The opinion
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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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CK FRANCHISING, INC., Case No. No. 8:26-cv-00228-JWH-ADS
11
Plaintiff, [Before the Honorable John W. Holcomb,
12 Courtroom 9D]
v.
13 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
CENTRAL VALLEY CARE, INC., et al.,
14 [Discovery Document: Referred to
Defendants. Magistrate Judge Autumn D. Spaeth]
15
16 Discovery Cutoff: November 6, 2026
Pre-Trial Conference: Feb. 26, 2027
Trial Date: March 15, 2027
17
18 On May 29, 2026, the Court issued its Order Granting in Part Plaintiff’s Motion
19 to Compel. (Docket No. 58.) The Court ordered the parties to submit a Stipulated
20 Protective Order for review to the Court by no later than June 12, 2026. The Court
21 hereby orders as follows:
22 I. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
23 A. Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
24 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
1 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation
2 may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the
3 Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties
4 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all
5 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from
6 public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that
7 are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The
8 parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section XIII(C), below, that this
9 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information
10 under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed
11 and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the
12 Court to file material under seal.
13 II. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
14 A. This action is likely to involve trade secrets, third-party information, and
15 other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or
16 proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure and
17 from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted.
18 Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among
19 other things, confidential business or financial information, information
20 regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential research,
21 development, or commercial information (including information implicating
22 privacy rights of third parties), including patient information, protected health
23 information, patient contact information, caregiver information, caregiver
24 contact information, referral-source information, and other non-public
1 information implicating significant privacy interests under federal law and the
2 California Constitution, information otherwise generally unavailable to the
3 public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under
4 state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. The parties
5 further acknowledge that discovery in this action may involve information
6 concerning non-party patients, caregivers, and referral sources, and that
7 disclosure of such information beyond those persons reasonably necessary to
8 prosecute, defend, or attempt to settle this action could result in substantial
9 privacy harm to those non-parties. The parties further acknowledge that any
10 production of such information is being made solely for purposes of prosecuting,
11 defending, or attempting to settle this action and not for business, operational,
12 commercial, competitive, franchise-management, franchise-development,
13 patient-transition, caregiver-transition, marketing, recruiting, or solicitation
14 purposes. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the
15 prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to
16 adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to
17 ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material
18 in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the
19 end of the litigation, and to serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such
20 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that
21 information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that
22 nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained
23 in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not
24 be part of the public record of this case.
1 III. DEFINITIONS
2 A. Action: This pending federal lawsuit, CK Franchising, Inc. v. Central
3 Valley Care, Inc., et al., Case No. 8:26-cv-00228-JWH-ADS
4 B. Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
5 of information or items under this Order.
6 C. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information (regardless of how
7 it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
8 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
9 the Good Cause Statement.
10 D. Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
11 support staff).
12 E. Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates information or
13 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
14 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
15 F. Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless of
16 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained
17 (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that
18 are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this
19 matter.
20 G. Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
21 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to
22 serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
23 H. House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
24 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
1 counsel.
2 I. "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" Information or
3 Items: Information or tangible things of an extremely sensitive nature, the
4 disclosure of which to a Party, competitor, business personnel, franchise
5 personnel, or other non-litigation personnel could create a substantial risk of
6 privacy harm, competitive harm, or other injury that could not be avoided by
7 less restrictive means. Such information includes, without limitation:
8 1. Patient identities;
9 2. Patient contact information;
10 3. Protected health information;
11 4. Medical information;
12 5. Patient care information, plans of care, assessments, and treatment-
13 related information;
14 6. Caregiver identities;
15 7. Caregiver contact information;
16 8. Caregiver employment, compensation, scheduling, assignment, training,
17 or personnel information;
18 9. Referral-source identities;
19 10. Referral-source contact information;
20 11. Information identifying or reasonably capable of identifying any current
21 or former patient, caregiver, referral source, prospective patient, or
22 prospective caregiver;
23 12. Information implicating significant privacy interests of non-parties; and
24 13. Any compilation, summary, report, database, spreadsheet,
1 communication, or other document containing the foregoing information.
