Opinion

Court: District Court, C.D. California
Filed: Jun 10, 2026
Cited by: 0 cases
Authority: More cited than 41.6%

The opinion

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA – WESTERN DIVISION

11 JOLEEN LLORENCE, an individual, CASE NO.: 2:25-cv-11288-MEMF

(PVCx)

Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE

13 ORDER

TARGET CORPORATION, a

15 Minnesota corporation; and DOES 1

through 10, inclusive,

Defendants.

1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

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

proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public

disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be

warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter

the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order

does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and

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

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

applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section

1 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file

2 confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5.1 sets forth the

3 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party

4 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.

5 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

6 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 26(c)(1) states in pertinent part, that

7 the Court, upon a showing of good cause may “issue an order to protect a party from

8 annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense.” Fed.R.Civ.P.

9 26(c)(1). In the instant matter, Defendant Target Corporation’s Confidential

Documents contain proprietary and confidential trade secret information relating to

Defendant Target Corporation’s business practices, its safety protocol, and

surveillance videos. Defendant Target Corporation (“Defendant” or “Target”)

derives independent economic value from maintaining the confidentiality of the

policies and procedures set forth in these Confidential Documents.

Defendant is a retailer and has conducted business in California for over 30

years. The retail industry is very competitive. As a result of years of investing time

and money in research and investigation, Defendant developed the policies

contained in the Confidential Documents for the purposes of maintaining the

security of its facilities, providing quality customer service, and ensuring the safety

of its employees, customers, and other invitees. These policies and procedures, as

memorialized in the Confidential Documents, were created and generated by Target

for Target, and are used for the purposes of maintaining safety at its stores and

24 creating efficient and organized work environments for its employees. As a result,

25 Defendant is able to minimize the waste of any resources, which is a key factor in

26 generating profitability for its business.

27 Defendant derives economic value from maintaining the secrecy of its

28 Confidential Documents. If disclosed to the public, the trade secret information

1 contained in Defendant’s Confidential Documents would reveal Defendant’s internal

2 operations and could potentially be used by competitors as a means to compete for

3 its customers, interfere with its business plans and thereby gain unfair business

4 advantages. If Defendant’s safety protocol were revealed to the general public, it

5 would hinder Defendant’s ability to effectively resolve and minimize liability

claims, and its goal of protecting its customers and employees from theft and other

crimes. Unrestricted or unprotected disclosure of such information would result in

prejudice or harm to Defendant by revealing Target’s competitive confidential

information, which has been developed at the expense of Target and which

represents valuable tangible and intangible assets. Accordingly, the parties

respectfully submit that there is good cause for the entry of this Protective Order.

2. DEFINITIONS

2.1 “Action” means the above-entitled proceeding with case number 2:25-

cv-11288-MEMF (PVCx).

2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation

of information or items under this Order.

2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of

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

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

21 Good Cause Statement.

22 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as

23 their support staff).

24 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or

25 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as

26 “CONFIDENTIAL.”

27 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless

28 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,

1 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or

2 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.

3 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter

4 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as

5 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.

2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.

House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside

counsel.

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

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

2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a

party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and

have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm

which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.

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

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

support staffs).

19 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

20 Discovery Material in this Action.

21 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support

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

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

24 and their employees and subcontractors.

25 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

26 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

27 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material

28 from a Producing Party.

1 3. SCOPE

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

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

4 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or

5 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or

presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.

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

trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.

4. DURATION

Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as

confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will

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

compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are

made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of

Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause”

showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”

standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the

terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.

20 2. The Designating Party shall have the right to designate as “Confidential”

21 any form of disclosure which may contain Confidential Material, including any

22 Document, Pleading, Motion, Exhibit, Declaration, Affidavit, Deposition Transcript,

23 Inspection and all other tangible items (electronic media, photographs,

24 videocassettes, etc.), Testimony or Information that the Designating Party in good

25 faith believes to contain non-public information that is entitled to confidential

26 treatment under applicable law, such as asset protection videos, material, documents,

27 information, or policies.

