Opinion

Court: District Court, C.D. California
Filed: May 21, 2026
Cited by: 0 cases
Authority: More cited than 41.5%

The opinion

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

10 MEGAN HEREDIA, Ca se No. 8:25-cv-02708-JWH-JDE

11 Plaintiff,

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE

12 vs. ORDER

13 EXPERIAN INFORMATION Complaint filed: 12/03/2025

SOLUTIONS, INC.,

Defendant.

16 Based on the Parties’ Stipulation (Dkt. 31) and for good cause shown, the Court

17 finds and orders as follows.

18 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

19 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,

20 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure

21 and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be warranted.

22 This Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to

23 discovery and the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to

24 the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the

25 applicable legal principles.

26 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

27 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer lists and other valuable

28 research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary

1 information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any

2 purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and

3 proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, confidential

4 business or financial information, information regarding confidential business

5 practices, or other confidential research, development, or commercial information

6 (including information implicating privacy rights of third parties), information

7 otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise

8 protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions,

9 or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the

10 prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to

11 adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure

12 that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation

13 for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation,

14 and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this

15 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as

16 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith

17 belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is

18 good cause 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 or Confidential-Attorneys’ Eyes Only does not— without the submission of

7 competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed

8 under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute

9 good cause.

10 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then

11 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief

12 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See

13 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each

14 item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under

15 seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by

16 specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent

17 evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by

18 declaration.

19 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in

20 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If

21 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only

22 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall

23 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety

24 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.

25 4. DEFINITIONS

26 4.1 Action: Megan Heredia v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc.; Case

27 No.. 8:25-cv-02708-JWH-JDE.

1 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation

2 of information or items under this Order.

3 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of

4 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection

5 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good

6 Cause Statement.

7 4.4 Confidential – Attorneys’ Eyes Only Information or Items: information

8 (regardless of how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that the

9 Producing Party believes in good faith that disclosure to all other parties or non-parties

10 could lead to a substantial risk of identifiable harm to the Producing Party.

11 4.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their

12 support staff).

4.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates

information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery

as “CONFIDENTIAL ” or “Confidential-Attorneys’ Eyes Only.”

4.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information,

regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained

(including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are

produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.

4.8 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a

matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its

counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.

4.9 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party. House Counsel

does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel.

4.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or

other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.

4.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to

1 this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that has appeared

2 on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.

3 4.12 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,

4 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their

5 support staffs).

6 4.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

7 Discovery Material in this Action.

8 4.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support

9 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or

10 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)

11 and their employees and subcontractors.

12 4.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

13 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes Only.”

14 4.16 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material

15 from a Producing Party.

16 5. SCOPE

17 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only

18 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted

19 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of

20 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties

21 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.

22 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the

23 trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of

24 Protected Material at trial.

25 6. DURATION

26 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as

27 CONFIDENTIAL or Confidential-Attorneys’ Eyes Only or maintained pursuant to

28 this protective order used or introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will

1 be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless

2 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are

3 made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81

4 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery

5 from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of court

6 record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the

7 commencement of the trial.

8 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this

Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies

under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection

only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written communications that

qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items or communications

for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of

this Order. Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited.

Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an

improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or

to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the

Designating Party to sanctions.

If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it

designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must

promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.

7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in

this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material

that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the

material is disclosed or produced.

1 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic

2 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial

3 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend

4 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”) or “Confidential-

5 Attorneys’ Eyes Only”, to each page that contains protected material. If only a portion

6 of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly

7 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the

8 margins).

9 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection

10 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated

11 which documents it would like copied and produced.

During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material made

available for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL” or “Confidential-

Attorneys’ Eyes Only.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it

wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents,

or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing

the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL

legend” or “Confidential-Attorneys’ Eyes Only” to each page that contains Protected

Material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the

Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making

appropriate markings in the margins).

(b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party

identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the

deposition all protected testimony.

and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place

on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the

1 or portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent

2 practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).

3 7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

4 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the

5 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order. Upon timely

6 correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to

7 assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.

8 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

9 8.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

10 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s

11 Scheduling Order.

12 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute

13 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.

14 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a joint

15 stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.

16 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the

17 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose

18 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may

19 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. All parties shall continue to afford the

20 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing

21 Party’s designation and of this Protective Order until the Court rules on the challenge.

22 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

23 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is

24 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this

25 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such

26 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the

27 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving

28 Party must comply with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).

1 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a

2 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons

3 authorized under this Order.

