The opinion
1 MATTHEW TREYBIG (SBN 336797)
mtreybig@quillarrowlaw.com
2 e-service@quillarrowlaw.com
QUILL & ARROW, LLP
3 10880 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1600
Los Angeles, CA 90024
4 Tel.: (310) 933-4271
Fax: (310) 889-0645
5
Attorneys for Plaintiff
6 JASON GORDON MARSH
7 AMIR NASSIHI (SBN 235936)
anassihi@shb.com
8 SHOOK, HARDY & BACON L.L.P.
555 Mission Street, Suite 2300
9 San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel: (415) 544-1900 | Fax: (415) 391-0281
10
BRADY R. O’BRYAN (SBN 335729)
11 bobryan@shb.com
KEITH W. STAFFORD (SBN 357631)
12 kwstafford@shb.com
SHOOK, HARDY & BACON L.L.P.
13 Jamboree Center
5 Park Plaza, Suite 1600
14 Irvine, CA 92614
Tel: (949) 475-1500 | Fax: (949) 475-0016
15
Attorneys for Defendant
16 FORD MOTOR COMPANY
17
18 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
19 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
20
JASON GORDON MARSH, an individual,
21 Case No. 3:25-cv-10944-LJC
Plaintiff,
22 MODEL STIPULATED
v. PROTECTIVE ORDER
23 (for standard litigation)
FORD MOTOR COMPANY, a Delaware
24 Corporation, and DOES 1 through 10,
inclusive,
25
Defendants.
26
27
1 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
2 Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are likely to involve production of
3 confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure
4 and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly,
5 the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the court to enter the following Stipulated Protective
6 Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures
7 or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends
8 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the
9 applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that
10 this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal;
11 Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be
12 applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
13 2. DEFINITIONS
14 2.1 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of
15 information or items under this Order.
16 2.2 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is
17 generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule of
18 Civil Procedure 26(c).
19 2.3 Counsel (without qualifier): Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well
20 as their support staff).
21 2.4 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items that it
22 produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
23 2.5 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the medium
24 or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things, testimony,
25 transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to
26 discovery in this matter.
27 2.6 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter pertinent to the
1 attorney consultant in this action.
2 2.7 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this action. House Counsel
3 does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel.
4 2.8 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal
5 entity not named as a Party to this action.
6 2.9 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this action
7 but are retained to represent or advise a party to this action and have appeared in this action on
8 behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party.
9 2.10 Party: any party to this action, including all of its officers, directors, employees,
10 consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support staffs).
11 2.11 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery
12 Material in this action.
13 2.12 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support services (e.g.,
14 photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing,
15 storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors.
16 2.13 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as
17 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
18 2.14 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from a
19 Producing Party.
20 3. SCOPE
21 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected Material (as
22 defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all
23 copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony,
24 conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material,
25 other than during a court hearing or trial. However, the protections conferred by this Stipulation and
26 Order do not cover the following information: (a) any information that is in the public domain at the
27 time of disclosure to a Receiving Party or becomes part of the public domain after its disclosure to a
1 part of the public record through trial or otherwise; and (b) any information known to the Receiving
2 Party prior to the disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the disclosure from a source
3 who obtained the information lawfully and under no obligation of confidentiality to the Designating
4 Party. Any use of Protected Material at a court hearing or at trial shall be governed by a separate
5 agreement or order.
6 4. DURATION
7 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by this
8 Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order
9 otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and
10 defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion
11 and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this action, including the
12 time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.
13 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
14 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each Party or
15 Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order must take care to
16 limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The
17 Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or
18 oral or written communications that qualify – so that other portions of the material, documents,
19 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within
20 the ambit of this Order.
21 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are shown
22 to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily
23 encumber or retard the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on
24 other parties) expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
25 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it designated for
26 protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties
27 that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.
1 e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or
2 Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated
3 before the material is disclosed or produced.
4 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
5 (a) For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but
6 excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party
7 affix the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains protected material. If only a portion
8 or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
9 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
10 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or materials available for inspection need not
11 designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which material it would
12 like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material made
13 available for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has
14 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which
15 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the
16 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend to each page
17 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for
18 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
19 appropriate markings in the margins).
20 (b)for testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings, that the
21 Designating Party identify on the record, before the close of the deposition, hearing, or other
22 proceeding, all protected testimony.
23 (c)for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any other
24 tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or
25 containers in which the information or item is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a
26 portion or portions of the information or item warrant protection, the Producing Party, to the extent
27 practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
1 designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s
2 right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a
3 designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in
4 accordance with the provisions of this Order.
