The opinion
1 ARCH LEGAL, P.C.
Nathan J. Reese (SBN 283150)
2 nreese@archlegal.com
Samara A. Bahu (SBN 351440)
3 sbahu@archlegal.com
3555 Fifth Avenue, Suite 200
4 San Diego, California 92103
Telephone: 619.692.0800
5 Facsimile: 619.692.0822
6 Attorneys for Plaintiff Joseph Mason
7
8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10 JOSEPH MASON, individually and on Case No.: 5:25-cv-02271 SSS (SPx)
behalf of all similarly situated,
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Plaintiff, [DISCOVERY MATTER]
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v. STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
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WERNER ENTERPRISES, INC.; a
14 Nebraska corporation; and DOES 1
through 50, inclusive, Complaint Filed: July 11, 2025
15 Removal Date: August 29, 2025
Defendants. Trial Date: None set
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1 Recognizing that certain documents and information to be produced in this action
2 may require heightened protection, Plaintiff Joseph Mason and Defendant Werner
3 Enterprises, Inc., by and through their respective counsel of record, hereby stipulate and
4 respectfully request that the Court enter the following Stipulated Protective Order.
5 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
6 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary
7 or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for
8 any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties
9 hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order.
10 The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all
11 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public
12 disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to
13 confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles.
14 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
15 This action is likely to involve private employee data, including time and pay
16 records, personnel records related to their hire or termination, race, hair follicle drug test
17 results, trade secrets, customer and pricing lists and other valuable research, development,
18 commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary information for which special
19 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of
20 this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information
21 consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial information, information
22 regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, or
23 commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third parties),
24 information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or
25 otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case
26 decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate
27 the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately
28 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties
1 are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the
2 conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of
3 justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of
4 the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and
5 that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a
6 confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the
7 public record of this case.
8 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE
9 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this
10 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under
11 seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the
12 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material
13 under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial
14 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, good
15 cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and County of
16 Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d
17 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577
18 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a
19 specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and
20 legal justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to
21 file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as
22 CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the submission of competent evidence by
23 declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as
24 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
25 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then
26 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief
27 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See Pintos
28 v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type of
1 information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal, the party
2 seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal
3 justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the
4 application to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.
5 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its
6 entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If
7 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only the
8 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be filed.
9 Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should include an
10 explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
11 4. DEFINITIONS
12 4.1 Action: Joseph Mason v. Werner Enterprises, Inc., U.S. District Case
13 No. 5:25-cv-02271-SSS(SPx).
14 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of
15 information or items under this Order.
16 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it
17 is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under
18 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement.
19 4.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
20 support staff).
21 4.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items
22 that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
23 4.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the
24 medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other
25 things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in
26 disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
27 4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
28 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an
1 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
2 4.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. House
3 Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel.
4 4.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other
5 legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
6 4.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this
7 Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have appeared in
8 this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on
9 behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
10 4.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
11 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support
12 staffs).
13 4.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery
14 Material in this Action.
15 4.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
16 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
17 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and
18 their employees and subcontractors.
19 4.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated
20 as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
21 4.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from
22 a Producing Party.
23 5. SCOPE
24 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected
25 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from
26 Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected
27 Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by parties or their Counsel
28 that might reveal Protected Material.
1 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the trial judge and other
2 applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
3 6. DURATION
4 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as CONFIDENTIAL
5 or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced as an exhibit at trial
6 becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the public, including
7 the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed
8 otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at
9 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in
10 discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of
11 court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the
12 commencement of the trial.
13 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
14 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each
15 Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order
16 must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the
17 appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts
18 of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify so that other
19 portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for which protection is not
20 warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
21 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that
22 are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g.,
23 to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary
24 expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
25 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
26 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
27 promptly notify all other parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
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1 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this
2 Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies
3 for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is
4 disclosed or produced.
5 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
6 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but
7 excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the
8 Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter
9 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a
10 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party
11 also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in
12 the margins).
13 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection need
14 not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which
15 documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the
16 designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed
17 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants
18 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions
19 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified
20 documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page
21 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
22 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
23 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
24 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the
25 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all
26 protected testimony.
27 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any
28 other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of
1 the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
2 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants protection,
3 the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
4 7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure
5 to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating
6 Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction
7 of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the
8 material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
9 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
10 8.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation
11 of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order.