2 J. Non-Party: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
3 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
4 K. Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a party
5 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and
6 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law
7 firm which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
8 L. Party: Any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
9 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and
10 their support staffs).
11 M. Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
12 Discovery Material in this Action.
13 N. Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation support
14 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
15 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or
16 medium) and their employees and subcontractors.
17 O. Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
18 designated as “CONFIDENTIALor "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS'
19 EYES ONLY."
20 P. Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
21 from a Producing Party.
22 IV. SCOPE
23 A. The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
24 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
1 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
2 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
3 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
4 B. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of
5 the trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
6 V. DURATION
7 A. Once this case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated
8 as confidential or maintained pursuant to this Protective Order becomes public
9 and will be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the
10 press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to
11 proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See
12 Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir.
13 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in
14 discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents
15 are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this Protective Order do not
16 extend beyond the commencement of the trial. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
17 information designated HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY
18 that identifies or could reasonably identify a current or former patient,
19 prospective patient, caregiver, prospective caregiver, referral source, or other
20 non-party shall remain subject to the confidentiality protections of this Order
21 unless and until otherwise ordered by the trial judge upon a showing sufficient
22 to overcome the applicable privacy interests of such non-parties.
23 VI. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
24 A. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection
1 1. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for
2 protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation
3 to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The
4 Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of
5 material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that
6 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or
7 communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
8 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
9 2. Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited.
10 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been
11 made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case
12 development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on
13 other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
14 3. If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or
15 items that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that
16 Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is
17 withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
18 B. Manner and Timing of Designations
19 1. Except as otherwise provided in this Order (see, e.g., Section
20 B(2)(b) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or
21 Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be
22 clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
23 2. Designation in conformity with this Order requires the following:
24 a. For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or
1 electronic documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or
2 other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix
3 at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or HIGHLY
4 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" (hereinafter the
5 "CONFIDENTIALITY LEGEND") , to each page that contains
6 protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on
7 a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must
8 clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
9 appropriate markings in the margins).
10 b. A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents
11 available for inspection need not designate them for protection
12 until after the inspecting Party has indicated which documents it
13 would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before
14 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection
15 shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL
16 – ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" .” After the inspecting Party has
17 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the
18 Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions
19 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before
20 producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix
21 the “CONFIDENTIALITY LEGEND” to each page that contains
22 Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on
23 a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must
24 clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
1 appropriate markings in the margins).
2 c. For testimony given in depositions, that the Designating
3 Party identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record,
4 before the close of the deposition all protected testimony.
5 d. For information produced in form other than document and
6 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a
7 prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in
8 which the information is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL or
9 HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" .” If only
10 a portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the
11 Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the
12 protected portion(s).
13 C. Inadvertent Failure to Designate
14 1. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate qualified
15 information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating
16 Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
17 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make
18 reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with
19 the provisions of this Order.
20 VII. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
21 A. Timing of Challenges
22 1. Any party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of CONFIDENTIAL
23 designations; or AEO designations at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
24 Scheduling Order.
1 B. Meet and Confer
2 1. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process
3 under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
4 C. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
5 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
6 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
7 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
8 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
9 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
10 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
11 challenge.
12 VIII. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
13 A. Basic Principles
14 1. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or
15 produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
16 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action.
17 Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of
18 persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When the
19 Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the
20 provisions of Section XIV below.
21 2. Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving
22 Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is
23 limited to the persons authorized under this Order.
