Opinion

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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

10 CASEY TAHA, individually and on ) Case No. 8:25-cv-02330-DOC-JDE

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11 behalf of all those similarly situated, )

) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE

12 Plaintiff, ) ) ORDER

13 )

)

14 v. )

)

15 MOMENTIVE SOFTWARE, INC., )

)

16 and ANAHEIM DUCKS HOCKEY )

CLUB, LLC, )

17 )

)

18 Defendants. )

)

19

20 Based on the parties’ Stipulation and for good cause shown, the Court

21 finds and orders as follows.

22 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

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

24 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public

25 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may

26 be warranted. This Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures

27 or responses to discovery and the protection it affords from public disclosure

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1 and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to

2 confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles.

3 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

4 This action is likely to involve private information belonging to third

5 parties for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for

6 any purpose other than the prosecution of this action is warranted. Such

7 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other

8 things, personal identifying information of third parties, information related to

9 donors and other participants in charitable auctions, information related to the

10 GiveSmart platform and Momentive’s business strategies, information

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

12 otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules,

13 case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of

14 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality

15 of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are

16 required to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted

17 reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the

18 conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and to

19 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in

20 this matter. Information may not be designated as confidential for tactical

21 reasons and nothing may be so designated without a good faith belief that it

22 has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good

23 cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case.

24 3. UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE

25 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that

26 this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential

27 information under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that

28 must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks

1 permission from the court to file material under seal. There is a strong

2 presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial proceedings and

3 records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, good cause

4 must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and

5 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen.

6 Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony

7 Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated

8 protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good

9 cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal

10 justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party

11 seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or

12 Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not— without the submission

13 of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought to

14 be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise

15 protectable—constitute good cause.

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

17 then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown,

18 and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to

19 be protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th

20 Cir. 2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to

21 be filed or introduced under seal, the party seeking protection must articulate

22 compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the

23 requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application

24 to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.

25 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise

26 protectable in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions

27 can be redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for

28 public viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise

1 protectable portions of the document, shall be filed. Any application that seeks

2 to file documents under seal in their entirety should include an explanation of

3 why redaction is not feasible.

4 4. DEFINITIONS

5 4.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit.

6 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the

7 designation of information or items under this Order.

8 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information

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

10 qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as

11 specified above in the Good Cause Statement.

12 4.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well

13 as their support staff).

14 4.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates

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

16 as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

17 4.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information,

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

19 maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible

20 things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.

21 4.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a

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

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

24 4.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this

25 Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any

26 other outside counsel.

27 4.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation,

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

1 4.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a

2 party to this Action but are retained to represent a party to this Action and

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

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

5 4.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers,

6 directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of

7 Record (and their support staffs).

8 4.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

9 Discovery Material in this Action.

10 4.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation

11 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing

12 exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any

13 form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors.

14 4.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

15 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

16 4.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery

17 Material from a Producing Party.

18 5. SCOPE

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

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

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

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

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

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

25 the trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the

26 use of Protected Material at trial.

27 / / /

28 / / /

1 6. DURATION

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

3 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or

4 introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively

5 available to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling

6 reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to

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

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

9 discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents

10 are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not

11 extend beyond the commencement of the trial to documents offered as

12 evidence at trial, but do continue regarding all documents designated as

13 CONFIDENTIAL that are not introduced into evidence at trial.

14 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

15 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for

16 Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information

17 or items for protection under this Order must take care to limit any such

18 designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards.

19 The Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of

20 material, documents, items or oral or written communications that qualify so

21 that other portions of the material, documents, items or communications for

22 which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit

23 of this Order.

24 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited.

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

26 for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development

27 process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may

28 expose the Designating Party to sanctions.

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

2 that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating

3 Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the

4 inapplicable designation.

5 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise

6 provided in this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or

7 Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be

8 clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.

9 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

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

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

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

13 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page

14 that contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page

15 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the

16 protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).