5 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
6 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of
7 confidentiality at any time. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s confidentiality
8 designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial unfairness, unnecessary economic burdens,
9 or a significant disruption or delay of the litigation, a Party does not waive its right to challenge a
10 confidentiality designation by electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the original
11 designation is disclosed.
12 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process
13 by providing written notice of each designation it is challenging and describing the basis for each
14 challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to whether a challenge has been made, the written notice must
15 recite that the challenge to confidentiality is being made in accordance with this specific paragraph
16 of the Protective Order. The parties shall attempt to resolve each challenge in good faith and must
17 begin the process by conferring directly (in voice to voice dialogue; other forms of communication
18 are not sufficient) within 14 days of the date of service of notice. In conferring, the Challenging
19 Party must explain the basis for its belief that the confidentiality designation was not proper and
20 must give the Designating Party an opportunity to review the designated material, to reconsider the
21 circumstances, and, if no change in designation is offered, to explain the basis for the chosen
22 designation. A Challenging Party may proceed to the next stage of the challenge process only if it
23 has engaged in this meet and confer process first or establishes that the Designating Party is
24 unwilling to participate in the meet and confer process in a timely manner.
25 6.3 Judicial Intervention. If the Parties cannot resolve a challenge without court
26 intervention, the Designating Party shall file and serve a motion to retain confidentiality under Civil
27 Local Rule 7 (and in compliance with Civil Local Rule 79-5, if applicable) within 21 days of the
1 will not resolve their dispute, whichever is earlier. Each such motion must be accompanied by a
2 competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the meet and confer
3 requirements imposed in the preceding paragraph. Failure by the Designating Party to make such a
4 motion including the required declaration within 21 days (or 14 days, if applicable) shall
5 automatically waive the confidentiality designation for each challenged designation. In addition, the
6 Challenging Party may file a motion challenging a confidentiality designation at any time if there is
7 good cause for doing so, including a challenge to the designation of a deposition transcript or any
8 portions thereof. Any motion brought pursuant to this provision must be accompanied by a
9 competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the meet and confer
10 requirements imposed by the preceding paragraph.
11 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating
12 Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose
13 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions.
14 Unless the Designating Party has waived the confidentiality designation by failing to file a motion to
15 retain confidentiality as described above, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question
16 the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the court
17 rules on the challenge.
18 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
19 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or
20 produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this case only for prosecuting,
21 defending, or attempting to settle this litigation. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to
22 the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When the litigation has
23 been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
24 DISPOSITION).
25 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and in a
26 secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under this Order.
27 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by
1 information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
2 (a)the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this action, as well as employees
3 of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for
4 this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is
5 attached hereto as Exhibit A. The Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record shall maintain a list
6 of those non-attorney employees to whom Protected Material is provided or disclosed;
7 (b)the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the Receiving
8 Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the
9 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A). A list shall be maintained of all non-
10 attorneys to whom Protected Material is provided or disclosed;
11 (c)Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is
12 reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement
13 to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), provided that no disclosure shall be made to any expert or non-attorney
14 consultant who is employed by a competitor of Ford;
15 (d)the court and its personnel;
16 (e)court reporters and their staff, professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
17 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have
18 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), and mock jurors will not be
19 permitted to keep any confidential information;
20 (f)during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is reasonably
21 necessary and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A),
22 unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
23 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material must be separately
24 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this
25 Stipulated Protective Order.
26 (g)the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or
27 other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.
1 Protected Material on any website or internet accessible document repository, excepting a vendor
2 hosted review platform for the sole purpose of reviewing the information for the subject case and not
3 for any other purpose, and shall not under any circumstance sell, offer for sale, advertise, or
4 publicize either the Protected Material and the confidential information contained therein or the fact
5 that such persons obtained the producing party’s Protected Material and confidential information.
6 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER
7 LITIGATION
8 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels
9 disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party
10 must:
11 (a)promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall include a
12 copy of the subpoena or court order;
13 (b)promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue in the
14 other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this
15 Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
16 (c)cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the
17 Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
18 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena
19 or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL”
20 before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has
21 obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and
22 expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material – and nothing in these
23 provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this action to
24 disobey a lawful directive from another court.
25 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED IN THIS
26 LITIGATION
27 (a)The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in this
1 connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order.
2 Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional
3 protections.
4 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce a Non-
5 Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the
6 Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then the Party shall:
7 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that some or all
8 of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
9 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective Order in
10 this litigation, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the
11 information requested; and
12 (3)make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party.
13 (c) If the Non-Party fails to object or seek a protective order from this court within 14 30
14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce the
15 Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely
16 seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or
17 control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by
18 the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of
19 seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
20 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
21 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected
22 Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order,
23 the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized
24 disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c)
25 inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this
26 Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to
27 Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
1 MATERIAL
2 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently produced
3 material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties
4 are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to
5 modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production
6 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
7 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by
8 the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement
9 in the stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
10 12. MISCELLANEOUS
11 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek
12 its modification by the court in the future.
