# Opinion

> District Court, C.D. California · June 5, 2026

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11383059

## Case

- **Full name:** Margaret Aguirre, an Individual v. AS ORE (ON JAVE COMPANY; Atlantica North America LLC, a Delaware Company; and Does 1-10, Inclusive
- **Court:** District Court, C.D. California
- **Decided:** June 5, 2026
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

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- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11383059

## Opinion text

1 || Jennifer L. Santa Maria CA Bar No. 225875
jennifer santamaria@ ogletree.com
2 || Marie M. Hulen CA Bar No. 340003
marie hulen@osletrec.com
3 || OGLETREE, DEAKINS, NASH,
SMOAK & STEWART, P.C.
4660 La Jolla Village Drive, Suite 900
San Diego, CA 92122
Telephone: 858-652-3100
Facsimile: 858-652-3101
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Attorneys for Defendants ASI OPERATIONS LLC,
7||MOJAVE SOLAR LLC, and ATLANTICA NORTH
AMERICA LLC
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Additional counsel is on the following page
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
1]
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MARGARET AGUIRRE, AN Case No. 5:26—cv—00089 KK (SPx)
13 | INDIVIDUAL,
STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
14 Plaintiff, ORDER
15 District Judge: Kenly Kiya Kato
Magistrate Tadge: Sheri Pym
16 . .
AS ORE (ON JAVE | Complaint Filed: November 14, 2025
COMPANY; ATLANTICA NORTH
18 |] AMERICA LLC, A DELAWARE
COMPANY; AND DOES 1-10,
19 || INCLUSIVE,
20 Defendants.
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] Cace No 5$:96—cv—NNN89 KK □□□□

1 Julian Burns King CA Bar No. 298617
julian@kingsiegel.com
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James H. Baker, Jr. CA Bar No. 291836
3 james@kingsiegel.com
KING & SIEGEL LLP
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601 University Avenue, Ste. 275
5 Sacramento, California 95825
6 Telephone: (213) 465-4802
Facsimile: (213) 465-4803
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8 Attorneys for Plaintiff MARGARET AGUIRRE

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1 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
2 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
3 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure
4 and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be warranted.
5 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the
6 following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does
7 not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the
8 protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited
9 information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable
10 legal principles.
11 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
12 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, sensitive personal identifying
13 information of employees (e.g., personal addresses, birthdates, social security
14 numbers, etc.) medical and/or psychological records, and other valuable research,
15 development, commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary information for
16 which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other
17 than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary
18 materials and information consist of, among other things, confidential business or
19 financial information, information regarding confidential business practices, or other
20 confidential research, development, or commercial information (including information
21 implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise generally
22 unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from
23 disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law.
24 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of
25 disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information
26 the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted
27 reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of
28 trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice,
1 a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the
2 parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and
3 that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in
4 a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part
5 of the public record of this case.
6 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE
7 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this
8 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under
9 seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the
10 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file
11 material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access
12 to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive
13 motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v.
14 City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen.
15 Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony
16 Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective
17 orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or
18 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be
19 made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The
20 parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL
21 does not— without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing
22 that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or
23 otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
24 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then
25 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief
26 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See
27 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item
28 or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal,
1 || the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific
2 || facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence
3||supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by
4 || declaration.
5 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in
6 |/its 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
8 || the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall
9 || be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should
10 || include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
11 4. DEFINITIONS
12 4.1 Action: the above-captioned action titled Margaret Aguirre v. ASI
13 || Operations LLC, et al., Central District Court Case No. 5:26-—cv—00089 KK (SPx).
14 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
15 || of information or items under this Order.
16 4.3. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
17 || how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection
18 |} under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause
19 || Statement.
20 4.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
21 || support staff).
22 4.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
23 |}items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
24 || “CONFIDENTIAL.”
25 4.6 Disclosure of Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of
26 ||the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
27 || among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
28 || generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.
A Cace No 5$:96—cv—NNN89 KK □□□□

