The opinion
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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10 JEREMIAH SCHOLES,
Case No. 2:25-cv-08914-MCS
11 Plaintiff, (RAOx)
12 v.
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
13 VERADIGM LLC, ORDER1
14 Defendant.
15
16
17 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
18 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
19 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure
20 and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted.
21 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the
22 following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does
23 not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that
24 the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited
25 information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable
26 legal principles.
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1 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
2 This Action is likely to involve confidential, proprietary, or sensitive materials
3 and valuable commercial, operational, and financial information for which special
4 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution
5 of this action is warranted. Such confidential, proprietary, or sensitive materials and
6 information consists of, among other things, confidential business or financial
7 information, information regarding confidential business transactions and practices,
8 information from employee personnel files (including employees’ financial
9 information) and information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which
10 may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal
11 statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law.
12 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt
13 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately
14 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the
15 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and
16 in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve
17 the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter.
18 It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for
19 tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it
20 has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause
21 why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
22 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in
23 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If
24 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only
25 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document shall
26 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety
27 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
1 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL
2 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this
3 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information
4 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and
5 the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file
6 material under seal.
7 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial
8 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions,
9 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and
10 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006); Phillips v. Gen. Motors
11 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002); Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc.,
12 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good
13 cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with
14 proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to
15 Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation
16 of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the
17 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material
18 sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise
19 protectable—constitute good cause.
20 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then
21 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief
22 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See
23 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each
24 item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under
25 seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must
26 articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for
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1 the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to
2 file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.
3 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in
4 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If
5 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only
6 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document shall
7 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety
8 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
9 4. DEFINITIONS
10 4.1 Action: This pending federal lawsuit, Scholes v. Veradigm LLC, No.
11 2:25-cv-08914.
12 4.2 Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
13 of information or items under this Order.
14 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information (regardless of
15 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection
16 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good
17 Cause Statement.
18 4.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
19 support staff).
20 4.5 Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates information or
21 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
22 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
23 4.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless
24 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
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1 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things) that are produced or
2 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
3 4.7 Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
4 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
5 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
6 4.8 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”
7 Information or Items: Extremely sensitive “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items,
8 disclosure of which to another Party or Non-Party would create a substantial risk of
9 serious harm that could not be avoided by less restrictive means.
10 4.9 In-House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a party to this
11 Action. In-House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other
12 outside counsel.
13 4.10 Non-Party: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or
14 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
15 4.11 Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a party
16 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have
17 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that
18 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
19 4.12 Party: Any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
20 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
21 support staffs).
22 4.13 Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
23 Discovery Material in this Action.
24 4.14 Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation support
25 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
26
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1 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
2 and their employees and subcontractors.
3 4.15 Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
4 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’
5 EYES ONLY.”
6 4.16 Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
7 from a Producing Party.
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9 5. SCOPE
10 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
11 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted
12 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of
13 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties
14 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
15 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
16 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
17
18 6. DURATION
19 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
20 CONFIDENTIAL, HIGHLY 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 court
27 record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the
1 commencement of the trial.
2 Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, even after final disposition of this
3 litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by this Order shall remain in effect
4 unless and until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order
5 otherwise directs (including through the public introduction of information at trial).
6 Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (a) dismissal of all claims and
7 defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (b) final judgment herein after
8 the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews
9 of this Action, including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for
10 extension of time pursuant to applicable law.
11
12 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
13 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
14 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this
15 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies
16 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection
17 only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written communications that
18 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items or communications
19 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of
20 this Order.
21 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
22 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
23 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
24 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party
25 to sanctions.
26 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
27 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
1 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
2 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
3 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 7.2(a) below), or as otherwise
4 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
5 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
6 produced.
7 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
8 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
9 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
10 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
11 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES
12 ONLY” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains
13 protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection,
14 the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by
15 making appropriate markings in the margins).
16 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
17 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
18 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
19 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
20 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents
21 it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents,
22 or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing
23 the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL
24 legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material
25 on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the
26 protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). For
27 documents produced electronically in a format that includes separate pagination, to
1 the extent practicable, the Designating Party must affix the legend
2 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES
3 ONLY” to each electronic page of such documents that contains Protected Material.
4 For documents produced in a format which does not lend itself to separate pagination,
5 confidentiality shall be designated in a reasonable manner.
