The opinion
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7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
8 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
9 SOUTHERN DIVISION
AVREK LAW FIRM, a California Case No. 8:25-cv-02779 JHW (JDEx)
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Professional Law Corporation,
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
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Plaintiff, ORDER
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vs.
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KIMBERLY N. ACOSTA (also known Date Action Filed: December 16, 2025
as KIMBERLY NAVARRO), an Trial Date: None Set
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individual,
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Defendant.
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17 Based on the parties’ Stipulation (Dkt. 17) and for good cause shown, the
Court finds and orders as follows.
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1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
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Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
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proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure
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and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be warranted.
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Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the
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following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does
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not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that
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the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited
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information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable
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legal principles.
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1 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
2 This action will involve disclosure of video showing both individuals related
3 to the parties and identifiable but unrelated third parties, whose identities and conduct
4 are not at issue in the dispute, such that this video warrants special protection from
5 public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action.
6 Specifically, the video that Plaintiff (on behalf of itself and Defendant) has requested
7 from third party Pendry Newport Beach, LLC (the “Pendry”) includes footage that
8 Pendry has requested be protected from disclosure by this protective order to the
9 fullest extent possible under all relevant statutes, court rules, and law. Accordingly,
10 to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of this dispute,
11 to adequately protect the Pendry (and all individuals who are potentially identifiable
12 in its subpoenaed video), to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary
13 uses of such material, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve
14 the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter.
15 It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for
16 tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it
17 has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause
18 why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
19 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE
20 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this
21 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information
22 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and
23 the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file
24 material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access
25 to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive
26 motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v.
27 City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen.
28 Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony
1 Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective
2 orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or
3 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be
4 made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The
5 parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL
6 does not—without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing
7 that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or
8 otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
9 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then
10 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief
11 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See
12 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each
13 item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under
14 seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by
15 specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent
16 evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by
17 declaration.
18 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in
19 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If
20 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only
21 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall
22 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety
23 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
24 4. DEFINITIONS
25 4.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit: Avrek Law Firm v. Kimberly N.
26 Acosta (also known as Kimberly Navarro), Case No. 2:25-cv-10834-ODW-MBK.
27 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
28 of information or items under this Order.
1 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
2 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection
3 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good
4 Cause Statement.
5 4.4 Counsel: attorneys and law firms who are retained to represent or advise
6 a party to this Action, including support staff.
7 4.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
8 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
9 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
10 4.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of
11 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
12 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
13 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.
14 4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
15 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
16 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
17 4.8 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or
18 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
19 4.9 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
20 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Counsel (and their support staffs).
21 4.10 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
22 Discovery Material in this Action.
23 4.11 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
24 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
25 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
26 and their employees and subcontractors.
27 4.12 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
28 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
1 4.13 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
2 from a Producing Party.
3 5. SCOPE
4 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
5 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted
6 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of
7 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties
8 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
9 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
10 trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of
11 Protected Material at trial.
12 6. DURATION
13 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
14 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced
15 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all
16 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by
17 specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance
18 of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause”
19 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”
20 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the
21 terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
22 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
23 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
24 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this
25 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies
26 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection
27 only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written communications that
28 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items or communications
1 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of
2 this Order.
3 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
4 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
5 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
6 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party
7 to sanctions.
8 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
9 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
10 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
11 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
12 this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material
13 that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the
14 material is disclosed or produced.
15 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
16 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
17 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
18 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
19 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
20 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for
21 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)
22 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). A Party or Non-Party that
23 makes original documents available for inspection need not designate them for
24 protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which documents it would like
25 copied and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the
26 material made available for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After
27 the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the
28 Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for
1 protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the
2 Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains
3 Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection,
4 the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by
5 making appropriate markings in the margins).
6 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party
7 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the
8 deposition all protected testimony.
9 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary
10 and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place
11 on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the
12 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
13 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
14 portion(s).
15 7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
16 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
17 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
18 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
19 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
20 Order.
21 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
22 8.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
23 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
24 Scheduling Order.
25 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
26 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
27 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a
28 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
1 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
2 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
3 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
4 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived
5 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the
6 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing
7 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
8 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
9 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
10 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
11 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such
12 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
13 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving
14 Party must comply with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
15 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
16 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
17 authorized under this Order.
18 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
19 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
20 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
21 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
22 (a) the Receiving Party’s Counsel and employees of said Counsel to
23 whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
24 (b) the officers, directors, and employees of the Receiving Party to
25 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
26 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
27 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
28 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
1 (d) the court and its personnel;
2 (e) court reporters and their staff;
3 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
4 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and
5 who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
6 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information
7 or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
8 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in
9 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing
10 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they
11 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
12 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
13 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
14 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be
15 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as
16 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
17 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting
18 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement
19 discussions.
20 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
21 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
22 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
23 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
24 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
25 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such
26 notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
27 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or
28 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. If the
5 Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena
6 or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as
7 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or
8 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
9 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court
10 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
11 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful
12 directive from another court.
13 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
14 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
15 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by
16 a Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
17 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
18 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
19 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
20 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request,
21 to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
22 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
23 confidential information, then the Party shall:
24 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the
25 Non-Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
26 agreement with a Non-Party;
27 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the
28 Stipulated Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a
1 reasonably specific description of the information requested; and
2 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by
3 the Non-Party, if requested.
4 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court
5 within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving
6 Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the
7 discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving
8 Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to
9 the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
10 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense
11 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
12 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
13 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
14 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
15 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
16 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
17 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
18 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
19 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment an
20 Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.
21 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
22 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL
23 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
24 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
25 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil\
26 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
27 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
28 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
1 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
2 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
3 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted
4 to the court.
5 14. MISCELLANEOUS
6 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
7 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
8 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
9 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
10 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
11 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
12 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
13 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
14 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
15 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
16 Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied
17 by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record
18 unless otherwise instructed by the court.
19 15. FINAL DISPOSITION
20 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6, within 60
21 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
22 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
23 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
24 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
25 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party
26 must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person
27 or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies (by
28 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed
| |and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
2 | compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
3 | Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an
archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
5 | transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
6 | reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
8 | constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
9 | Section 6 (DURATION).
10 16. VIOLATION
11 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
12 | including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
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14 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
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16 DATED: April 9, 2026
17 ye de
18 D. EARLY
19 nited States Magistrate Judge
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42.
1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of
4 __________________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of
5 perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Protective Order that was
6 issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on
7 April 9, 2026 in the case of Avrek Law Firm v. Kimberly N. Acosta (also known as
8 Kimberly Navarro), Case No. 8:25-cv-02779-JWH-JDE.
9 I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Protective Order,
10 and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to
11 sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will
12 not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Protective
13 Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this
14 Order.
15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
16 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
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 Protective Order.
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23 Date: ______________________________________
24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
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26 Printed name: _______________________________
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28 Signature: __________________________________