# Opinion

> District Court, C.D. California · June 17, 2026

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11383631

## Case

- **Full name:** Casey Taha, individually and on behalf of all those similarly situated v. Momentive Software, Inc., and Anaheim Ducks Hockey Club, LLC
- **Court:** District Court, C.D. California
- **Decided:** June 17, 2026
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

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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
)
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
28
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

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11383631. Public record. Not legal advice.