The opinion
1 CROSNER LEGAL, P.C.
Zachary M. Crosner (SBN 272295)
2
zach@crosnerlegal.com
3 Michael T. Houchin (SBN 305541)
mhouchin@crosnerlegal.com
4
9440 Santa Monica Blvd. Suite 301
5 Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Adam C. York (admitted Pro Hac Vice)
6
adam@crosnerlegal.com
7 1021 West Adams St. Suite 200
Chicago, Illinois 60607
8
Tel: (866) 276-7637
9 Fax: (310) 510-6429
10
Attorneys for Plaintiff
11
12
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
13
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
14
WESTERN DIVISION
15
MATTHEW GARGUS, individually, Case No. 2:25-cv-08337-MWC-SPx
16 and on behalf of all others similarly
situated,
17
Hon. Michelle Williams Court
18 Plaintiff,
19
v. STIPULATION AND PROPOSED
20 PROTECTIVE ORDER
UPLEAD, LLC,
21
22 Defendant.
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1 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
2 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
3 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public
4 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may
5 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court
6 to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that
7 this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
8 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use
9 extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential
10 treatment under the applicable legal principles.
11 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
12 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists and
13 other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or
14 proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure and
15 from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such
16 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other
17 things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding
18 confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, or
19 commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of
20 third parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which
21 may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal
22 statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the
23 flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over
24 confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the
25 parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted
26 reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct
27 of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of
28 justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the
1 intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for
2 tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that
3 it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good
4 cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
5 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING
6 PROCEDURE
7 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 15.3, below, that
8 this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential
9 information under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must
10 be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission
11 from the court to file material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the
12 public has a right of access to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In
13 connection with non-dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a
14 filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172,
15 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th
16 Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D.
17 Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a
18 specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary
19 support and legal justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material
20 that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure
21 or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL or ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY
22 does not— without the submission of competent evidence by declaration,
23 establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as
24 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
25 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial,
26 then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown,
27 and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be
28 protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir.
1 2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be
2 filed or introduced under seal, the party seeking protection must articulate
3 compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the
4 requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to
5 file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.
6 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable
7 in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be
8 redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public
9 viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable
10 portions of the document, shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file
11 documents under seal in their entirety should include an explanation of why
12 redaction is not feasible.
13 4. DEFINITIONS
14 4.1. Action: this pending federal lawsuit, captioned as Gargus v. Uplead,
15 LLC, Case No. 2:25-cv-08337-MWC-SPx.
16 4.2. Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
17 designation of information or items under this Order.
18 4.3. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless
19 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
21 the Good Cause Statement.
22 4.4. “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items: information
23 designated “CONFIDENTIAL” that is of a highly sensitive nature (i.e.,
24 documents or information regarding, discussing, relating to, or reflecting pricing
25 and business strategy documents, financial statements, sales data, profit margin
26 data, cost and expense data, revenue information relating to specific customers or
27 classes of customers or suppliers, non-public scientific research, contracts, and
28 technical information related to a Party’s information security and management,
1 or other categories of information which the parties agree in writing should be
2 designated as “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”), the disclosure of which could
3 create an elevated risk of causing substantial commercial or competitive harm.
4 “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items shall also include
5 computer code and associated comments and revision histories, formulas,
6 engineering, specifications, or schematics that define or otherwise describe in
7 detail the algorithms or structure of software or hardware designs, disclosure of
8 which to another Party or Non-Party would create a substantial risk of serious
9 harm that could not be avoided by less restrictive means. Any copies or
10 reproductions, excerpts, summaries or other documents or media that contain
11 “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items as defined above shall also
12 be treated as “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items pursuant to
13 this Order.
14 4.5. Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
15 their support staff).
16 4.6. Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information
17 or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
18 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
19 4.7. Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information,
20 regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or
21 maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible
22 things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.
23 4.8. Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a
24 matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel
25 to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
26 4.9. House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this
27 Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other
28 outside counsel.
1 4.10. Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association
2 or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
3 4.11. Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
4 party to this Action but are retained to represent a party to this Action and have
5 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm
6 that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
7 4.12. Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
8 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and
9 their support staffs).
