The opinion
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7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
8 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
9 CASE NO. 2:26-1852-JFW (MAR)
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11 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
FERNANDO TORRES,
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Plaintiff
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v.
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THESIZE SURACES USA, LLC, ET AL.,
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Defendants.
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18 1. INTRODUCTION.
19 1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS.
20 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private
21 information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than
22 prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition
23 the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order
24 does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it
25 affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled
26 to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set
27 forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file
28 confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be
1 followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file
2 material under seal.
3 1.2 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT.
4 This action is likely to involve plaintiff’s confidential medical and disability-related information
5 for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution
6 of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of,
7 among other things, plaintiff’s medical history, information otherwise generally unavailable to the
8 public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes,
9 court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to
10 facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately
11 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted
12 reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their
13 handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information
14 is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as
15 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has
16 been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part
17 of the public record of this case.
18 2. DEFINITIONS.
19 2.1 Action: this pending lawsuit, captioned Fernando Torres v. Thesize Surfaces USA, LLC,
20 Case No. 2:26-cv-1852.
21 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of information
22 or items under this Order.
23 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is
24 generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule of
25 Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement.
26 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their support staff).
27 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items that it
28 produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
1 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the medium or
2 manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things, testimony,
3 transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery
4 in this matter.
5 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter pertinent to the
6 litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant
7 in this Action.
8 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. House Counsel
9 does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel.
10 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity
11 not named as a Party to this action.
12 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this Action
13 but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have appeared in this Action on behalf
14 of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes
15 support staff.
16 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, employees,
17 consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support staffs).
18 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery Material in
19 this Action.
20 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support services (e.g.,
21 photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or
22 retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors.
23 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as
24 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
25 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from a
26 Producing Party.
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1 3. SCOPE
2 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected Material (as
3 defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies,
4 excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
5 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
6 Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the orders of the trial judge. This
7 Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
8 4. DURATION.
9 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as confidential or
10 maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will be presumptively available to all
11 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual
12 findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City
13 and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180–81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing
14 for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related
15 documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend
16 beyond the commencement of the trial.
17 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL.
18 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
19 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order
20 must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate
21 standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents,
22 items, or oral or written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,
23 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the
24 ambit of this Order.
25 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are shown to
26 be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber
27 the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
28 expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
1 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it designated for
2 protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties
3 that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
4 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this Order
5 (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or
6 Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before
7 the material is disclosed or produced.
8 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
9 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but
10 excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix
11 at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page
12 that contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for
13 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
14 appropriate markings in the margins).
15 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection need not designate
16 them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which documents it would like copied
17 and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for
18 inspection will be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents
19 it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions
20 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the
21 Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected
22 Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
23 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
24 margins).
25 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the
26 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all protected
27 testimony.
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1 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any other
2 tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or
3 containers in which the information is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or
4 portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, will
5 identify the protected portion(s).
6 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate
7 qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure
8 protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving
9 Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the
10 provisions of this Order.
11 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS.
12 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of
13 confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order.
14 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party will initiate the dispute resolution process
15 under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
16 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding will be on the Designating
17 Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose
18 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions.
19 Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties will
20 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the
21 Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
22 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL.
23 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or
24 produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action only for prosecuting,
25 defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the
26 categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been
27 terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
28 DISPOSITION).
1 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and in a
2 secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under this Order.
3 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by
4 the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any
5 information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
6 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well as
7 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the
8 information for this Action;
9 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the Receiving
10 Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
11 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is
12 reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
13 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 Professional Vendors to
17 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment
18 and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
19 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or
20 other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
21 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the Action to
22 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party requests that the witness sign
23 the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential
24 information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless
25 otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition
26 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately bound by the court
27 reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order;
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1 and (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, mutually agreed upon by any
2 of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
3 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER
4 LITIGATION.
5 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels
6 disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
7 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification will include a
8 copy of the subpoena or court order;
9 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue in
10 the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this
11 Protective Order. Such notification will include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
12 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the
13 Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
14 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena or
15 court order will not produce any information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a
16 determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the
17 Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party will bear the burden and expense of seeking
18 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed
19 as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from
20 another court.
