The opinion
1 KAZEROUNI LAW GROUP, APC
Pamela E. Prescott, Esq. (328243)
2 || pamela@kazlg.com
3 Ashley LaPointe, Esq. (365017)
ashley@kazlg.com
4|| 245 Fischer Avenue, Unit D1
5 Costa Mesa, California 92626
Telephone: (800) 400-6808
6|| Facsimile: (800) 520-5523
Attorneys for Plaintiff,
8 || C. Ted Thompson
9
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
10 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
Case No.: 2:26-cv—02134-SB-SPx
12|| C. TED THOMPSON
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
13 Plaintiff, ORDER
14
V.
15
16|| WESTFAX, INC.
17 Defendant.
18
19
20 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
93 || disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be
74 || warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter
75 || the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order
96 || does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and
27 || that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited
28
-|-
1 information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable
2 legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below,
3 that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential
4 information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be
5 followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from
6 the court to file material under seal.
7
B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
8
9
10 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, commercially sensitive
11 information, pricing lists, customer contracts, and other valuable research,
12 development, commercial, financial, technical, and/or proprietary information for
13 which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other
14 than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary
15 materials and information consist of, among other things, confidential business or
16 financial information, information regarding confidential business practices, or other
17 confidential research, development, or commercial information (including
18 information implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise
19 generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected
20 from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common
21 law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt
22 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately
23 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the
24 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and
25 in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve
26 the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter.
27 It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for
1 || tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it
has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause
3 || why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
4 2. DEFINITIONS
5 2.1 Action: Thompson v. WestFax, Case No.:2:26-—cv—02134-SB-SPx
6 2.2. Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
designation of information or items under this Order.
8 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless
9|| of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
10 || protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the
11 || Good Cause Statement.
12 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
13 || their support staff).
14 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information
15||or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
16|| “CONFIDENTIAL.”
17 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information,
18 || regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained
19 || Gncluding, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are
20 || produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
21 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a
22 || matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to
23 || Serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
24 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this
25 || Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other
26 || outside counsel.
27
28 3.
1 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association,
2 or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
3 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
4 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action,
5 including but not limited to those who have appeared in this Action on behalf of that
6 party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party, and
7 includes support staff.
8 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers,
9 directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record
10 (and their support staffs).
11 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
12 Discovery Material in this Action.
13 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
14 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
15 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
16 and their employees and subcontractors.
17 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
18 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
19 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
20 Material from a Producing Party.
21
3. SCOPE
22
23 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
24 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
25 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
26 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
27 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
1 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial judge.
2 This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
3
4. DURATION
4
5 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as
6 confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will
7 be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless
8 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are
9 made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of
10 Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause”
11 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”
12 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the
13 terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
14
5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
15
16 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each
17 Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this
18 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies
19 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection
20 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that
21 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications
22 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of
23 this Order.
24 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
25 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
26 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
27
1 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party
2 to sanctions.
3 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
4 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
5 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
6 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this
7 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated
8 or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this
9 Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
10 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
11 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,
12 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the
13 Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter
14 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a
15 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
16 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
17 markings in the margins).
18 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
19 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
20 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before
21 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed
22 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants
23 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or
24 portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the
25 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend”
26 to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the
27 material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
1 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
2 margins).
3 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the
4 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the
5 deposition all protected testimony.
6 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and
7 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on
8 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the
9 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
10 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
11 portion(s).
12 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
13 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
14 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
15 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
16 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
17 Order.
18
6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
19
20 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation
21 of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order.
22 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution
23 process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
24 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the
25 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
26 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
27 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived
1 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the
2 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing
3 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
4
7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
5
6 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
7 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
8 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
9 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
10 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving
11 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
12 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location
13 and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized
14 under this Order.
15 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise
16 ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving
17 Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
18 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well
19 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
20 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
21 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
22 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
23 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
24 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
25 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
26 (d) the court and its personnel;
27 (e) court reporters and their staff;
1 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
2 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who
3 have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
4 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
5 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
6 (h) during their depositions, witnesses ,and attorneys for witnesses, in the
7 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing
8 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and
9 (2) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they
10 sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless
11 otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of
12 transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected
13 Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be
14 disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order;
15 and
16 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
17 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
18
8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
19
IN OTHER LITIGATION
20
21 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
22 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
23 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
24 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
25 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
26 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
27 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
2 include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
3 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
4 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
5
6 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
7 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this
8 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
9 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
10 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
11 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
12 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to
13 disobey a lawful directive from another court.
14
9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
15
PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
16
17 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
18 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
19 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
20 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should
21 be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
22 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
23 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party
24 is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
25 confidential information, then the Party shall:
26
27
1 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that
2 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
3 agreement with a Non-Party;
4 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective
5 Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
6 specific description of the information requested; and
7 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-
8 Party, if requested.
9 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14
10 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
11 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the
12 discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the
13 Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control
14 that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a
15 determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party
16 shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its
17 Protected Material.
18
10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
19
20 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
21 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
22 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
23 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
24 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
25 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
26 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
27 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
1
11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
2
PROTECTED MATERIAL
3
4 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
5 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
6 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
7 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
8 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
9 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
10 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
11 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
12 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted
13 to the court.
14
15 12. MISCELLANEOUS
16 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
17 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
18 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
19 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
20 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
21 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
22 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
23 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
24 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
25 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
26 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal
27
1 is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public
2 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
3
4 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
5 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60
6 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
7 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material at the Receiving
8 Party’s election. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all
9 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or
10 capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned
11 or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing
12 Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day
13 deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material
14 that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not
15 retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format
16 reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this
17 provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion
18 papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence,
19 deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant
20 and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such
21 archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this
22 Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).
23
24 14. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate 2
25 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary
26 sanctions.
27 ///
1 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
2
Dated: April 17, 2026 Respectfully Submitted,
3
4 KAZEROUNI LAW GROUP, APC
5
By: /s/ Pamela E. Prescott
6 David J. McGlothlin, Esq.
Pamela E. Prescott, Esq.
7
Ashley LaPointe, Esq.
8 Attorneys for Plaintiff
9
Dated: April 17, 2026 Respectfully Submitted,
10
MEDINA McKELVEY LLP
11
12 By: /s/ Melissa M. Whitehead
Jamie Chanin Pollaci
13
Eric M. Lloyd
14 Melissa M. Whitehead
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
1
2|| FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
3
4|| DATED: April 27, 2026
PB
6
Sheri Pym
8 || United States Magistrate Judge
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
-15-
1|| EXHIBIT A
2|| ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
1, [print or type full name], O
4 [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury thé
5 || [have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issue
6|| by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on [date] 1
7|| the case of Thompson v. WestFax, Case No.: 2:26-cv—02134-SB-SPx I agree t
8 || comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and
9 || understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanction
|| and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclos
11 || in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Orde
12 || to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
13 || further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for th
Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulate
15 || Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of thi
16|| action. I hereby appoint [print or type full name] c
17 [print or type full address an
18 || telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection wit
19 || this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protectiv
20 || Order.
21 || Date:
22 || City and State where sworn and signed:
23
24 || Printed name:
25
26 || Signature:
27
-16-