The opinion
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7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
8 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
9
10 COUSLON AVIATION (USA) INC., Case No. 2:25-cv-03005-TLN-CSK
11 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MODIFIED
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
(ECF No. 21)
13 JEFFREY CARVARRA,
14 Defendant.
15
16 The Court has reviewed the parties’ stipulated protective order below (ECF No.
17 21), and finds it comports with the relevant authorities and the Court’s Local Rule. See
18 || L.R. 141.1. The Court APPROVES the protective order, subject to the following
19 || clarification.
20 The Court’s Local Rules indicate that once an action is closed, it “will not retain
21 || jurisdiction over enforcement of the terms of any protective order filed in that action.” L.R.
22 141.1(f); see Bylin Heating Sys., Inc. v. Thermal Techs., Inc., 2012 WL 13237584, at *2
23 || (E.D. Cal. Oct. 29, 2012) (noting that courts in the district generally do not retain
24 || jurisdiction for disputes concerning protective orders after closure of the case). Thus, the
25 || Court will not retain jurisdiction over this protective order once the case is closed.
26 || Dated: March 12, 2026 C i s
27 CHI SOO KIM
28 7 coul.3005 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
1 CASE NO. 2:25-cv-03005-TLN-CSK
Mark A. Romeo, Bar No. 173007
1 mromeo@littler.com
Derek S. Hecht, Bar No. 273039
2 dhecht@littler.com
Alexandra R. Volpicelli, Bar No. 355346
3 avolpicelli@littler.com
LITTLER MENDELSON, P.C.
4 18565 Jamboree Road
Suite 800
5 Irvine, California 92612
Telephone: 949.705.3000
6 Facsimile: 949.724.1201
7 ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF
COULSON AVIATION (USA) INC.
8
James Kachmar, State Bar No. 216781
9
jkachmar@weintraub.com
Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin
10
Law Corporation
400 Capitol Mall, 11th Floor
11
Sacramento, California 95814
Telephone: 916/558.6000
12
Facsimile: 916/446.1611
13
ATTORNEY FOR DEFENDANT
14 JEFFREY CAVARRA
15
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
16
EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, SACRAMENTO COURTHOUSE
17
18 COULSON AVIATION (USA) INC., Case No. 2:25-cv-03005-TLN-CSK
19 Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
AND [PROPOSED] ORDER FOR
20 v. LITIGATION INVOLVING HIGHLY
SENSITIVE CONFIDENTIAL
21 JEFFREY CAVARRA, an individual, and INFORMATION AND/OR TRADE
DOES 1-10. SECRETS
22
Defendant. Trial Date: TBD
23 Complaint Filed: October 16, 2025
24
25
26
27
1 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
2 Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are likely to involve production of
3 confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure
4 and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly,
5 the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the court to enter the following Stipulated Protective
6 Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures
7 or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends
8 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the
9 applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that
10 this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal;
11 Local Rule 141 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied
12 when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
13 2. DEFINITIONS
14 2.1 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of
15 information or items under this Order.
16 2.2 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is
17 generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule of
18 Civil Procedure 26(c). Such items shall be marked “CONFIDENTIAL” and will be subject to a
19 designation of “Confidentiality” as outlined herein. The types of non-public information eligible
20 for protection under this Order may include, but are not limited to, pricing‑to‑cost ratios, detailed
21 labor‑based cost compilations, bidding histories, staffing levels and projections, vehicle cost
22 estimates, technical approaches, financial plans and data, equipment selection, manufacturing and
23 fabrication methods, details of research and development initiatives, personal/family information
24 such as medical records and similar documents, education records, tax and/or financial records,
25 employment records, and photos, as well as non-public information regarding Coulson’s products,
26 business operational data and/or strategic plans and/or information, customer transactional data, and
27
1 client‑specific cost structures and profit margins.1
2 2.3 Counsel (without qualifier): Outside Counsel of Record (as well as their support
3 staff).
4 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items that it
5 produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
6 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
7 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the medium
8 or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things, testimony,
9 transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to
10 discovery in this matter.
11 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter pertinent to
12 the litigation who (1) has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as
13 a consultant in this action, (2) is not a past or current employee of a Party or of a Party’s competitor,
14 and (3) at the time of retention, is not anticipated to become an employee of a Party or of a Party’s
15 competitor.
16 2.8 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or
17 Items: extremely sensitive “Confidential Information or Items,” disclosure of which to another Party
18 or Non-Party would create a substantial risk of serious harm that could not be avoided by less
19 restrictive means.
20 2.9 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this action. House
21 Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or an other outside counsel.
