The opinion
1 AMIR NASSIHI (SBN 235936)
anassihi@shb.com
SHOOK, HARDY & BACON L.L.P.
2
555 Mission Street, Suite 2300
San Francisco, CA 94105
3 Tel: (415) 544-1900 | Fax: (415) 391-0281
4 BRADY O’BRYAN (SBN 335729)
bobryan@shb.com
5 KRISTINE AVENA (SBN 328593)
kavena@shb.com
SHOOK, HARDY & BACON L.L.P.
6 Jamboree Center
5 Park Plaza, Suite 1600
7 Irvine, CA 92614-2546
Tel: (949) 475-1500 | Fax: (949) 475-0016
8
Attorneys for Defendant
NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
9
10 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
11 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
12
OLGA ZAMORA CABELLO, an Case No. 8:25-cv-01212-ADS
13 individual,
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
14 Plaintiff, ORDER
15
v.
16
NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC., a
17 Delaware Corporation, and DOES 1
through 10, inclusive,
18
19 Defendants.
20
I. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
21
A. Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
22
23 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
24 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation
1 may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition
2
the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties
3
acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all
4
disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from
5
public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items
6
7 that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal
8 principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section XIII(C),
9
below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file
10
confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the
11
procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when
12
13 a party seeks permission from the Court to file material under seal.
14 II. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
15
[*The “Good Cause Statement” should be edited to include or exclude specific
16
information that applies to the particular case, i.e., what harm will result from
17
the disclosure of the confidential information likely to be produced in this case?
18
Below is an example:]
19
20 A. This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists
21 and other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical
22
and/or proprietary information for which special protection from public
23
disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action
24
1 is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information
2
consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial information,
3
information regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential
4
research, development, or commercial information (including information
5
implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise generally
6
7 unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected
8 from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or
9
common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate
10
the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials,
11
to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential,
12
13 to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such
14 material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their
15
handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective
16
order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the
17
parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical
18
reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it
19
20 has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good
21 cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
22
III. DEFINITIONS
23
A. Action: This pending federal law suit, Case No. 8:25-cv-01212-ADS.
24
1 B. Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the
2
designation of information or items under this Order.
3
C. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information (regardless of
4
how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
5
protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified
6
7 above in the Good Cause Statement.
8 D. Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
9
their support staff).
10
E. Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates information
11
or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
12
13 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
14 F. Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless
15
of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained
16
(including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things),
17
that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this
18
matter.
19
20 G. Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
21 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to
22
serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
23
24
1 H. House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a party to this
2
Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any
3
other outside counsel.
4
I. Non-Party: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association,
5
or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
6
7 J. Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a
8 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this
9
Action and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are
10
affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party, and
11
includes support staff.
12
13 K. Party: Any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
14 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record
15
(and their support staffs).
16
L. Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
17
Discovery Material in this Action.
18
M. Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation
19
20 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing
21 exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any
22
form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors.
23
24
1 N. Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
2
designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
3
O. Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
4
Material from a Producing Party.
5
IV. SCOPE
6
7 A. The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
8 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
9
extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
10
compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
11
presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
12
13 B. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders
14 of the trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at
15
trial.
16
V. DURATION
17
A. Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated
18
as confidential or maintained pursuant to this Protective Order becomes
19
20 public and will be presumptively available to all members of the public,
21 including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual
22
findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the
23
trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-
24
1 81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing
2
documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when
3
merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms
4
of this Protective Order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
5
VI. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
6
7 A. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection
8 1. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items
9
for protection under this Order must take care to limit any such
10
designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate
11
standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only
12
13 those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
14 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material,
15
documents, items, or communications for which protection is not
16
warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
17
2. Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited.
18
Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been
19
20 made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the
21 case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and
22
burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to
23
sanctions.
24
1 3. If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or
2
items that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that
3
Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is
4
withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
5
B. Manner and Timing of Designations
6
7 1. Except as otherwise provided in this Order (see, e.g., Section
8 B(2)(b) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or
9
Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must
10
be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
11
2. Designation in conformity with this Order requires the
12
13 following:
14 a. For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or
15
electronic documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions
16
or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party
17
affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter
18
“CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains
19
20 protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material
21 on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must
22
clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
23
appropriate markings in the margins).
24
1 b. A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents
2
available for inspection need not designate them for protection
3
until after the inspecting Party has indicated which documents
4
it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
5
before the designation, all of the material made available for
6
7 inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the
8 inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied
9
and produced, the Producing Party must determine which
10
documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this
11
Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the
12
13 Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to
14 each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or
15
portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the
16
Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
17
portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
18
margins).
19
20 c. For testimony given in depositions, that the Designating
21 Party identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the
22
record, before the close of the deposition all protected
23
testimony.
24
1 d. For information produced in form other than document
2
and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix
3
in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or
4
containers in which the information is stored the legend
5
“CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the
6
7 information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the
8 extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
9
C. Inadvertent Failure to Designate
10
1. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate qualified
11
information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating
12
13 Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
14 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must
15
make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in
16
accordance with the provisions of this Order.
17
VII. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
18
A. Timing of Challenges
19
20 1. Any party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of
21 confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
22
Scheduling Order.
23
B. Meet and Confer
24
1 1. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution
2
process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
3
C. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
4
the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
5
purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
6
7 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the
8 Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation,
9
all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of
10
protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until
11
the Court rules on the challenge.
12
13 VIII. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
14 A. Basic Principles
15
1. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed
16
or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
17
Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this
18
Action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the
19
20 categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order.
