The opinion
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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10 KIM MATTHEWS, as an individual ) Case No. 8:24-cv-00497-JVS-JDE
and as Administrator of the Estate of )
11
Hedwig Nosek, Deceased, and on )
12 behalf of all others similarly situated, )
) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
13 Plaintiff, ) ORDER
)
14 v. )
)
15
THE PRUDENTIAL INSURANCE )
16 COMPANY OF AMERICA, and )
DOES 1 through 50, inclusive, )
17 )
Defendants. )
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19 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
20 Discovery in this action involves production of confidential, proprietary or
21 private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from
22 use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be warranted.
23 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the
24 following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does
25 not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that
26 the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited
27 information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable
1 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
2 This action involves proprietary information for which special protection
3 from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this
4 action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information
5 may consist of, among other things, information regarding policyholder
6 information, including medical or health information, confidential business
7 practices, commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights
8 of third parties), and information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or
9 which may be privileged, private, or otherwise protected from disclosure under
10 state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to
11 expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over
12 confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties
13 are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable
14 necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to
15 address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a
16 protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the
17 parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons
18 and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been
19 maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it
20 should not be part of the public record of this case.
21 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE
22 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this
23 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information
24 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed
25 and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court
26 to file material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right
27 of access to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-
1 Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006),
2 Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-
3 Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even
4 stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of
5 good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal
6 justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to
7 file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material
8 as CONFIDENTIAL or BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL does not— without the
9 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material
10 sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise
11 protectable—constitute good cause.
12 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial,
13 then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and
14 the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be
15 protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir.
16 2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed
17 or introduced under seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling
18 reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing
19 order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file documents
20 under seal must be provided by declaration.
21 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in
22 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted.
23 If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting
24 only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document,
25 shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their
26 entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
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1 4. DEFINITIONS
2 4.1 Action: This pending federal lawsuit, Kim Matthews, as an individual
3 and as Administrator of the Estate of Hedwig Nosek, Deceased, and on behalf of all
4 others similarly situated, v. The Prudential Insurance Company of America, and
5 Does 1 through 50, inclusive, Case No. 8:24-cv-00497-JVS-JDE.
6 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
7 designation of information or items under this Order.
8 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL” Information
9 or Items: information (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or
10 tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
11 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement.
12 4.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
13 their support staff).
14 4.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
15 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
16 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL.”
17 4.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
18 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
19 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced
20 or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.
21 4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
22 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
23 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
24 4.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
25 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
26 counsel.
27 4.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or
1 4.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
2 party to this Action but are retained to represent a party to this Action and have
3 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that
4 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
5 4.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
6 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
7 support staffs).
8 4.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
9 Discovery Material in this Action.
10 4.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
11 support services (e.g., third-party administration services, photocopying,
12 videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing,
13 storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and
14 subcontractors.
15 4.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
16 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL.”
17 4.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
18 Material from a Producing Party.
19 5. SCOPE
20 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
21 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
22 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
23 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
24 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
25 However, the protections conferred by the parties pursuant to this Stipulated
26 Protective Order do not cover the following information: (a) any information that is
27 in the public domain at the time of disclosure to a Receiving Party or becomes part
1 publication not involving violation of this Order, including becoming part of the
2 public record through trial or otherwise; and (b) any information known to the
3 Receiving Party prior to the disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the
4 disclosure from a source who obtained the information lawfully and under no
5 obligation of confidentiality to the Designating Party. Further, if a Designating
6 Party treats its own Protected Material in a manner that is inconsistent with its
7 designation as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL,” such as
8 filing documents in the public record or otherwise disclosing publicly, the
9 document and its contents shall lose its status as Protected Material. However, if the
10 Designating Party informs the Receiving Party that the disclosure was inadvertent
11 and takes measures to promptly seal the document or remove it from the public
12 record, the document and its contents shall not lose their status as Protected
13 Material and the “CONFIDENTIAL” or “BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL”
14 designation shall not be waived.
15 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
16 trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of
17 Protected Material at trial.
18 6. DURATION
19 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
20 CONFIDENTIAL or BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this
21 protective order used or introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be
22 presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless
23 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are
24 made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81
25 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery
26 from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of
27 court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond
1 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
2 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for
3 Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for
4 protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific
5 material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must
6 designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or
7 written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material,
8 documents, items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not
9 swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
10 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
11 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
12 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to
13 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the
14 Designating Party to sanctions.
15 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
16 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
17 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
18 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
19 this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material
20 that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before
21 the material is disclosed or produced.
