Opinion

Court: District Court, C.D. California
Filed: Jul 16, 2026
Cited by: 0 cases

The opinion

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

? CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, WESTERN DIVISION

| CONVERGENT MEDIA IVLLC,a __| Case No. 2:24-cv-07402-MWF-BFM

12 || Florida limited liability company,

□ ORDER RE STIPULATED

13 Plaintiff, PROTECTIVE ORDER

14 VS.

15 || APERTURE MEDIA PARTNERS judge: Hon. Michael W. Fitzgerald

LLC, a Delaware limited liability Trial Date: November 3, 2026

16 company,

17 Defendant.

19 Having considered the papers, and finding that good cause exists, the Parties’

0 Stipulated Protective Order, attached as Addendum A, is granted.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

23 Nun

44 DATED: _ JULY 16_, 2026

BRIANNA FULLER MIRCHEFF

25 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

11 ADDENDUM A

1 P ApaUuLl. lJa. uLrAinU@RoIfNfit,k SuBrmNa 1n3.c6o2m87

2 NICHOLAS P. ELIADES, SBN 351805

nicholas.eliades@offitkurman.com

3 OFFIT KURMAN, PC

445 S. Figueroa Street, 18th Floor

4 Los Angeles, California 90071

Telephone: 213.629.5700

5 Facsimile: 213.624.9441

6 Attorneys for CONVERGENT MEDIA IV

LLC, a Florida limited liability company

QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART &

9 SULLIVAN, LLP

Gary E. Gans (Bar No. 89537)

10 garygans@quinnemanuel.com

Matthew Shields (Bar. No. 354457)

11 matthewshields@quinnemanuel.com

865 South Figueroa Street, 10th Floor

12 Los Angeles, California 90017-2543

Telephone: (213) 443-3000

13 Facsimile: (213) 443-3100

14 Attorneys for Defendant Aperture Media Partners LLC

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, WESTERN DIVISION

CONVERGENT MEDIA IV LLC, a Case No. 2:24-cv-07402-MWF-BFM

19 Florida limited liability company,

[PROPOSED] STIPULATED

20 Plaintiff, PROTECTIVE ORDER

21 vs.

Judge: Hon. Michael W. Fitzgerald

22 APERTURE MEDIA PARTNERS Trial Date:

LLC, a Delaware limited liability

23 company,

24 Defendant.

26 1. GENERAL

27 1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to involve

28 production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special

1 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting

2 this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and

3 petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties

4 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or

5 responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and

6 use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential

7 treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as

8 set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle

9 them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the

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

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

12 1.2 Good Cause Statement. This action is likely to involve financial

13 investment and film production details and other valuable research, development,

14 commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary information for which special

15 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution

16 of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and

17 information consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial

18 information, information regarding confidential business practices, or other

19 confidential research, development, or commercial information (including

20 information implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise

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

22 from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common

23 law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt

24 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately

25 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the

26 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and

27 in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve

28 the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter.

1 It is the 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 it

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

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

6 2. DEFINITIONS

7 2.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit.

8 2.2 Attorneys’ Eyes Only (or “AEO”): CONFIDENTIAL Information or Items

9 that, if disclosed to the Receiving Party, will likely result in a serious competitive

10 harm or other irreparable harm to the Designating Party.

11 2.3 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of

12 information or items under this Order.

13 2.4 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of

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

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

16 Cause Statement.

17 2.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their

18 support staff).

19 2.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or

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

21 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “AEO.”

22 2.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless

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

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

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

26 2.8 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter

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

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

1 2.9 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.

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

3 counsel.

4 2.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or

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

6 2.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party

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

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

9 has appeared on behalf of that party, including support staff.

10 2.12 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,

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

12 support staffs).

13 2.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

14 Discovery Material in this Action.

15 2.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support

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

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

18 and their employees and subcontractors.

19 2.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

20 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “AEO.”

21 2.16 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material

22 from a Producing Party.

24 3. SCOPE

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

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

27 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of

1 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties

2 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.

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

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

6 4. DURATION

7 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the court-filed information to be introduced

8 that was previously designated as confidential or maintained pursuant to this

9 protective order becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members

10 of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific

11 factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the

12 trial. See Kamakana v. City and Cty. 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 are

15 part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend

16 beyond the commencement of the trial.

18 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

19 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

20 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this

21 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies

22 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection

23 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that

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

25 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of

26 this Order.

27 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations

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

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

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

3 to sanctions.

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

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

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

7 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in

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

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

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

11 produced.

12 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

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

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

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

16 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “AEO” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each

17 page that contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on

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

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

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

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

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

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

24 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL” or “AEO.” After the inspecting Party has identified the

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

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

27 producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the

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

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

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

3 markings in the margins).