13 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective Order
14 no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any
15 information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no
16 Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by
17 this Protective Order.
18 12.3 Filing Protected Material. Without written permission from the Designating Party or a
19 court order secured after appropriate notice to all interested persons, a Party may not file in the
20 public record in this action any Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected
21 Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed under seal
22 pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. Pursuant
23 to Civil Local Rule 79-5, a sealing order will issue only upon a request establishing that the
24 Protected Material at issue is privileged, protectable as a trade secret, or otherwise entitled to
25 protection under the law. If a Receiving Party's request to file Protected Material under seal pursuant
26 to Civil Local Rule 79-5 is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in
27 the public record pursuant to Civil Local Rule 79-5 unless otherwise instructed by the court.
1 Within 60 days after the final disposition of this action, as defined in paragraph 4, each
2 Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material.
3 As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
4 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether
5 the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written
6 certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party)
7 by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material
8 that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,
9 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
10 Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all
11 pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda,
12 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant
13 and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies
14 that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
15 Section 4 (DURATION).
16 14. LEGAL FORCE AND EFFECT
17 This Order shall be binding upon the parties hereto, upon their attorneys, and upon
18 the parties’ and their attorneys’ successors, executors, personal representatives, administrators, heirs,
19 legal representatives, assigns, and employees.
20 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
21
22 QUILL & ARROW, L.L.P.
23
24 DATED: April 17, 2026 ___/s/__Matthew Treybig____
25 MATTHEW TREYBIG
Attorney for Plaintiff
26 JASON GORDON MARSH
27
SHOOK, HARDY & BACON, L.L.P.
1
2 || DATED: April 17, 2026 /s/ Keith Stafford
3 AMIR NASSIBI
BRADY R. O’BRYAN
4 KEITH W. STAFFORD
Attorney for Defendant
5 FORD MOTOR COMPANY
6
7 || PURSUANT TO STIPULATION, IT IS SO ORDERED.
? || DATED: April 30, 2026
10 Hono fil Lisa Cisneros
11 United’States District/Magistrate Judge
12
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of _________________ [print or
4 type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the
5 Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Northern
6 District of California on [date] in the case of JASON GORDON MARSH v. FORD MOTOR
7 COMPANY, CASE NO. 3:25-cv-10944-LJC. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the
8 terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply
9 could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I
10 will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective
11 Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
12 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Northern
13 District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even
14 if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action.
15 I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of
16 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and telephone number] as
17 my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any proceedings related
18 to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
19
20 Date: ______________________________________
21 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
22
23 Printed name: _______________________________
24
25 Signature: __________________________________
26
27
1
MATTHEW TREYBIG (SBN 336797)
2 mtreybig@quillarrowlaw.com
e-service@quillarrowlaw.com
3 QUILL & ARROW, LLP
10880 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1600
4 Los Angeles, CA 90024
Tel.: (310) 933-4271
5 Fax: (310) 889-0645
6 Attorneys for Plaintiff
JASON GORDON MARSH
7
AMIR NASSIHI (SBN 235936)
8 anassihi@shb.com
SHOOK, HARDY & BACON L.L.P.
9 555 Mission Street, Suite 2300
San Francisco, CA 94105
10 Tel: (415) 544-1900 | Fax: (415) 391-0281
11 BRADY R. O’BRYAN (SBN 335729)
bobryan@shb.com
12 KEITH W. STAFFORD (SBN 357631)
kwstafford@shb.com
13 SHOOK, HARDY & BACON L.L.P.
Jamboree Center
14 5 Park Plaza, Suite 1600
Irvine, CA 92614
15 Tel: (949) 475-1500 | Fax: (949) 475-0016
16 Attorneys for Defendant
FORD MOTOR COMPANY
17
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
18
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
19
20 JASON GORDON MARSH, an individual, Assigned to the Hon. Judge Lisa J. Cisneros
21 Plaintiff, Case No. 3:25-cv-10944-LJC
22 vs. DECLARATION OF KEITH W.
STAFFORD IN SUPPORT OF REVISED
23 FORD MOTOR COMPANY, a Delaware PROPOSED STIPULATED
Corporation, and DOES 1 through 10, PROTECTIVE ORDER
24 inclusive,
25 Defendants.
26
27
28
1
2 DECLARATION
3 I, Keith W. Stafford, declare and state as follows:
4 1. I am an attorney licensed to practice before all of the courts of the State of California,
5 and am an associate of the law firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P., and counsel of record for
6 Defendant Ford Motor Company in the above-titled action. This declaration is based upon my
7 personal knowledge, except as to those matters stated on information and belief and, as to those
8 matters, I believe them to be true. If called upon as a witness, I could and would competently testify
9 as to the facts set forth therein.