21 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED IN THIS
22 LITIGATION.
23 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in
24 this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in
25 connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in
26 these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
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1 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce a
2 Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the
3 Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then the Party will:
4 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that
5 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
6 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective
7 Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the
8 information requested; and
9 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party,
10 if requested.
11 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14 days of
12 receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s
13 confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective
14 order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject
15 to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
16 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
17 protection in this court of its Protected Material.
18 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL.
19 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected Material
20 to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the
21 Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized
22 disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material,
23 (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this
24 Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
25 Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
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1 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE PROTECTED
2 MATERIAL.
3 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently produced
4 material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are
5 those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify
6 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without
7 prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach
8 an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-
9 client privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated
10 protective order submitted to the court.
11 12. MISCELLANEOUS.
12 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek its
13 modification by the Court in the future.
14 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective Order no
15 Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or
16 item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any
17 right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
18 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material
19 must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a
20 court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file
21 Protected Material under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information
22 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
23 13. FINAL DISPOSITION.
24 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 days of a written
25 request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the
26 Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes
27 all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
28 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all
1 || pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence,
2 || deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work
3 || product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
4 || constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4
5 ||(DURATION).
6 ||14. = Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or criminal contempt proceedings,
7 || financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary authorities, or other appropriate action at the
8 || discretion of the Court.
9 | IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
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11 || DATED: August 26, 2026 is/ George Azadian
George Azadian, Esq.
12 Attorneys for Plaintiff Fernando Torres
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/s/ Michael J. Slocum
15 DATED: August 26, 2026 Michael J. Slocum,Esq.——~SOS
Ryan C. Bykerk, Esq.
16 Attorneys for Defendant Thesize Surfaces USA, LLC
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18 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
59 || DATED: 9/02/26
HON. MARGO A. ROCCONI
21 United States Magistrate Judge
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2 EXHIBIT A
3 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
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5 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of _________________ [print or
6 type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the
7 Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of
8 California on _________ [date] in the case of Fernando Torres v. Thesize Surfaces USA, LLC, Case No.
9 2:26-cv-01852-JFW-MAR. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated
10 Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to
11 sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any
12 manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity
13 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 for the Central
15 District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if
16 such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I hereby appoint
17 __________________________ [print or type full name] of
18 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and telephone number] as
19 my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any proceedings related to
20 enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
21 Date: ______________________________________
22 City and State where signed: _________________________________
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24 Printed name: _______________________________
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26 Signature: __________________________________
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1 PROOF OF SERVICE
2 STATE OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES:
3 I am employed in the aforesaid county, State of California; I am over the age of 18 years and not
a party to the within action; my business address is 500 Campus Drive, Suite 400, Florham Park, New
4 Jersey; email: Sandy.King@gtlaw.com.
5 On August 26, 2026, I served the Stipulated Protective Order, on the interested parties,
addressed as follows:
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AZADIAN LAW GROUP, PC
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George S. Azadian
Ani Azadian
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707 Foothill Blvd., Suite 200
9 La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011
T: (626) 449-4944
10 F: (626) 628-1722
George@azadianlawgroup.com;
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ani@azadianlawgroup.com
12 Attorney for Plaintiff, Ferando Torres
13 [BY MAIL] By placing the document(s) listed above in a sealed envelope with postage thereon
fully prepaid, in the United States mail at Los Angeles, California addressed as set forth below. I
14 am familiar with the firm's practice of collection and processing correspondence for mailing.
Under that practice it would be deposited with the U.S. postal service on that same day with
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postage thereon fully prepaid in the ordinary course of business.
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[BY OVERNIGHT COURIER] I am readily familiar with the business practice of my place of
17 employment in respect to the collection and processing of times for delivery by overnight
courier. The foregoing sealed envelope was placed for collection and overnight delivery by UPS
18 this date consistent with the ordinary business practice of my employment, so that it will be
picked up this date with delivery charges fully prepaid at Los Angeles, California, and delivered
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the following business day in the ordinary course of business.
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[BY E-MAIL] By electronically mailing a true and correct copy through Greenberg Traurig,
21 LLP’s electronic mail system to the email addresses(es) set forth herein.
22 (FEDERAL) I declare that I am employed in the office of a member of the bar of this court at
whose direction the service was made.
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Executed on August 26, 2026, at Los Angeles, California.
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25 /s/ Sandy King
Sandy King, Senior Paralegal
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