.
16 8:25-CV-01793-FWS-JDE.
17 4.2. Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of
18 information or items under this Order.
19 4.3. “CONFIDENTIAL” and “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEYS
20 ONLY” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is generated,
21 stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal
22 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause
23 Statement. “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEYS ONLY” is further
24 defined in section 4.8 below.
25 4.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
26 support staff).
27 4.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items
1 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEYS EYES
2 ONLY.”
3 4.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the
4 medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
5 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are
6 produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.
7 4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
8 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to
9 serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
10 4.8 HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEYS EYES ONLY: any
11 information that belongs to a Designating Party who believes in good faith that
12 the Disclosure of such information to another Party or non-Party would create
13 a substantial risk of serious financial injury of a Party or Non-Party or other
14 injury to privacy rights of third-parties that cannot be avoided by less restrictive
15 means.
16 4.9 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
17 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
18 counsel.
19 4.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or
20 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
21 4.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to
22 this Action but are retained to represent a party to this Action and have appeared
23 in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that has
24 appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
25 4.12 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
26 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and
27 their support staffs).
1 4.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
2 Discovery Material in this Action.
3 4.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
4 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
5 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or
6 medium) and their employees and subcontractors.
7 4.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
8 designated as 1) “CONFIDENTIAL” or 2) “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL—
9 ATTORNEYS EYES ONLY.”
10 4.16 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
11 from a Producing Party.
12 5. SCOPE
13 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
14 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted
15 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of
16 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties
17 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. Any use of Protected Material
18 at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial judge and other applicable
19 authorities. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
20 6. DURATION
21 Defendant’s obligations under FERPA are not necessarily obviated by a
22 protective order if Plaintiffs seek to use FERPA protected information during a public
23 trial or other public court proceedings. Subject to the Federal Rules of Evidence,
24 materials protected by this Order may be offered in evidence at trial or at any court
25 hearing subject to such protective measures as may be directed by this Court.
26 Compliance with the terms of the Order shall not be deemed an admission that any
27 FERPA protected document is not otherwise protected from disclosure or admissible
1 production of any material for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, the terms of this
2 protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
3 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
4 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each
5 Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order
6 must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under
7 the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only
8 those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written communications that
9 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items or communications for
10 which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this
11 Order.
12 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
13 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
14 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
15 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party
16 to sanctions.
17 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
18 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
19 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
20 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this
21 Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material that
22 qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the
23 material is disclosed or produced.
24 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
25 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
26 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
27 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
1 ONLY” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL—
2 ATTORNEYS EYES ONLY legend”), to each page that contains protected material.
3 If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party
4 also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
5 markings in the margins).
6 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
7 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
8 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before
9 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed
10 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEYS EYES
11 ONLY.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and
12 produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof,
13 qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified
14 documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” or
15 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEYS EYES ONLY legend” to each page
16 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies
17 for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)
18 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
19 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party
20 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the
21 deposition all protected testimony.
22 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and
23 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
24 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
25 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEYS EYES
26 ONLY.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the
27 Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
1 7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
2 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
3 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
4 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
5 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
6 Order.
7 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY and HIGHLY
8 CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEYS EYES ONLY DESIGNATIONS
9 8.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
10 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
11 Scheduling Order.
12 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
13 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
14 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a joint
15 stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
16 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the
17 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 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
24 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed
25 or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action only
26 for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material
27 may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions described
1 in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply
2 with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
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 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items.
7 Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the
8 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
9 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
10 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
11 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
12 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
13 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
14 the 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 form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will
1 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed
2 by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. If requested by the Designating
3 Party, pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal
4 Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be
5 disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
6 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel,
7 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
8 9.3 Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEY EYES ONLY”
9 Information or Items.
10 Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the
11 Designating Party, a Receiving Party’s counsel of record, not a Receiving Party, will
12 ensure that materials with the HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEY EYES
13 ONLY legend” are maintained in a manner consistent with this Order and to provide
14 access only to the persons listed in Paragraph 9.3. The Receiving Party’s counsel of
15 record may disclose any information or item designated “HIGHLY
16 CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEYS EYES” only to:
17 (a) Employees of said counsel of record to whom it is reasonably
18 necessary to disclose the information for this action;
19 (b) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
20 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this action and who have signed the
21 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
22 (c) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
23 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
24 (d) employees of the Designating Party to whom disclosure is reasonably
25 necessary provided: (1) the witness or employee will not be permitted to keep copies
26 of any confidential information, unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or
27 ordered by the court. If requested by the Designating Party, pages of transcribed
1 CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEYS EYES Protected Material may be separately
2 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted
3 under this Stipulated Protective Order;
4 (e) the court and its personnel;
5 (f) court reporters and their staff; and
6 (g) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel,
7 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
8 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
9 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
10 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
11 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
12 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEYS EYES
13 ONLY,” that Party must:
14 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
15 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
16 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
17 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena
18 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of
19 this Stipulated Protective Order; and
20 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
21 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the
22 Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena
23 or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as
24 “CONFIDENTIAL” or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEYS EYES ONLY”
25 before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless
26 the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party
27 shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential
1 encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from
2 another court.
3 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
4 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
5 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
6 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or HIGHLY
7 CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEYS EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by
8 Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief
9 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting
10 a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
11 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
12 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
13 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
14 confidential information, then the Party shall:
15 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
16 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
17 with a Non-Party;
18 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
19 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
20 specific description of the information requested; and
21 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-
22 Party, if requested.
23 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within
24 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
25 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
26 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not
27 produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
1 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense
2 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
3 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
4 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
5 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
6 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
7 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
8 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
9 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
10 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment an
11 Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.
12 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
13 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 stipulated protective order submitted to
23 the court.
24 14. MISCELLANEOUS
25 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of
26 any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
27 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
1 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
2 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
3 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
4 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
5 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil 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. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied
8 by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record
9 unless otherwise instructed by the court.
10 15. FINAL DISPOSITION
11 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6, within 60
12 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
13 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
14 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
15 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
16 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party
17 must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person
18 or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies (by
19 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed
20 and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
21 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
22 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an
23 archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts,
24 legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports,
25 attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials
26 contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute
27 Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 6
1 16. VIOLATION
2 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measur
3 |lincluding, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
5 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
7 || Dated: March 19, 2026 ; a
g HN D. EARLY
United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, ________________________ [print or type full name], declare under penalty
4 of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order
5 that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California
6 in the case of Grant, et al. v. Concordia University Irvine, N.D. Cal. Case No. 8:25-
7 CV-01793-FWS-JDE. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this
8 Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so
9 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I
10 solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that
11 is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict
12 compliance with the provisions of this Order.
13 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
14 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
15 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
16 termination of this action.
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Date: ___________________________
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Address: ____________________________________________________
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____________________________________________________________
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Printed name: ________________________________________________
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Signature: ___________________________________________________
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