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

18 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting

19 Party has indicated which documents it would like copied and produced.

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

21 available for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the

22 inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced,

23 the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof,

24 qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified

25 documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to

26 each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on

27 a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify

28 the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).

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

2 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, not later than

3 fourteen (14) days after receipt of the official transcript.

4 (c) for information produced in some form other than

5 documentary and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix

6 in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the

7 information is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or

8 portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the

9 extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).

10 7.3 Retroactive Designation of Previously Produced Material. A

11 Producing Party may designate as “CONFIDENTIAL” any Disclosure or

12 Discovery Material that was produced prior to the entry of this Order or without

13 a confidentiality designation by providing written notice to the Receiving Party

14 within 14 days of entry of this Order and, where practicable, replacement copies

15 bearing the appropriate legend.

16 7.4 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. An inadvertent failure to

17 designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the

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

19 Upon a Designating’s Party learning of an inadvertent failure to designate, the

20 Designating Party shall promptly correct the designation, and the Receiving

21 Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in

22 accordance with the provisions of this Order.

23 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

24 8.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

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

26 Scheduling Order.

27 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute

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

1 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a

2 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.

3 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be

4 on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an

5 improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens

6 on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. All parties

7 shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to

8 which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court

9 rules on the challenge or it is withdrawn by the Designating Party.

10 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

11 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that

12 is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection

13 with this Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this

14 Action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of

15 persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has

16 been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section

17 15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). Protected Material must be stored and

18 maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and in a secure manner that

19 ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under this Order.

20 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

21 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating

22 Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated

23 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

24 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this

25 Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is

26 reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action;

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

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

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

2 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed

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

4 (d) the court and its personnel;

5 (e) court reporters and their staff;

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

7 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this

8 Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be

9 Bound” (Exhibit A to be negotiated by the parties);

10 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the

11 information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew

12 the information;

13 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses,

14 in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the

15 deposing party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A

16 hereto; and (2) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information

17 unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit

18 A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court.

19 Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal

20 Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not

21 be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Order; and

22 (i) mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel,

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

24 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED

25 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION

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

27 litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this

28 Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:

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

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

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

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

5 by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification

6 shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and

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

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

9 the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the

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

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

12 the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating

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

14 of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in

15 these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a

16 Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.

17 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO

18 BE PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION

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

20 by a Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such

21 information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is

22 protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these

23 provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking

24 additional protections.

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

26 request, to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession,

27 and the Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the

28 Non-Party’s confidential information, then the Party shall:

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

2 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a

3 confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;

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

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

6 reasonably specific description of the information requested; and

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

8 Non-Party, if requested.

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

10 within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the

11 Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information

12 responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective

13 order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession

14 or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party

15 before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the

16 Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court

17 of its Protected Material.

18 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED

19 MATERIAL

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

21 disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not

22 authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must

23 immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized

24 disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the

25 Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized

26 disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request such

27 person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment an Agreement to Be

28 Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.

1 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR

2 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

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

5 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in

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

7 modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that

8 provides for production without prior privilege review. Under Federal Rule of

9 Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect

10 of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client

11 privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their

12 agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the court.

13 14. MISCELLANEOUS

14 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of

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

16 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this

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

18 to disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not

19 addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any

20 right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered

21 by this Protective Order.

22 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any

23 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5, or any applicable

24 Court Order. Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a

25 court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material. If a

26 Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the court, then

27 the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless

28 otherwise instructed by the court.

1 15. FINAL DISPOSITION

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

3 || within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving

4 || Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such

material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all

6 || copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing

7 ||or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is

8 returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification

9 ||to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the

10 || Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies (by category,

11 || where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed

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

13 || compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of

14 || the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to

15 ||retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and

16 || hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial

17 || exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert

18 || work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such

19 || archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to

20 || this Protective Order as set forth in Section 6 (DURATION).

21 16. VIOLATION

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

23 |/including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary

24 || sanctions.

25 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS Pre ED

26 || DATED: June 17, 2026 Lig of

27 J D. EARLY

38 nited States Magistrate Judge

14