10 2. Counsel for Plaintiff Jason Gordon Marsh (“Plaintiff”) and Defendant Ford Motor
11 Company (“Ford”) (collectively, “the Parties”) met and conferred regarding the necessity for entry
12 of a Protective Order in this action. The Parties agreed to several necessary modifications to the
13 Northern District of California’s Model Order. The Parties submit a stipulated Proposed Order with
14 all additions and/or modifications to the Northern District of California Model Order in redline, filed
15 concurrently with this Declaration. This Declaration, submitted pursuant to the Court’s Standing
16 Order, explains these additions and/or modifications.
17 3. SECTION 2.6: The Parties added the phrase “non-attorney” before “consultant” in
18 the definition of “Expert.” This clarification distinguishes non-attorney consultants from attorney
19 consultants, who are already addressed elsewhere in the Order’s framework, and provides clearer
20 guidance on the scope of persons permitted access to Protected Material.
21 4. SECTION 2.9: The Parties deleted the phrase “which has appeared on behalf of that
22 party” from the definition of “Outside Counsel of Record.” This language was redundant given the
23 preceding clause, which already requires that counsel be “affiliated with a law firm” representing the
24 party.
25 5. SECTION 3: The Parties made two additions to Section 3 to clarify that the
26 protections conferred by the Order do not restrict the use of Protected Material during court hearings
27 or at trial. First, the phrase “other than during a court hearing or trial” was added to limit the scope of
1 the Order’s restrictions on testimony and presentations. Second, the phrase “a court hearing or at”
2 was added in the provision addressing use of Protected Material at trial.
3 6. SECTIONS 7.2(a) AND 7.2(b): The Parties added language to Sections 7.2(a) and
4 7.2(b) requiring that Outside Counsel of Record and the Receiving Party, respectively, maintain a
5 list of all non-attorney employees to whom Protected Material is provided or disclosed. These
6 provisions are designed to promote accountability and ensure that the Parties can track access to
7 Protected Material by non-attorneys within their organizations and firms, thereby facilitating
8 compliance with the Order and reducing the risk of improper disclosure.
9 7. SECTIONS 7.2(c) and 7.2(e): The Parties recognize that Ford may produce
10 documents or information in this case that, if obtained by competitors, would cause Ford competitive
11 harm. Accordingly, the parties agree that disclosures should not be made to experts or consultants
12 employed by a competitor to Ford. See, e.g., Mironowski v. Ford Motor Co., No.
13 122CV00675JLTCDB, 2023 WL 2957858, at *3 (E.D. Cal. Apr. 14, 2023) (entering a protective
14 order and holding that Ford showed that certain documents “are of a confidential nature and that
15 their unfettered disclosure would be harmful.”).
16 8. SECTION 7.3: The Parties added a new Section 7.3 prohibiting recipients of
17 Protected Material from posting such material on any publicly accessible website or document
18 repository (except a vendor-hosted review platform used solely for review in this case), and from
19 selling, advertising, publicizing, or otherwise commercializing either the Protected Material itself or
20 the fact of its receipt.
21 9. SECTION 9(c): The Parties modified Section 9(c) to extend the period within which
22 a Non-Party may object or seek a protective order from 14 days to 30 days after receiving notice that
23 a Receiving Party intends to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information.
24 10. SECTION 13: The Parties deleted the provision in Section 13 that would have
25 permitted counsel to retain archival copies of pleadings, motion papers, transcripts, correspondence,
26 and other materials containing Protected Material following the conclusion of the litigation. The
27 Parties agree that omitting this carve-out better ensures that Protected Material is returned or
1 destroyed consistent with the Order’s purpose of protecting confidential information from
2 unnecessary retention or future use.
3 11. SECTION 14: The Parties added a new Section 14 providing that the Order shall be
4 binding upon the parties, their attorneys, and their respective successors, executors, personal
5 representatives, administrators, heirs, legal representatives, assigns, and employees. This provision
6 codifies the standard understanding that a court-entered protective order binds not only the
7 immediate parties but also those who succeed to or act on their behalf, thereby preventing
8 circumvention of the Order’s protections through corporate transactions, attorney departures, or
9 similar events.
10 12. The Parties stipulate and agree that these additions and revisions to the Northern
11 District of California’s Model Order are narrowly-tailored to the instant case, and will best promote
12 efficiency, fairness, and will reduce the likelihood of disputes that might otherwise require the
13 Court’s intervention.
14
15 I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on April
16 17, 2026.
17 /s/ Keith W. Stafford
KEITH W. STAFFORD
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