12 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution
13 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 (e.g., to
18 harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the
19 Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the
20 confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the
21 level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the
22 Court rules on the challenge.
23 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
24 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
25 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action
26 only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material
27 may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions described in
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1 this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the
2 provisions of Section 15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
3 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location
4 and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under
5 this Order.
6 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise
7 ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party
8 may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
9 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well as
10 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to
11 disclose the information for this Action;
12 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
13 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 disclosure
15 is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and
16 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
17 (d) the court and its personnel;
18 (e) court reporters and their staff;
19 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional Vendors
20 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
21 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
22 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian
23 or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
24 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the Action
25 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party requests that
26 the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will not be permitted
27 to keep any confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and
28 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or
1 ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions
2 that reveal Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not
3 be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
4 (i) any mediator or settlement officers and their supporting personnel, mutually
5 agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
6 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
7 IN OTHER LITIGATION
8 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that
9 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
10 CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
11 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
12 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
13 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue
14 in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is
15 subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated
16 Protective Order; and
17 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by
18 the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the Designating Party
19 timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena or court order shall not
20 produce any information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a
21 determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has
22 obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden
23 and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in
24 these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in
25 this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
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1 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
2 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
3 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party
4 in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by
5 Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief
6 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a
7 Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
8 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce
9 a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an
10 agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information,
11 then the Party shall:
12 (1) Promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that some
13 or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a
14 Non-Party;
15 (2) Promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective
16 Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific
17 description of the information requested; and
18 (3) Make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party, if
19 requested.
20 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14 days of
21 receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce the
22 Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party
23 timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in
24 its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party
25 before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party
26 shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected
27 Material.
28 / / /
1 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
2 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
3 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
4 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the
5 Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all
6 unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom
7 unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request such
8 person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is
9 attached hereto as Exhibit A.
10 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
11 PROTECTED MATERIAL
12 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently
13 produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of
14 the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B).
15 This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an
16 e-discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to
17 Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the
18 effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client
19 privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the
20 stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
21 14. MISCELLANEOUS
22 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person
23 to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
24 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective
25 Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or
26 producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated
27 Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in
28 evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
1 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected
2 Material must comply with the applicable Local Rules of the Central District, as well as
3 the Standing Order of the district court judge assigned to this Action. Protected Material
4 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
5 Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is
6 denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record
7 unless otherwise instructed by the court.
8 15. FINAL DISPOSITION
9 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 days
10 of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all
11 Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
12 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
13 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material.
14 Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit
15 a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the
16 Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where
17 appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that
18 the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any
19 other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this
20 provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers,
21 trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and
22 trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work
23 product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that
24 contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth
25 in Section 6 (DURATION).
26 16. VIOLATION
27 Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate measures
28 including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
1 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
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3|| Dated: April 27, 2026 ARCH LEGAL, P.C.
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By: Samara A, Bahy
5 NATHAN J. REESE
SAMARA A. BAHU
6 Attornevs for Plaintiff Joseph Mason
7|| Dated: April 27, 2026 JACKSON LEWIS P.C.
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By: /s/Annalyse E. Butler (with
9 _permission)
PETER B. MARETZ
10 ANNALYSE E. BUTLER
Attorneys for Defendant Werner
Il Enterorises. Inc.
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PURSUANT TO STIPULATION, IT IS SO ORDERED.
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15 DATED: May 22, 2026
Sheri Pym
16 United States Magistrate Judge
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QCTTDITT A TICYNI ANTTY DD ANTICO TINVC COV\DINLD
1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
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4 I hereby acknowledge that I, ___________________________________ [full
5 name], of ______________________________________________ [position and
6 employer], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand
7 the Stipulation and Protective Order that was issued in the United States District Court for
8 the Central District of California on [DATE] in the case Joseph Mason v. Werner
9 Enterprises, Inc., U.S. District Case No. 5:25-cv-02271-SSS(SPx). I agree to comply with
10 and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulation and Protective Order and I understand
11 and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment
12 in the nature of contempt.
13 I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item
14 that is subject to this Stipulation and Protective Order to any person or entity except in
15 strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
16 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the
17 Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulation and
18 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this
19 action.
20 DATED:_________________________ By:
___________________________________
21 Signature
___________________________________
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Title
23 ___________________________________
Address
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___________________________________
25 City, State, Zip
___________________________________
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Telephone Number
27 ________________________
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