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

5 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition.

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

7 for 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 legend

9 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “AEO.” If only a portion or portions of the information

10 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the

11 protected portion(s).

12 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

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

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

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

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

17 Order.

19 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY OR AEO DESIGNATIONS

20 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

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

22 Scheduling Order.

23 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute

24 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1, et seq. Any discovery motion must strictly

25 comply with the procedures set forth in Local Rules 37-1, 37-2, and 37-3.

26 6.3 Burden. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding

27 shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an

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

1 other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating

2 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality or AEO designation, all parties

3 shall 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 challenge.

6 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

7 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is

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

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

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

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

12 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).

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

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

15 authorized under this Order.

16 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

17 otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a

18 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated

19 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

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

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

22 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;

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

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

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

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

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

28 (d) the Court and its personnel;

1 (e) court reporters and their staff;

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

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

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

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

6 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;

7 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in

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

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

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

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

12 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed

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

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

15 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and

16 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,

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

18 7.3 Disclosure of “AEO” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered

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

20 disclose any information or item designated “AEO” only to:

21 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action;

22 (b) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to

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

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

25 (c) the court and its personnel;

26 (d) court reporters and their staff;

27 (e) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and

28 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action

1 and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit

2 A);

3 (f) the author or recipient of a document containing the information

4 or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed, knew, or had access the

5 information; and

6 (g) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting

7 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement

8 discussions.

10 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED

11 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION

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

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

14 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “AEO” that Party must:

15 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall

16 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

17 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to

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

19 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of

20 this Stipulated Protective Order; and

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

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

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

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

25 as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “AEO” before a determination by the court from which the

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

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

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

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

2 disobey a lawful directive from another court.

4 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE

5 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION

6 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-

7 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “AEO.” Such

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

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

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

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

12 a Non-Party’s confidential or AEO information in its possession, and the Party is

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

14 confidential or AEO information, then the Party shall:

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

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

17 with a Non-Party;

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

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

20 specific description of the information requested; and

21 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-

22 Party, if requested.

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

24 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may

25 produce the Non-Party’s confidential or AEO information responsive to the discovery

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

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

28 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court.

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

2 of seeking protection in this Court of its Protected Material.

4 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

6 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this

7 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in

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

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

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

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

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

14 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

15 PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

25 to the Court.

1 12. MISCELLANEOUS

2 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any

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

4 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this

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

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

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

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

9 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any

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

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

12 Protected Material at issue; good cause must be shown in the request to file under

13 seal. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the Court,

14 then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless

15 otherwise instructed by the Court.

17 13. FINAL DISPOSITION

18 After the final disposition of this Action, within 60 days of a written request by

19 the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the

20 Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected

21 Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other

22 format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected

23 Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written

24 certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the

25 Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where

26 appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed, and (2) affirms

27 that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations,

28 summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material.

1 Notwithstanding this provision, counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all

2 pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda,

3 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product,

4 and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected

5 Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material

6 remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).

8 14. VIOLATION OF ORDER

9 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.

13 [signatures on following page]

DATED: July 15, 2026

/s/ Nicholas P. Eliades

6 Nicholas P. Eliades, SBN 351805

Paul J. Laurin, SBN 136287

7 OFFIT KURMAN, PC

Los Angeles, California 90071

8 Telephone: 213.629.5700

Facsimile: 213.624.9441

Attorneys for Plaintiff, Convergent Media IV LLC

DATED: July 15, 2026

/s/ Matthew Shields

15 Gary E. Gans (Bar No. 89537)

Matthew Shields (Bar. No. 354457)

16 QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART &

SULLIVAN, LLP

17 865 South Figueroa Street, 10th Floor

Los Angeles, California 90017-2543

18 Telephone: (213) 443-3000

Facsimile: (213) 443-3100

Attorneys for Defendant Aperture Media Partners LLC

22 Local Rule 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i) Attestation

Pursuant to Local Rule 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), the filer attests that all other

24 signatories listed, and on whose behalf this filing is submitted, concur in the filing’s

content and have authorized the filing.

26 /s/ Nicholas P. Eliades

EXHIBIT A

1 CERTIFICATION

3 I acknowledge reading and understanding the Protective Order in Convergent

4 Media IV LLC v. Aperture Media Partners LLC, No. 2:24-cv-07402 (C.D. Cal.). I

5 agree to be bound by the terms of the Protective Order. I agree to be subject to the

6 jurisdiction of the United States District Court, Central District of California for

7 purposes of enforcing the Protective Order. I understand that violation of the

8 Protective Order is punishable by contempt of Court.

11 Signature:

12 Printed Name:

13 Dated:

14 Mailing Address:

28 4906-9265-5293, v. 2

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