4 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” or “Confidential-Attorneys’ Eyes

5 Only” Information or Items. Unless

6 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a

7 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated

8 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

9 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action,

10 as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably

11 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;

12 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel)

13 of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;

14 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom

15 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the

16 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”;

17 (d) the court and its personnel;

18 (e) court reporters and their staff;

19 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and

20 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and

21 who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”;

22 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information

23 or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;

24 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in

25 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing

26 party requests that the witness sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be

27 Bound”; and (2) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless

28 they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” unless otherwise

1 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed

2 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be

3 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as

4 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and

5 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting

6 personnel, mutually agreed upon by the parties engaged in settlement discussions.

7 9.3 Except with the prior written consent of the individual or entity

8 designating a document or portions of a document as “Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes

9 Only,” or pursuant to prior Order after notice, any document, transcript or pleading

10 given “Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes Only” treatment under this Order, and any

11 information contained in or derived from any such materials (including but not limited

12 to, all deposition testimony that refers to, reflects or otherwise discusses any

13 information designated “Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes Only” hereunder) may not

14 be disclosed other than in accordance with this Order and may not be disclosed to any

15 person other than: (a) a party’s retained outside counsel of record in this action, as

16 well as employees of said outside counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to

17 disclose the information for this litigation and who have signed the

18 “Acknowledgement and Agreement to Be Bound”; (b) experts specifically retained

19 as consultants or expert witnesses in connection with this litigation who have signed

20 the “Acknowledgement and Agreement to Be Bound”; (c) the Court and its personnel;

21 (d) court reporters, their staffs, and professional vendors to whom disclosure is

22 reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgement

23 and Agreement to Be Bound; and (e) the author of the document or the original source

24 of the information. For purposes of this Order, the pro se plaintiff shall be permitted

25 access to materials designated as ‘Confidential—Attorneys’ Eyes Only.

26 9.4 Documents produced pursuant to this Order shall not be made available

27 to any person designated in Subparagraph 9.3 unless he or she shall have first read

1 this Order, agreed to be bound by its terms, and signed the attached “Acknowledgment

2 an Agreement to Be Bound.”

3 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED

4 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION

5 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation

6 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as

7 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “Confidential-Attorneys’ Eyes Only” that Party must:

8 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such

9 notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

10 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or

11 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the

12 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include

13 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and

14 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be

15 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the

16 Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena

17 or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as

18 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “Confidential-Attorneys’ Eyes Only” before a determination

19 by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained

20 the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and

21 expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in

22 these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party

23 in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.

24 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL

25 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by

26 a Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “Confidential-

27 Attorneys’ Eyes Only.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in connection

28 with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order.

1 Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from

2 seeking additional protections.

3 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request,

4 to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is

5 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s

6 confidential information, then the Party shall:

7 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the

8 Non- Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality

9 agreement with a Non-Party;

10 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the

11 Stipulated Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a

12 reasonably specific description of the information requested; and

13 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the

14 Non-Party, if requested.

15 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within

16 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party

17 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery

18 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall

19 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the

20 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.

21 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense

22 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.

23 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

24 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed

25 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this

26 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in

27 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts

28 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or

1 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,

2 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment an

3 Agreement to Be Bound” to be negotiated by the parties.

4 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION

5 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain

6 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,

7 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in

8 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to

9 modify procedures thst may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for

10 production without prior privilege review. Per Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and

11 (e), if the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication

12 or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection,

13 the parties may seek to incorporate such agreement in this Order.

14. MISCELLANEOUS

14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any

person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.

14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this

Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to

disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this

Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any

ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.

14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any

Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may

only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific

Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied

by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record

unless otherwise instructed by the court.

1 15. FINAL DISPOSITION

2 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6, within 60

3 || days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return

4 || all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this

5 ||subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,

6 ||summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected

7 || Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party

8 || must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person

9 ||or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies (by

10 || category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed

11 ||and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,

12 ||compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the

13 || Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an

14 ||archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing

15 || transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert

16 || reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such

17 ||materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or

18 || constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in

19 || Section 6 (DURATION).

20 16. VIOLATION

21 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures

22 including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.

FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

25 je de,

DATED: May 21, 2026 tr.

26 AAOHN D. EARLY

27 United States Magistrate Judge

- 14- CASE NO. 8:25-CV-02708-JWH-JDE

STIPTTT ATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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