1 4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
2 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
3 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
4 4.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
5 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
6 counsel.
7 4.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or
8 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
9 4.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party
10 to this Action but are retained to represent a party to this Action and have appeared in
11 this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that has appeared
12 on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
13 4.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
14 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
15 support staffs).
16 4.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
17 Discovery Material in this Action.
18 4.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
19 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
20 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and
21 their employees and subcontractors.
22 4.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
23 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
24 4.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
25 from a Producing Party.
26 5. SCOPE
27 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected
28 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from
1 Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected
2 Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their
3 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
4 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial
5 judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of Protected
6 Material at trial.
7 6. DURATION
8 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
9 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced
10 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all
11 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by
12 specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of
13 the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing
14 for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard
15 when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of
16 this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
17 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
18 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
19 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this
20 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies
21 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection
22 only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written communications that
23 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items or communications for
24 which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this
25 Order.
26 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited.
27 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for
28 an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process
1 or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the
2 Designating Party to sanctions.
3 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
4 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
5 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
6 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this
7 Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material that
8 qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the
9 material is disclosed or produced.
10 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
11 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
12 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
13 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
14 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
15 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for
16 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g.,
17 by making appropriate markings in the margins).
18 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
19 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
20 which documents it would like copied and produced.
21 During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available
22 for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has
23 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must
24 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this
25 Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must
26 affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If
27 only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party
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1 also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
2 markings in the margins).
3 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies
4 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition
5 all protected testimony.
6 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for
7 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
8 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
9 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
10 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
11 portion(s).
12 7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
13 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
14 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon
15 timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts
16 to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
17 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
18 8.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
19 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling
20 Order.
21 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
22 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
23 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a joint
24 stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
25 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
26 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
27 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
28 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived
1 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the
2 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing
3 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
4 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
5 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
6 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
7 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such
8 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
9 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving
10 Party must comply with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
11 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
12 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
13 authorized under this Order.
14 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
15 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
16 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL”
17 only to:
18 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well
19 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary
20 to disclose the information for this Action;
21 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
22 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
23 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
24 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
25 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A) [TO BE NEGOTIATED
26 AND PREPARED BY PARTIES AND ATTACHED TO STIPULATION AND
27 PROPOSED ORDER];
28 (d) the court and its personnel;
1 (e) court reporters and their staff;
2 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
3 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
4 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
5 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
6 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
7 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the
8 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
9 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will
10 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
11 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed
12 by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition
13 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately
14 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted
15 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
16 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel,
17 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
18 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
19 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
20 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
21 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
22 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
23 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
24 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
25 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
26 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or
27 order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this
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1 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
2 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the Designating
3 Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena or court order
4 shall not produce any information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL”
5 before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless
6 the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall
7 bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential
8 material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or
9 encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from
10 another court.
11 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
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13 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
14 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
15 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies
16 and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as
17 prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
18 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
19 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
20 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
21 confidential information, then the Party shall:
22 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that
23 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
24 with a Non-Party;
25 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective
26 Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific
27 description of the information requested; and
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1 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-
2 Party, if requested.
3 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14
4 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may
5 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request.
6 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce
7 any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality
8 agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court
9 order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
10 protection in this court of its Protected Material.
11 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
12 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
13 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
14 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
15 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
16 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
17 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
18 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
19 Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.
20 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
21 PROTECTED MATERIAL
22 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
23 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
24 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
25 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
26 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
27 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
28 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
1 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
2 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to
3 the court.
4 14. MISCELLANEOUS
5 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
6 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
7 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
8 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
9 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
10 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
11 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
12 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
13 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
14 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
15 Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied
16 by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record
17 unless otherwise instructed by the court.
18 15. FINAL DISPOSITION
19 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6, within 60
20 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
21 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
22 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
23 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
24 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party
25 must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person
26 or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies (by
27 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed
28 and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
1 |}compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
2 || Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an
3 archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts,
4||legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports,
5 || attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials
6||contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute
7 Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 6
8 || (DURATION).
9 16. VIOLATION
10 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including,
11 |} without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
12 |} IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
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14|| DATED: May 13, 2026

16 || DATED: May 13, 2026

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19 |} FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
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DATED: June 5, 2026 / C yy
22 HON. SHERI PYM
33 United States Magistrate Judge
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14 Cace No 5$:96—cv—NNN89 KK □□□□

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11383059. Public record. Not legal advice.