22 2.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal
23
24
1 Coulson contends that these categories include highly sensitive business information—such as pricing‑to‑cost ratios,
25 cost breakdowns, staffing plans, technical approaches, equipment selection, manufacturing methods, research and
development details, client‑specific cost and profit margins, and customer transactional data—that may constitute
26 confidential, proprietary, and competitively valuable trade secret information. Coulson contends that disclosure of this
information outside the litigation could cause competitive harm, reveal internal financial structures, exposure
27 confidential customer and vendor information and undermine research and development investments. Cavarra
1 entity not named as a Party to this action.
2 2.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this action
3 but are retained to represent or advise a party to this action and have appeared in this action on
4 behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party.
5 2.12 Party: any party to this action, including all of its officers, directors, employees,
6 consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support staffs).
7 2.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery
8 Material in this action.
9 2.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support services
10 (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing,
11 storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors.
12 2.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as
13 “CONFIDENTIAL,” or as “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
14 2.16 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from a
15 Producing Party.
16 3. SCOPE
17 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected Material
18 (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all
19 copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony,
20 conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
21 However, the protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order do not cover the following
22 information: (a) any information that is in the public domain at the time of disclosure to a Receiving
23 Party or becomes part of the public domain after its disclosure to a Receiving Party as a result of
24 publication not involving a violation of this Order, including becoming part of the public record
25 through trial or otherwise; and (b) any information known to the Receiving Party prior to the
26 disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the disclosure from a source who obtained the
27 information lawfully and under no obligation of confidentiality to the Designating Party. Any use
1 4. DURATION
2 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by this
3 Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order
4 otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and
5 defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion
6 and exhaustion of all appeals, re-hearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this action, including the
7 time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.
8 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
9 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each Party or
10 Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order must take care to
11 limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. To the
12 extent it is practical to do so, the Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts
13 of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify – so that other portions
14 of the material, documents, items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not
15 swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
16 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are shown
17 to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily
18 encumber or retard the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens
19 on other parties) expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
20 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it designated for
21 protection do not qualify for protection at all or do not qualify for the level of protection initially
22 asserted, that Designating Party must promptly notify all other parties that it is withdrawing the
23 mistaken designation.
24 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this Order (see,
25 e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or
26 Discovery
27 Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before
1 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
2 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but excluding
3 transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix the
4 legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” to
5 each page that contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
6 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g.,
7 by making appropriate markings in the margins) and must specify, for each portion, the level of
8 protection being asserted.
9 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or materials available for inspection
10 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which material
11 it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the
12 material made available for inspection shall be deemed “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –
13 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants
14 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof,
15 qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the
16 Producing Party must affix the appropriate legend (“CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
17 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” ) to each page that contains Protected Material.
18 If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party
19 also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
20 margins) and must specify, for each portion, the level of protection being asserted.
21 (b) for testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings, that the
22 Designating Party identify on the record, before the close of the deposition, hearing, or other
23 proceeding, all protected testimony and specify the level of protection being asserted. When it is
24 impractical to identify separately each portion of testimony that is entitled to protection and it
25 appears that substantial portions of the testimony may qualify for protection, the Designating Party
26 may invoke on the record (before the deposition, hearing, or other proceeding is concluded) a right
27 to have up to 21 days to identify the specific portions of the testimony as to which protection is
1 that are appropriately designated for protection within the 21 days shall be covered by the provisions
2 of this Stipulated Protective Order. Alternatively, a Designating Party may specify, at the deposition
3 or up to 21 days afterwards if that period is properly invoked, that the entire transcript shall be
4 treated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
5 Parties shall give the other parties notice if they reasonably expect a deposition, hearing or
6 other proceeding to include Protected Material so that the other parties can ensure that only
7 authorized individuals who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
8 (Exhibit A) are present at those proceedings. The use of a document as an exhibit at a deposition
9 shall not in any way affect its designation as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL
10 – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
11 Transcripts containing Protected Material shall have an obvious legend on the title page that
12 the transcript contains Protected Material, and the title page shall be followed by a list of all pages
13 (including line numbers as appropriate) that have been designated as Protected Material and the
14 level of protection being asserted by the Designating Party. The Designating Party shall inform the
15 court reporter of these requirements. Any transcript that is prepared before the expiration of a 21-
16 day period for designation shall be treated during that period as if it had been designated “HIGHLY
17 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” in its entirety unless otherwise agreed. After
18 the expiration of that period, the transcript shall be treated only as actually designated.
19 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any other tangible
20 items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or
21 containers in which the information or item is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
22 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” If only a portion or portions of the information
23 or item warrant protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
24 portion(s) and specify the level of protection being asserted.
25 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to
26 designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s
27 right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a
1 in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
2 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
3 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of
4 confidentiality at any time. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s confidentiality
5 designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial unfairness, unnecessary economic
6 burdens, or a significant disruption or delay of the litigation, a Party does not waive its right to
7 challenge a confidentiality designation by electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the
8 original designation is disclosed.