22 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
23 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
24 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
25 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
26 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter
27 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a
1 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings
2 in the margins).
3 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
4 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
5 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
6 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
7 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL” or “BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL.” After the
8 inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the
9 Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for
10 protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the
11 Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that
12 contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for
13 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)
14 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
15 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party
16 designates the relevant testimony as confidential within 30 days of receiving the
17 transcript from the court reporter.
18 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and
19 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on
20 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the
21 legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion
22 or portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the
23 extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
24 7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
25 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
26 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such
27 material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make
1 reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the
2 provisions of this Order.
3 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
4 8.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
5 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
6 Scheduling Order.
7 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
8 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
9 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a
10 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
11 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
12 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
13 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
14 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
15 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
16 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
17 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
18 challenge.
19 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
20 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
21 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
22 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such
23 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
24 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
25 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL
26 DISPOSITION).
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1 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
2 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
3 authorized under this Order.
4 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
5 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
6 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
7 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
8 (a) the Receiving Party and Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of
9 Record in this Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to
10 whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
11 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
12 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
13 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
14 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
15 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
16 (d) the court and its personnel;
17 (e) court reporters and their staff;
18 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, third-party
19 administrators and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably
20 necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and
21 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
22 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or
23 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
24 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in
25 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing
26 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2)
27 they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
1 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
2 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
3 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone
4 except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
5 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel,
6 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
7 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
8 IN OTHER LITIGATION
9 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
10 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
11 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
12 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
13 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
14 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or
15 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
16 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include
17 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
18 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
19 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the
20 Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the
21 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action
22 as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination
23 by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained
24 the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden
25 and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and
26 nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a
27 Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
1 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
2 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
3 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
4 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “BUSINESS
5 CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in connection with
6 this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order.
7 Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from
8 seeking additional protections.
9 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
10 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
11 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
12 confidential information, then the Party shall:
13 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-
14 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a
15 confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
16 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the
17 Stipulated Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s),
18 and a reasonably specific description of the information requested; and
19 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by
20 the Non-Party, if requested.
21 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court
22 within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the
23 Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive
24 to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the
25 Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that
26 is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a
27 determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall
1 bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected
2 Material.
3 (d) This paragraph does not apply to potential putative class member
4 information produced in this Action either pursuant to a discovery request or a court
5 order. The Parties agree, however, that potential putative class member information
6 will be designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL” and
7 otherwise subject to the protections of this order, including that such information
8 may only be used in connection with this Action and only for prosecuting or
9 defending this Action.
10 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
11 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
12 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
13 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
14 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best
15 efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the
16 person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of
17 this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment
18 an Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.
19 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
20 PROTECTED MATERIAL
21 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
22 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
23 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal
24 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify
25 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for
26 production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence
27 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure
1 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated
2 protective order submitted to the court.
3 14. MISCELLANEOUS
4 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
5 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
6 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
7 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
8 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in
9 this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on
10 any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective
11 Order.
12 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
13 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material
14 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
15 specific Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal
16 is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the
17 public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
18 15. FINAL DISPOSITION
19 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6, within 60
20 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must
21 return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As
22 used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts,
23 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
24 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the
25 Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if
26 not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that
27 (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was
1 || copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or
2 || capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel
3 || are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial,
4 || deposition and hearing transcripts, written discovery responses, legal memoranda,
5 || correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product,
6 || and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected
7 || Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material
8 □□ remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 6 (DURATION).
91116. VIOLATION
10 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
11 || including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
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13 |} FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
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15 || DATED: March 24, 2026 oe de
16 □□□ : OG
17 HN D. EARLY
Ig United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND BY
3 PROTECTIVE ORDER
4 The undersigned acknowledges that he/she has read the Protective Order
5 attached hereto, understands the terms thereof, and agrees to be bound by its terms.
6 The undersigned understands that the terms of the Protective Order obligate him/her
7 to use documents designated CONFIDENTIAL or BUSINESS
8 CONFIDENTIAL in accordance with the Order, and not to disclose any such
9 documents or information derived directly therefrom to any other person, firm or
10 concern.
11 The undersigned acknowledges that violation of the Protective Order may
12 result in penalties for contempt of court.
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14 ______________________
15 Printed Name
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17 Date: _____________________ ______________________
Signature
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