6 (b) for testimony given in depositions or in other pretrial proceedings
7 that the Designating Party identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the
8 record, before the close of deposition, hearing, or other proceeding, all protected
9 testimony. When it is impractical to identify separately each portion of testimony that
10 is entitled to protection and it appears that different portions of the testimony may
11 qualify for protection, the Designating Party may invoke on the record (before the
12 deposition, hearing, or other proceeding is concluded) a right to have up to 30 days
13 following receipt of the official transcript by the Designating Party to identify the
14 specific portions of the testimony as to which protection is sought. Only those
15 portions of the testimony that are appropriately designated for protection within the
16 30 days shall be covered by the provisions of this Protective Order. Alternatively, a
17 Designating Party may specify, at the deposition or hearing or up to 30 days following
18 receipt of the official deposition transcript by the Designating Party if that period is
19 properly invoked, that the entire transcript shall be treated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or
20 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
21 Parties shall give the other Parties notice if they reasonably expect a deposition,
22 hearing or other proceeding to include Protected Material so that the other parties can
23 ensure that only authorized individuals who have signed the “Acknowledgment and
24 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A) are present at those proceedings. Parties shall
25 act with caution at court hearings and conferences so as not to disclose Protected
26 Material publicly without providing an opportunity for the Designating Party to be
27 heard concerning, as appropriate, sealing the courtroom, sealing the transcript, or
1 other relief. For court hearings and conferences, a Party shall provide at least 48
2 hours’ notice to the Designating Party before discussing, displaying, submitting as
3 evidence, or otherwise entering into the record any Protected Material produced by
4 the Designating Party. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, this advance-notice
5 requirement shall not apply in circumstances where the Party could not have
6 reasonably anticipated so using Protected Material at the court hearing or conference.
7 The Designating Party may move to seal the Protected Material or for other relief
8 either in writing or orally, either before or during the court hearing or conference. The
9 use of a document as an exhibit at a deposition shall not in any way affect its
10 designation as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –
11 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
12 Transcripts containing Protected Material shall have an obvious legend on
13 the title page that the transcript contains Protected Material, and the title page shall be
14 followed by a list of all pages (including line numbers as appropriate) that have been
15 designated as Protected Material. The Designating Party shall inform the court
16 reporter of these requirements. Any transcript that is prepared before the expiration
17 of a 30-day period for designation shall be treated during that period as if it had been
18 designated or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” in its
19 entirety unless otherwise agreed. After the expiration of that period, the transcript
20 shall be treated only as actually designated.
21 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary
22 and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place
23 on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the
24 legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES
25 ONLY.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the
26 Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
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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 the
3 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 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY 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 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
15 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
16 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
17 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived
18 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the
19 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing
20 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
21
22 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
23 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
24 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
25 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such
26 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
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1 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving
2 Party must comply 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. 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
9 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
10 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action,
11 as 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 In-House
14 Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this
15 Action;
16 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
17 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
18 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
19 (d) the court and its personnel;
20 (e) court reporters and their staff;
21 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
22 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and
23 who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
24 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information
25 or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
26 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in
27 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing
1 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they
2 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
3 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
4 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
5 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be
6 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as
7 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
8 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
9 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
10 9.3 Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES
11 ONLY” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in
12 writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or
13 item designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” only
14 to:
15 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this action, as
16 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
17 necessary to disclose the information for this litigation and who have signed the
18 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
19 The Parties agree that “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”
20 information or items shall not be disclosed to the Plaintiffs in this Action;
21 (b) an Expert of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably
22 necessary for this litigation and who has signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement
23 to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
24 (c) the Receiving Party’s In-House Counsel and the paralegal,
25 clerical, secretarial, or e-Discovery employees who work for In-House Counsel to
26 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation;
27 (d) the Court and its personnel;
1 (e) court reporters and their staff, professional jury or trial
2 consultants, and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for
3 this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
4 Bound” (Exhibit A); and
5 (f) the author or recipient of a document containing the information
6 or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.