9 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process
10 by providing written notice of each designation it is challenging and describing the basis for each
11 challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to whether a challenge has been made, the written notice must
12 recite that the challenge to confidentiality is being made in accordance with this specific paragraph
13 of the Protective Order. The parties shall attempt to resolve each challenge in good faith and must
14 begin the process by conferring directly (in voice to voice dialogue; other forms of communication
15 are not sufficient) within 14 days of the date of service of notice. In conferring, the Challenging
16 Party must explain the basis for its belief that the confidentiality designation was not proper and
17 must give the Designating Party an opportunity to review the designated material, to reconsider the
18 circumstances, and, if no change in designation is offered, to explain the basis for the chosen
19 designation. A Challenging Party may proceed to the next stage of the challenge process only if it
20 has engaged in this meet and confer process first or establishes that the Designating Party is
21 unwilling to participate in the meet and confer process in a timely manner.
22 6.3 Judicial Intervention. If the Parties cannot resolve a challenge without court
23 intervention, the Designating Party shall file and serve a notice of motion and motion to retain
24 confidentiality in compliance with Civil Local Rule 251 within 21 days of the initial notice of
25 challenge or within 14 days of the parties agreeing that the meet and confer process will not resolve
26 their dispute, whichever is earlier. The Joint Statement in connection with each such motion must
27 be accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the meet
1 file a notice of motion and motion in compliance with Civil Local Rule 251 within 21 days (or 14
2 days, if applicable) shall automatically waive the confidentiality designation for each challenged
3 designation. In addition, the Challenging Party may file a notice of motion and motion challenging
4 a confidentiality designation in compliance with Civil Local Rule 251 at any time if there is good
5 cause for doing so, including a challenge to the designation of a deposition transcript or any portions
6 thereof. The Joint Statement in connection with any such motion brought pursuant to this provision
7 must be accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the
8 meet and confer requirements imposed by the preceding paragraph.
9 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating
10 Party. Frivolous challenges and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose
11 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions.
12 Unless the Designating Party has waived the confidentiality designation by failing to file a motion
13 to retain confidentiality as described above, all parties shall continue to afford the material in
14 question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until
15 the court rules on the challenge.
16 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
17 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or
18 produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this case only for prosecuting,
19 defending, or attempting to settle this litigation. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to
20 the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When the litigation has
21 been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
22 DISPOSITION).
23 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and in
24 a secure manner2 that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under this Order.
25 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered
26
27
1 by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any
2 information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
3 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this action, as well as employees of
4 said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for
5 this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is
6 attached hereto as Exhibit A;
7 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the Receiving Party
8 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the
9 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
10 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably
11 necessary for this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
12 Bound” (Exhibit A);
13 (d) the court and its personnel;
14 (e) court reporters and their staff, professional jury or trial consultants, and Professional
15 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the
16 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
17 (f) during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is reasonably
18 necessary and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A),
19 unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
20 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material must be separately
21 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this
22 Stipulated Protective Order.
23 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or other
24 person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.
25 7.3 Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”
26 Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the
27 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated “HIGHLY
1 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this action, as well as employees of
2 said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for
3 this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is
4 attached hereto as Exhibit A;
5 (c) Experts of the Receiving Party (1) to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this
6 litigation, (2) who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A),
7 and (3) as to whom the procedures set forth in paragraph 7.4(a)(2), below, have been followed;
8 (d) the court and its personnel;
9 (e) court reporters and their staff, professional jury or trial consultants, and Professional
10 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the
11 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); and
12 (f) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or other
13 person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.
14 7.4 Procedures for Approving or Objecting to Disclosure of “HIGHLY
15 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”
16 (a)(1) Unless otherwise ordered by the court or agreed to in writing by the Designating Party,
17 a Party that seeks to disclose to an Expert (as defined in this Order) any information or item that has
18 been designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” pursuant to
19 paragraph 7.3(c) first must make a written request to the Designating Party that (1) identifies the
20 general categories of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” information
21 that the Receiving Party seeks permission to disclose to the Expert, (2) sets forth the full name of
22 the Expert and the city and state of his or her primary residence, (3) attaches a copy of the Expert’s
23 current resume, (4) identifies the Expert’s current employer(s), (5) identifies each person or entity
24 from whom the Expert has received compensation or funding for work in his or her areas of expertise
25 or to whom the expert has provided professional services, including in connection with a litigation,
26 at any time during the preceding five years, and (6) identifies (by name and number of the case,
27 filing date, and location of court) any litigation in connection with which the Expert has offered
1 the preceding five years.