24 B. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items
1 1. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by
2 the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or
3 item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
4 a. The Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this
5 Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to
6 whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this
7 Action;
8 b. The officers, directors, and employees (including House
9 Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably
10 necessary for this Action;
11 c. Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
12 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed
13 the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
14 d. The Court and its personnel;
15 e. Court reporters and their staff;
16 f. Professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
17 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary
18 for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and
19 Agreement to be Bound” attached as Exhibit A hereto;
20 g. The author or recipient of a document containing the
21 information or a custodian or other person who otherwise
22 possessed or knew the information;
23 h. During their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for
24 witnesses, in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably
1 necessary provided: (i) the deposing party requests that the
2 witness sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound;”
3 and (ii) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential
4 information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement
5 to Be Bound,” unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or
6 ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or
7 exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be
8 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to
9 anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order;
10 and
11 i. Any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting
12 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in
13 settlement discussions.
14 C. Disclosure of "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY"
15 Information or Items
16 1. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by
17 the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose information or
18 items designated "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS' EYES
19 ONLY" only to:
20 a. The Receiving Party's Outside Counsel of Record in this Action,
21 and those employees of such Outside Counsel of Record to whom
22 disclosure is reasonably necessary for the prosecution, defense, or
23 settlement of this Action;
24 b. Experts (as defined in this Order) to whom disclosure is
1 reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
2 "Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound" (Exhibit A);
3 c. The Court and its personnel;
4 d. Court reporters and their staff;
5 e. Professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
6 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary
7 for this Action and who have signed the "Acknowledgment and
8 Agreement to Be Bound" attached as Exhibit A;
9 f. During their depositions, witnesses and attorneys for witnesses
10 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary, provided the
11 requirements of Section VIII(B)(1)(h) are satisfied; and
12 g. Any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting
13 personnel, mutually agreed upon by the parties engaged in
14 settlement discussions.
15 2. Information designated "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –
16 ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" shall not be disclosed to:
17 a. Any officer, director, employee, owner, member, manager,
18 shareholder, franchisee, franchise-development personnel,
19 franchise-operations personnel, business personnel, or House
20 Counsel of any Receiving Party; or
21 b. Any person not specifically authorized under Section VIII(C)(1).
22 D. Additional Restrictions Applicable to "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –
23 ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" Information or Items
24 1. Information designated "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –
1 ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" shall be used solely for purposes of
2 prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle the claims and defenses
3 asserted in this Action, and for no other purpose.
4 2. Information designated "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –
5 ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" shall not be used, directly or indirectly, for
6 any business, operational, commercial, competitive, franchise-
7 development, franchise-management, franchise-operations, marketing,
8 recruiting, referral-source development, or other purpose unrelated to the
9 prosecution, defense, or settlement of the claims and defenses asserted in
10 this Action.
11 3. Information designated "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –
12 ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" shall not be used, directly or indirectly, to
13 identify, contact, solicit, recruit, market to, communicate with, or
14 otherwise target any current or former patient, prospective patient,
15 caregiver, prospective caregiver, referral source, prospective referral
16 source, or other non-party identified through such information.
17 Information designated "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS'
18 EYES ONLY" shall not be used, directly or indirectly, for patient-
19 transition activities, caregiver-transition activities, transfer-of-care
20 activities, referral-source development activities, franchise-development
21 activities, franchise-operations activities, or any other activity unrelated
22 to the prosecution, defense, or settlement of the claims and defenses
23 asserted in this Action.
24 4. No person receiving information designated "HIGHLY
1 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" shall disclose,
2 summarize, characterize, communicate, or otherwise convey the
3 substance of such information to any person not authorized to receive
4 such information under Section VIII(C) of this Order.
5 5. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the use of information
6 designated "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" in
7 connection with the prosecution, defense, or settlement of the claims and
8 defenses asserted in this Action, subject to the other provisions of this
9 Order.
10 IX. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
11 IN OTHER LITIGATION
12 A. If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other
13 litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this
14 Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS'
15 EYES ONLY" that Party must:
16 1. Promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
17 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
18 2. Promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or
19 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material
20 covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such
21 notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
22 3. Cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
23 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be
24 affected.