10 4.13. Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
11 Discovery Material in this Action.
12 4.14. Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
13 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits
14 or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or
15 medium) and their employees and subcontractors.
16 4.15. Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
17 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”
18 4.16. Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
19 Material from a Producing Party.
20 5. SCOPE
21 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
22 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
23 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
24 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
25 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
26 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of
27 the trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the
28 use of Protected Material at trial.
1 6. DURATION
2 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
3 CONFIDENTIAL or ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY or maintained pursuant to
4 this protective order used or introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and
5 will be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press,
6 unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed
7 otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447
8 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents
9 produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related
10 documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective
11 order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
12 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
13 7.1. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for
14 Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for
15 protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to
16 specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating
17 Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents,
18 items or oral or written communications that qualify so that other portions of the
19 material, documents, items or communications for which protection is not
20 warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
21 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited.
22 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for
23 an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development
24 process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
25 expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
26 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that
27 it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party
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1 must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable
2 designation.
3 7.2. Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided
4 in this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery
5 Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so
6 designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
7 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
8 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
9 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
10 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
11 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY,” (hereinafter
12 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If
13 only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
14 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
15 appropriate markings in the margins). A Party or Non-Party that makes original
16 documents available for inspection need not designate them for protection until
17 after the inspecting Party has indicated which documents it would like copied
18 and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the
19 material made available for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.”
20 After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and
21 produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions
22 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the
23 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the appropriate
24 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only
25 a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party
26 also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
27 markings in the margins).
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1 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party either: (1)
2 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of
3 the deposition all protected testimony or (2) identifies the CONFIDENTIAL or
4 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY portions of the transcript on a line-by-line basis
5 within 30 days of receipt of the transcript.
6 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for
7 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on
8 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the
9 legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” legend. If only a
10 portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party,
11 to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
12 7.3. Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
13 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone,
14 waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such
15 material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must
16 make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with
17 the provisions of this Order.
18 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
19 8.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
20 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
21 Scheduling Order.
22 8.2. Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
23 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
24 8.3. Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via
25 a joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
26 8.4. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be
27 on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
28 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
1 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
2 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
3 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
4 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
5 challenge.
6 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
7 9.1. Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that
8 is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with
9 this Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action.
10 Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and
11 under the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been
12 terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 16
13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
14 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at
15 a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the
16 persons authorized under this Order.
17 9.2. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
18 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party,
19 a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
20 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
21 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well
22 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
23 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
24 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
25 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
26 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
27 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
28 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
1 (d) the court and its personnel;
2 (e) court reporters and their staff;
3 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
4 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who
5 have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
6 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
7 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
8 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the
9 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing
10 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2)
11 they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign
12 the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless
13 otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of
14 transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected
15 Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed
16 to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
17 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel,
18 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
19 9.3. Disclosure of “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items.
20 Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating
21 Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
22 “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” only:
23 (a) to the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
24 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
25 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
26 (b) to Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party who have
27 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
28 (c) to the court and its personnel;
1 (d) to court reporters and their staff;
2 (e) to professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
3 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who
4 have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
5 (f) to the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
6 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
7 (g) during their depositions, to witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in
8 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary, provided: (1) the
9 deposing party requests that the witness sign the “Acknowledgment and
10 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); and (2) the witness will not be permitted
11 to keep any confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and
12 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the
13 Designating Party or ordered by the court.
14 Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that
15 reveal Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may
16 not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective
17 Order; and
18 (h) to any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
19 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
20 10. SOURCE CODE
21 This Order is not intended to, and does not, govern the inspection of
22 source code. Should source code become relevant to this action and require
23 discovery or inspection, the Parties agree such inspection will be governed by a
24 separate agreement or order and the Parties agree to meet and confer on a
25 separate protective order governing source code.
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1 11. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
2 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
3 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other
4 litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this
5 Action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY,” that Party
6 must:
7 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
8 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
9 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
10 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
11 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall
12 include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
13 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
14 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If
15 the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the
16 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this
17 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” before a
18 determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the
19 Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party
20 shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its
21 confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
22 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful
23 directive from another court.