2 (b) A Party that makes a request and provides the information specified in the preceding
3 respective paragraphs may disclose the subject Protected Material to the identified Expert unless,
4 within 14 days of delivering the request, the Party receives a written objection from the Designating
5 Party. Any such objection must set forth in detail the grounds on which it is based.
6 (c) A Party that receives a timely written objection must meet and confer with the
7 Designating Party (through direct voice to voice dialogue) to try to resolve the matter by agreement
8 within seven days of the written objection. If no agreement is reached, the Party seeking to make
9 the disclosure to the Designated Expert may file a motion seeking permission from the court to do
10 so. Any such motion must describe the circumstances with specificity, set forth in detail the reasons
11 why the disclosure to the Expert is reasonably necessary, assess the risk of harm that the disclosure
12 would entail, and suggest any additional means that could be used to reduce that risk. In addition,
13 any such motion must be accompanied by a competent declaration describing the parties’ efforts to
14 resolve the matter by agreement (i.e., the extent and the content of the meet and confer discussions)
15 and setting forth the reasons advanced by the Designating Party for its refusal to approve the
16 disclosure.
17 In any such proceeding, the Party opposing disclosure to the Expert shall bear the burden of
18 proving that the risk of harm that the disclosure would entail (under the safeguards proposed)
19 outweighs the Receiving Party’s need to disclose the Protected Material to its Expert.
20 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER
21 LITIGATION
22 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels
23 disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY
24 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” that Party must:
25 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall include a copy
26 of the subpoena or court order;
27 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue in the
1 Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
2 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the
3 Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
4 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena
5 or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or
6 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” before a determination by the court
7 from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
8 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that
9 court of its confidential material – and nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing
10 or encouraging a Receiving Party in this action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
11 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED IN THIS
12 LITIGATION
13 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in
14 this action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –
15 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”. Such information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this
16 litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions
17 should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
18 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce a Non-
19 Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the
20 Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then the Party shall:
21 1. promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that some
22 or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
23 2. promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective
24 Order in this litigation, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of
25 the information requested; and
26 3. make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party.
27 (c) If the Non-Party fails to object or seek a protective order from this court within 14
1 Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely
2 seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or
3 control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination
4 by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense
5 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
6 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
7 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected
8 Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order,
9 the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized
10 disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c)
11 inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this
12 Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to
13 Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
14 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE PROTECTED
15 MATERIAL
16 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently
17 produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the
18 Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision
19 is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that
20 provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d)
21 and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
22 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties may
23 incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
24 12. MISCELLANEOUS
25 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek
26 its modification by the court in the future.
27 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective Order
1 information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no
2 Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by
3 this Protective Order.
4 12.3 Filing Protected Material. Without written permission from the Designating Party or
5 a court order secured after appropriate notice to all interested persons, a Party may not file in the
6 public record in this action any Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected
7 Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 141.3 Protected Material may only be filed under seal
8 pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. Pursuant
9 to Civil Local Rule 141, a sealing order will issue only upon a request establishing that the Protected
10 Material at issue is privileged, protectable as a trade secret, or otherwise entitled to protection under
11 the law.
12 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
13 Within 60 days after the final disposition of this action, as defined in paragraph 4, each
14 Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material.
15 As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
16 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether
17 the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written
18 certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party)
19 by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material
20 that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,
21 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
22 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy
23 of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda,
24 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant
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3 Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 141, documents may not be filed under seal based solely on a private agreement
27 between or among the Parties, and may be sealed only upon issuance of a written order of the Court. Accordingly, the
1 and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival
2 copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set
3 forth in Section 4 (DURATION).
4 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
5 Dated: March 4, 2026 LITTLER MENDELSON, P.C.
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/s/Mark A. Romeo
7 Mark A. Romeo
Derek S. Hecht
8 Alexandra R. Volpicelli
9 Attorneys for Plaintiffs
COULSON AVIATION (USA) INC.
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11 Dated: March 4, 2026 WEINTRAUB TOBIN CHEDIAK COLEMAN
GRODIN LAW CORPORATION
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13 /s/James Kachmar
James Kachmar
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Attorney For Defendant
15 JEFFREY CAVARRA
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of
4 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read
5 in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States
6 District Court for the Eastern District of California on [date] in the case of Coulson Aviation (USA),
7 Inc. v. Jeffrey Cavarra, Case No. 2:25-cv-03005-TLN-CSK. I agree to comply with and to be bound
8 by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to
9 so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly
10 promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this
11 Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions
12 of this Order.
13 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the
14 Eastern District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective
15 Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action.
16 I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of
17 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and telephone number]
18 as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any proceedings
19 related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
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21 Date: _________________________________
22 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
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Printed name: ______________________________
24 [printed name]
25 Signature: __________________________________
[signature]
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