1 B. If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served
2 with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated
3 in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –
4 ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" before a determination by the Court from which the
5 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
6 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
7 protection in that court of its CONFIDENTIAL” or "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL
8 – ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" and nothing in these provisions should be
9 construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to
10 disobey a lawful directive from another court.
11 X. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
12 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
13 A. The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
14 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL or "HIGHLY
15 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by
16 Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and
17 relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed
18 as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
19 B. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
20 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party
21 is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
22 confidential information, then the Party shall:
23 1. Promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
24 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a
1 confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
2 2. Promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
3 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a
4 reasonably specific description of the information requested; and
5 3. Make the information requested available for inspection by the
6 Non-Party, if requested.
7 C. If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14
8 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
9 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the
10 discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the
11 Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control
12 that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a
13 determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party
14 shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its
15 Protected Material.
16 XI. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
17 A. If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has
18 disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not
19 authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must
20 immediately (1) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized
21 disclosures, (2) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the
22 Protected Material, (3) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized
23 disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (4) request such person
24 or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to be Bound” that is
1 attached hereto as Exhibit A. Where the unauthorized disclosure involves
2 information designated "HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS' EYES
3 ONLY," the Receiving Party shall also identify to the Designating Party the
4 specific information disclosed, the identities of all persons to whom the
5 information was disclosed, and the steps taken to retrieve, contain, and prevent
6 further dissemination of the information.
7 XII. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
8 PROTECTED MATERIAL
9 A. When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
10 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
11 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal
12 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify
13 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for
14 production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence
15 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of
16 disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client
17 privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their
18 agreement in the Stipulated Protective Order submitted to the Court.
19 XIII. MISCELLANEOUS
20 A. Right to Further Relief
21 1. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek its
22 modification by the Court in the future.
23 B. Right to Assert Other Objections
24 1. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective Order, no Party waives
1 any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any
2 information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated
3 Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
4 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective
5 Order.
6 C. Filing Protected Material
7 1. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must
8 comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed
9 under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
10 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material
11 under seal is denied by the Court, then the Receiving Party may file the
12 information in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the Court.
13 XIV. FINAL DISPOSITION
14 A. After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section V, within
15 sixty (60) days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving
16 Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such
17 material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies,
18 abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or
19 capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is
20 returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to
21 the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating
22 Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate)
23 all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the
24 Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries
1 or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material.
2 Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of
3 all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal
4 memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports,
5 attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
6 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
7 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth
8 in Section V.
9 B. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate
10 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary
11 sanctions.
12 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
13
Dated:
14 Wesley D. Hurst
POLSINELLI LLP
15 Attorneys for Plaintiff
CK FRANCHISING, INC.
16
Dated:
17 Vernon Nelson
ADLI LAW GROUP, PC
18 Attorneys for Defendants
CENTRAL VALLEY CARE, INC.
19 JOHN W. HATCH
SANDRA E. HATCH
20
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
21
22
Dated: June 25, 2026 /s/ Autumn D. Spaeth
23 HONORABLE AUTUMN D. SPAETH
United States Magistrate Judge
24
1 EXHIBIT A
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
2
3 I, [print or type full name], of
4 [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I
5 have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issue
6 by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on [DATE] in
7 the case of CK Franchising, Inc. v. Central Valley Care, Inc., et al., Case No. 8:26-cv-
8 00228-JWH-ADS. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this
9 Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so
10 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I
11 solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is
12 subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict
13 compliance with the provisions of this Order.
14 I further acknowledge that any information designated "HIGHLY
15 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY" may be used solely in accordance with
16 the terms of the Stipulated Protective Order and shall not be used for any purpose other
17 than those expressly permitted by the Order.
18 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
19 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
20 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
21 termination of this action.
22 I hereby appoint [print or type full name] of
23 [print or type full address and telephone number] as
24 my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any
1 proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
2 Date:
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City and State where sworn and signed:
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Printed Name:
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6 Signature:
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