7 9.4 Custody of Executed Copies of “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
8 Bound” (Exhibit A) and Providing Copies to other Party. As to each executed copy
9 of an “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A) required to be
10 procured by a Party under this Protective Order, the procuring party shall retain the
11 original executed copy and shall produce a copy to the other party upon Court order.
12 All such executed copies of Exhibit A shall themselves be treated as
13 CONFIDENTIAL information. Notwithstanding any contrary language in this
14 Protective Order with respect to retaining CONFIDENTIAL information following
15 final disposition of this Action, each party and its Outside Counsel of Record may
16 retain executed copies of Exhibit A indefinitely.
17
18 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN
19 OTHER LITIGATION
20 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
21 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
22 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES
23 ONLY,” that Party must:
24 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such
25 notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
26 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or
27 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
1 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include
2 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
3 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
4 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
5 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
6 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action
7 as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES
8 ONLY” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued,
9 unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating
10 Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its
11 confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
12 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful
13 directive from another court. The provisions set forth herein are not intended to, and
14 do not, restrict in any way the procedures set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
15 45(d)(3) or (f).
16
17 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
18 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
19 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by
20 a Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
21 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by
22 Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief
23 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as
24 prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
25 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request,
26 to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
27
1 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
2 confidential information, then the Party shall:
3 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the
4 Non-Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
5 agreement with a Non-Party;
6 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the
7 Stipulated Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a
8 reasonably specific description of the information requested; and
9 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by
10 the Non-Party, if requested.
11 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court
12 within 30 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving
13 Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the
14 discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving
15 Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to
16 the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
17 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense
18 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
19
20 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
21 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
22 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
23 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
24 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
25 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
26 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
27 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
1 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
2
3 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
4 PROTECTED MATERIAL
5 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
6 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
7 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
8 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
9 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
10 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), in the event
11 that privileged or protected material is inadvertently produced or disclosed, such
12 inadvertent production or disclosure shall in no way prejudice or otherwise constitute
13 a waiver of, or estoppel as to, any claim of attorney-client privilege, attorney work
14 product protection, or other applicable protection in this case or any other federal or
15 state proceeding, provided that the Producing Party shall notify the Receiving Party
16 in writing of such protection or privilege promptly after the Producing Party discovers
17 such materials have been inadvertently produced.
18
19 14. MISCELLANEOUS
20 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
21 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
22 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
23 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
24 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
25
26
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1 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
2 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
3 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
4 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
5 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
6 Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal
7 is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public
8 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
9
10 15. FINAL DISPOSITION
11 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, 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
17 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same
18 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies
19 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or
20 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,
21 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any
22 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to
23 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
24 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
25 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
26 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
27 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
1 Section 6 (DURATION).
2
3 16. VIOLATION
4 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
5 including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
6
7 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
8
9 DATED April 1, 2026
10
11 /s/ Colin Hardacre
Colin Hardacre
12 The Law Offices of Colin A. Hardacre
23586 Calabasas Road, Suite 200
13 Calabasas, CA 91302
chardacre@cahlegal.com
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Attorneys for Plaintiff
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17 DATED: April 1, 2026
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19 /s/ Ruth Zadikany
Ruth Zadikany
20 C. Mitchell Hendy
MAYER BROWN LLP
21 333 South Grand Ave., 47th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90071
22 rzadikany@mayerbrown.com
mhendy@mayerbrown.com
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Attorneys for Defendant Veradigm LLC
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1 FILER'S ATTESTATION
2 Pursuant to Local Rule 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(1), the filer attests that all other
3 || signatories to this document concur in the content of, and have authorized, this
4 || filing.
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/s/ Ruth Zadikany
6 Ruth Zadikany
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4 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
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3 DATED: April 1, 2026
M Repedin a. O2~
|| HON. ROZELLA A.OLIVER
6 United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
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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 Stipulated Protective Order that was
7 issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on
8 ________ in the case of Scholes v. Veradigm LLC, No. 2:25-cv-8914-MCS(RAOx).
9 I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated
10 Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could
11 expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise
12 that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this
13 Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with
14 the provisions of this Order.
15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
16 for the Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated
17 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this
18 action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of
19 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and
20 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with
21 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective
22 Order.
23 Date: ______________________________________
24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
25 Printed name: _______________________________
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27 Signature: __________________________________