24 12. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
25 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
26 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
27 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or
28 “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in
1 connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by
2 this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-
3 Party from seeking additional protections.
4 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
5 produce a Non-Party’s Protected Information in its possession, and the Party is
6 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
7 confidential information, then the Party shall:
8 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non- Party that
9 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
10 with a Non-Party;
11 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
12 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a
13 reasonably specific description of the information requested; and
14 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-
15 Party, if requested.
16 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within
17 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving
18 Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the
19 discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving
20 Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject
21 to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by
22 the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the
23 burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
24 13. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
25 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has
26 disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized
27 under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a)
28 notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its
1 best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c)
2 inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all
3 the terms of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the
4 “Acknowledgment an Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.
5 14. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR
6 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL
7 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
8 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
9 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal
10 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify
11 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for
12 production without prior privilege review. The production of privileged, work-
13 product protected documents or information, or documents or information
14 protected by any other claim of immunity or protection from disclosure is not a
15 waiver of the privilege or protection from discovery in this Action or in any other
16 federal or state proceeding. This Order shall provide the maximum protection
17 allowed by Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d). However, nothing herein restricts
18 the right of the Receiving Party to challenge the Producing Party’s claim of
19 privilege. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
20 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
21 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection,
22 the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order
23 submitted to the court.
24 15. MISCELLANEOUS
25 15.1. Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of
26 any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
27 15.2. Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
28 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
1 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in
2 this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on
3 any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective
4 Order. 1
5 15.3. Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
6 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material
7 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of
8 the specific Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material
9 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the
10 information in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
11 16. FINAL DISPOSITION
12 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6, within
13 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must
14 return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As
15 used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts,
16 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of
17 the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed,
18 the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party
19 (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day
20 deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected
21 Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party
22 has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other
23 format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding
24 this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings,
25 motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda,
26 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work
27 product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain
28 Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected
1 Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 6
2 (DURATION).
3 17. VIOLATION
4 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
5 including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
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7 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
8 [Signature page follows.]
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1 Dated: May 27, 2026
For Plaintiff Matthew Gargus
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For Defendant Uplead, LLC and the Proposed Class
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By: s/ Corey T. Hickman By: s/ Adam C. York
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5 COZEN O’CONNOR CROSNER LEGAL, P.C.
Matthew Lewitz Zachary M. Crosner (SBN 272295)
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mlewitz@cozen.com zach@crosnerlegal.com
7 Alexander E. Robinson Michael T. Houchin (SBN 305541)
arobinson@cozen.com mhouchin@crosnerlegal.com
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401 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 850 9440 Santa Monica Blvd. Suite 301
9 Santa Monica, CA 90401 Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Telephone: (310) 393-4000 Adam C. York (Pro Hac Vice)
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Facsimile: (310) 394-4700 adam@crosnerlegal.com
11 1021 West Adams St. Suite 200
Corey T. Hickman (Pro Hac Vice) Chicago, Illinois 60607
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chickman@cozen.com Tel: (866) 276-7637
13 123 N. Wacker Dr., Suite 1800 Fax: (310) 510-6429
Chicago, IL 60606
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Telephone: (312) 474-7900 Attorneys for Plaintiff
15 Facsimile: (312) 382-8910
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Attorneys for Defendant
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21 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
22 DATED: June 29, 2026
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25 Honorable Sheri Pym
United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, , of
Name
4 , declare under penalty
Address
5 of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective
6 Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District
7 of California on [date], 2026 in the case of Gargus v. Uplead, LLC, Case No.
8 2:25-cv-08337-MWC-SPx. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the
9 terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that
10 failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature
11 of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any
12 information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any
13 person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District
15 Court for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms
16 of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur
17 after termination of this action. I hereby appoint
Name
18 of
Address/PhoneNumber
19 as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any
20 proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
21 Date:
22 City and State where sworn and signed:
23
24 Printed name:
25
26 Signature:
27
28