21 When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply
22
with the provisions of Section XIV below.
23
24
1 2. Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a
2
Receiving Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that
3
access is limited to the persons authorized under this Order.
4
B. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items
5
1. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing
6
7 by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any
8 information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
9
a. The Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this
10
Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record
11
to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information
12
13 for this Action;
14 b. The officers, directors, and employees (including House
15
Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is
16
reasonably necessary for this Action;
17
c. Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party
18
to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and
19
20 who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
21 Bound” (Exhibit A);
22
d. The Court and its personnel;
23
e. Court reporters and their staff;
24
1 f. Professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
2
Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably
3
necessary for this Action and who have signed the
4
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to be Bound” attached as
5
Exhibit A hereto;
6
7 g. The author or recipient of a document containing the
8 information or a custodian or other person who otherwise
9
possessed or knew the information;
10
h. During their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for
11
witnesses, in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably
12
13 necessary provided: (i) the deposing party requests that the
14 witness sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
15
Bound;” and (ii) they will not be permitted to keep any
16
confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment
17
and Agreement to Be Bound,” unless otherwise agreed by the
18
Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed
19
20 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal
21 Protected Material may be separately bound by the court
22
reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted
23
under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
24
1 i. Any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting
2
personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged
3
in settlement discussions.
4
IX. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
5
PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
6
7 A. If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other
8 litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in
9
this Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
10
1. Promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such
11
notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
12
13 2. Promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena
14 or order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material
15
covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order.
16
Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective
17
Order; and
18
3. Cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
19
20 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be
21 affected.
22
B. If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party
23
served with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information
24
1 designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by
2
the Court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has
3
obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall
4
bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its
5
confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
6
7 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a
8 lawful directive from another court.
9
X. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
10
PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
11
A. The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
12
13 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such
14 information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is
15
protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these
16
provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking
17
additional protections.
18
B. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
19
20 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the
21 Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-
22
Party’s confidential information, then the Party shall:
23
24
1 1. Promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-
2
Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a
3
confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
4
2. Promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
5
Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and
6
7 a reasonably specific description of the information requested; and
8 3. Make the information requested available for inspection by the
9
Non-Party, if requested.
10
C. If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within
11
14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving
12
13 Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to
14 the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the
15
Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control
16
that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a
17
determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-
18
Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of
19
20 its Protected Material.
21 XI. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
22
A. If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has
23
disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not
24
1 authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must
2
immediately (1) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized
3
disclosures, (2) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the
4
Protected Material, (3) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized
5
disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (4) request such
6
7 person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to be
8 Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
9
XII. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
10
OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL
11
A. When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
12
13 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
14 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in
15
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended
16
to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order
17
that provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to
18
Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an
19
20 agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or information
21 covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
22
parties may incorporate their agreement in the Stipulated Protective Order
23
submitted to the Court.
24
1 XIII. MISCELLANEOUS
2
A. Right to Further Relief
3
1. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek its
4
modification by the Court in the future.
5
B. Right to Assert Other Objections
6
7 1. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective Order, no Party
8 waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or
9
producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
10
Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to
11
object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered
12
13 by this Protective Order.
14 C. Filing Protected Material
15
1. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must
16
comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be
17
filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
18
specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file
19
20 Protected Material under seal is denied by the Court, then the
21 Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless
22
otherwise instructed by the Court.
23
24
1 XIV. FINAL DISPOSITION
2
A. After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section V,
3
within sixty (60) days of a written request by the Designating Party, each
4
Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or
5
destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material”
6
7 includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format
8 reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the
9
Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit
10
a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or
11
entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by
12
13 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or
14 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any
15
copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing
16
or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision,
17
Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers,
18
trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence,
19
20 deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and
21 consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected
22
Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected
23
Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section V.
24
1 B. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate
2
measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or
3
monetary sanctions.
4
5
IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
6
7
Dated: April 20, 2026 /s/Andrew Jung
8 QUILL & ARROW, LLP
ANDREW JUNG
9
Attorney for Plaintiff
OLGA ZAMORA CABELLO
10
11
Dated: April 22, 2026 /s/ Kristine Avena
12 SHOOK, HARDY & BACON L.L.P.
AMIR NASSIHI
13 BRADY O’BRYAN
KRISTINE AVENA
14 Attorneys for Defendant
NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
15
16
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
17
18 Dated: May 22, 2026 /s/ Autumn D. Spaeth
HONORABLE AUTUMN D. SPAETH
19
United States Magistrate Judge
20
21
22
23
24
1 SIGNATURE ATTESTATION
2 Pursuant to Local Rule 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), I hereby certify that the content of
this document is acceptable to Andrew Jung, Esq. counsel for QUILL & ARROW,
3
LLP, and that I have obtained authorization to affix his electronic signature to this
4
document.
5
6
Dated: May 21, 2026 /s/ Kristine Avena
7
Attorney for Defendant
NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC.
8
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11
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13
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1 EXHIBIT A
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
2
3 I, [print or type full name], of _____________
4 _________________________________________ [print or type full address],
5 declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the
Stipulated Protective Order that was issue by the United States District Court for
6
the Central District of California on_____________ [date] in the case of Olga
7
Zamora Cabello v. Nissan North America, Inc., Case No. Case No. 8:25-cv-
8
01212-ADS. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this
9
Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so
10
comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I
11 solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item
12 that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in
13 strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
14
for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
15
Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
16
termination of this action. I hereby appoint [print or
17
type full name] of [print or type full address and
18 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with
19 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective
20 Order.
Date:
21
City and State where sworn and signed:
22
Printed Name:
23
Signature:
24