The opinion
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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10 WESTERN DIVISION
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Nancy Kaczmarek,
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Plaintiff, Case No. 2:25-cv-10208-SVW-AJR
13 v.
[PROPOSED] STIPULATED
14 University Council-American PROTECTIVE ORDER
Federation of Teachers; United Field
15 Representative Employees,
16 Defendants.
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18 1. GENERAL
19 1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to involve
20 production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special
21 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting
22 this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and
23 petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties
24 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or
25 responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and
26 use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential
27 treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as
28 set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle
1 them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the
2 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party
3 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
4 1.2 Good Cause Statement.
5 This action involves the exchange of highly sensitive, private, and confidential
6 employment, workplace, and personnel records. Specifically, discovery is anticipated
7 to require the production of employment records pertaining to the Plaintiff and other
8 employees, including but not limited to personnel files, internal workplace
9 complaints, investigation reports, performance evaluations, and related administrative
10 or disciplinary records. Discovery is also anticipated to require the production of
11 records pertaining to representation of employees by both defendant labor
12 organizations. These materials contain private third-party information, personal
13 identifying information, financial data, and sensitive workplace metrics that have
14 been strictly maintained in a confidential, non-public manner by the employer/labor
15 representative. Public disclosure of these records, complaints, and investigations
16 would infringe upon the privacy rights of the parties and third-party employees, risk
17 identity theft, and cause unwarranted embarrassment, annoyance, or professional
18 harm. Accordingly, special protection from public disclosure and from use for any
19 purpose other than prosecuting this litigation is warranted under Federal Rule of Civil
20 Procedure 26(c). The parties explicitly stipulate that this information is designated in
21 good faith, is not for tactical advantage, and that a protective order is necessary to
22 protect these substantial privacy interests.
23 2. DEFINITIONS
24 2.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit.
25 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
26 of information or items under this Order.
27 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
28 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection
1 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good
2 Cause Statement.
3 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
4 support staff).
5 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
6 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
7 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
8 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
9 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
10 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
11 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
12 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
13 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
14 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
15 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
16 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
17 counsel.
18 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
19 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
20 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party
21 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have
22 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that
23 has appeared on behalf of that party, including support staff.
24 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
25 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
26 support staffs).
27 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
28 Discovery Material in this Action.
1 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
2 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
3 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
4 and their employees and subcontractors.
5 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
6 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
7 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
8 from a Producing Party.
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10 3. SCOPE
11 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
12 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted
13 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of
14 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties
15 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
16 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
17 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
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19 4. DURATION
20 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the court-filed information to be introduced
21 that was previously designated as confidential or maintained pursuant to this
22 protective order becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members
23 of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific
24 factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the
25 trial. See Kamakana v. City and Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir.
26 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in
27 discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are
28 part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend
1 beyond the commencement of the trial.
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3 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
4 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
5 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this
6 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies
7 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection
8 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that
9 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications
10 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of
11 this Order.
12 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
13 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
14 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
15 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party
16 to sanctions.
17 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
18 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
19 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
20 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
21 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
22 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
23 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
24 produced.
25 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
26 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
27 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
28 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix, at a minimum, the legend
1 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
2 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
3 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
4 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
5 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
6 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
7 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
8 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
9 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents
10 it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents,
11 or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing
12 the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL
13 legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions
14 of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
15 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
16 margins).
17 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify
18 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition.
19 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and
20 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on
21 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
22 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
23 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
24 portion(s).
25 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
26 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
27 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
28 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
1 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
2 Order.
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4 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
5 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
6 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
7 Scheduling Order.
8 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
9 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1, et seq. Any discovery motion must strictly
10 comply with the procedures set forth in Local Rules 37-1, 37-2, and 37-3.
11 6.3 Burden. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding
12 shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an
13 improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on
14 other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
15 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
16 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled
17 under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
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1 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
2 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
3 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
4 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
5 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
6 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving
7 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
8 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
9 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
10 authorized under this Order.
11 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
12 otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
13 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
14 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
15 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
16 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
17 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
18 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
19 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
20 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
21 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
22 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
23 (d) the Court and its personnel;
24 (e) court reporters and their staff;
25 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
26 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
27 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
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1 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or
2 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
3 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in
4 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing
5 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they
6 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
7 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
8 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed
9 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be
10 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as
11 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
12 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
13 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
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15 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
16 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
17 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
18 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
19 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
20 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
21 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
22 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
23 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena
24 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of
25 this Stipulated Protective Order; and
26 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
27 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
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1 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
2 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action
3 as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena
4 or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
5 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court
6 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
7 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful
8 directive from another court.
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10 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
11 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
12 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
13 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
14 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
15 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
16 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
17 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce
18 a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an
19 agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential
20 information, then the Party shall:
21 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
22 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
23 with a Non-Party;
24 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
25 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
26 specific description of the information requested; and
27 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-
28 Party, if requested.
1 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within 14
2 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may
3 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request.
4 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce
5 any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality
6 agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court. Absent a court
7 order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
8 protection in this Court of its Protected Material.
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10 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
11 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
12 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
13 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
14 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
15 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
16 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
17 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
18 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
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20 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
21 PROTECTED MATERIAL
22 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
23 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
24 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
25 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
26 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
27 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
28 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
1 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
2 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted
3 to the Court.
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5 12. MISCELLANEOUS
6 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
7 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
8 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
9 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
10 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
11 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
12 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
13 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
14 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
15 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
16 Protected Material at issue; good cause must be shown in the request to file under
17 seal. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the Court,
18 then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless
19 otherwise instructed by the Court.
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21 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
22 After the final disposition of this Action, within 60 days of a written request by
23 the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the
24 Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected
25 Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other
26 format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected
27 Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written
28 certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the
1 || Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where
2 || appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed, and (2) affirms
3 || that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations,
4 || summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material.
5 || Notwithstanding this provision, counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all
6 || pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda,
7 || correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product,
8 || and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected
9 || Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material
10 || remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).
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12 || 14. VIOLATION OF ORDER
13 Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate
14 || measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary
15 || sanctions.
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17 || IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
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|| DATED:729/2026 | 11:25:28 AM PDT
a1 || Arex Pesmee
79 || Plaintitt Nancy Kaczmarek, In Pro Per
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DATED: 7/29/26
Jennifer Keating
27 || LEONARD CARDER LLP
2g || Attorneys for Defendant University Council-American Federation of Teachers
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1 DATED: 7/29/2026 | 9:49:23 AM PDT
Lavow Storssel
Aaron Stoessel
4 || THE LAW OFFICE OF TRACY J. JONES, PC
5 || Attorneys for Defendant United Field Representative Employees
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8 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
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10 | DATED: July 30,2026 \oek Rilte
United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3
4 I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________
5 [full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and
6 understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States
7 District Court for the Central District of California on ____________ [date] in the
8 case of 2:25-cv-10208-SVW-AJR. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all
9 the 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 of
11 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 person
13 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 Court
15 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
16 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
17 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [full
18 name] of _______________________________________ [full address and
19 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with
20 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective
21 Order.
22 Date: ______________________________________
23 City and State where signed: _________________________________
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25 Printed name: _______________________________
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27 Signature: __________________________________
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