28 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

1 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection

2 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection

3 under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that

4 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for

5 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written

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

or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably

within the ambit of this Order.

Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations

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

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

unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating

Party to sanctions.

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

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

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

The entry of this Stipulation and Protective Order does not alter, waive,

modify, or abridge any right, privilege or protection otherwise available to any Party

20 with respect to the discovery of matters, including but not limited to any Party’s

21 right to assert the attorney-client privilege, the attorney work product doctrine, or

22 other privileges, or any Party’s right to contest any such assertion.

23 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this

24 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise

25 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection

26 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or

27 produced.

28 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

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

2 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that

3 the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter

4 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a

5 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing

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

markings in the margins).

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

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

which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and

before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be

deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the

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

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

producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the

“CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a

portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing

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

20 markings in the margins).

21 (b) For testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify

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

23 deposition all protected testimony.

24 (c) For information produced in some form other than documentary and for

25 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the

26 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend

27 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants

28 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected

1 portion(s).

2 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

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

4 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.

5 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable

efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this

Order.

6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

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

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

Scheduling Order.

6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute

resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.

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

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

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

expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived

or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the

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

21 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.

22 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

23 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is

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

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

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

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

28 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL

1 DISPOSITION).

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

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

4 authorized under this Order.

5 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise

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

Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

(a) The Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as

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

necessary to disclose the information for this Action;

(b) The officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of

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

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

“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);

(d) The court and its personnel;

(e) Court reporters and their staff;

(f) Professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional

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

21 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);

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

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

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

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

26 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2)

27 they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the

28 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise

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

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

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

4 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and

5 (i) Any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,

mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.

8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUPOENAED OR ORDERED

PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION

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

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

“CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:

(a) Promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification

shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

(b) Promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order

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

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

a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and

20 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.

21 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with

22 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this

23 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the

24 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s

25 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking

26 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions

27 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action

28 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.

1 9. 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-

4 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information

5 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the

remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be

construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.

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

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

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

confidential information, then the Party shall:

(1) Promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party

that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement

with a Non-Party;

(2) Promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated

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

specific description of the information requested; and

(3) Make the information requested available for inspection by the

20 Non-Party, if requested.

21 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14

22 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party

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

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

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

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

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

28 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.

1 10. 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

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

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

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

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

Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR

OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL

When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain

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

the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil

Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure

may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior

privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the

parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or

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

21 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted

22 to the court.

23 12. MISCELLANEOUS

24 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any

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

26 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this

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

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

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

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

3 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any

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

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

specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material

under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information

in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.

13. FINAL DISPOSITION

After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60

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

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

this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,

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

Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving

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

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

(by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or

20 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

22 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to

23 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing

24 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert

25 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such

26 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or

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

28 Section 4 (DURATION).

1 14. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate

2 || measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary

3 |) sanctions.

> || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN BY THE PARTIES’ STIPULATION, IT IS SO

6 || ORDERED.

fil Io

9 DATED: June 10, 2026

Hon. Pedro V. Castillo

10 United States Magistrate Judge

STIPUT ATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

1 EXHIBIT A

2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

3 I, ____________________________________________, [print or type full name]

4 of ______________________________________________, [print or type full

5 address] declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and

understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States

District Court for the Central District of California on ________________ [date] in

the case of Patrick Guest v. Target Corporation, Case No.: 2:25-cv-11288-MEMF

(PVCx), I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated

Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could

expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly

promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject

to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance

with the provisions of this Order.

I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the

Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this

Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after

termination of this action. I hereby appoint ____________________________ [print

20 or type full name] of ___________________________________________________

21 [print or type full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service

22 of process in connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement

23 of this Stipulated Protective Order.

24 Date: _______________________________

25 City and State where sworn and signed: ________________________________

26 Printed Name: _________________________________________

27 Signature: _____________________________________________

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