The opinion
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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11 VICTOR DIAZ, et al., Case No. 1:26-cv-02089-SAB
12 Plaintiffs, ORDER REGARDING STIPULATED
PROTECTIVE ORDER
13 v.
(ECF No. 14)
14 CARGILL MEAT SOLUTIONS
CORPORATION,
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Defendant.
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17 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
18 Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are likely to involve production of confidential,
19 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for
20 any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby
21 stipulate to and petition the court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties
22 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
23 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited
24 information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The
25 parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order
26 does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 141 sets forth the
27 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission
from the court to file material under seal.
1 2. DEFINITIONS
2 2.1 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of information
3 or items under this Order.
4 2.2 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is
5 generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule of
6 Civil Procedure 26(c).
7 2.3 Counsel (without qualifier): Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
8 their support staff).
9 2.4 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items that it
10 produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
11 2.5 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the medium or
12 manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things, testimony,
13 transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery
14 in this matter.
15 2.6 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter pertinent to the
16 litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant
17 in this action.
18 2.7 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this action. House Counsel
19 does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel.
20 2.8 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal
21 entity not named as a Party to this action.
22 2.9 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this action
23 but are retained to represent or advise a party to this action and have appeared in this action on behalf of
24 that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party.
25 2.10 Party: any party to this action, including all of its officers, directors, employees,
26 consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support staffs).
27 2.11 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery Material
1 2.12 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support services (e.g.,
2 photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing,
3 or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors.
4 2.13 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as
5 “CONFIDENTIAL.” The parties anticipate that the following information may qualify as “Protected
6 Material” under this order: (1) medical information concerning any Party; (2) contact information for
7 non-Party witnesses, including their addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers; (3) commercially
8 sensitive information about any Party or non-Party entities, including information about their business
9 operations, information about their employees, or the terms of non-public agreements; and (4) financial
10 information concerning any Party or non-Party.
11 2.14 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from a
12 Producing Party.
13 3. SCOPE
14 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected Material (as
15 defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies,
16 excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
17 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. However, the protections
18 conferred by this Stipulation and Order do not cover the following information: (a) any information that
19 is in the public domain at the time of disclosure to a Receiving Party or becomes part of the public
20 domain after its disclosure to a Receiving Party as a result of publication not involving a violation of
21 this Order, including becoming part of the public record through trial or otherwise; and (b) any
22 information known to the Receiving Party prior to the disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party
23 after the disclosure from a source who obtained the information lawfully and under no obligation of
24 confidentiality to the Designating Party. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by a
25 separate agreement or order.
26 4. DURATION
27 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by this
1 otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and
2 defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion
3 and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this action, including the time
4 limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.
5 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
6 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each Party or
7 Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order must take care to limit
8 any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The
9 Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral
10 or written communications that qualify — so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or
11 communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of
12 this Order.
13 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are shown to
14 be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber
15 or retard the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
16 parties) expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
17 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it designated for
18 protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties
19 that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.
20 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this Order (see,
21 e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of
22 Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before
23 the material is disclosed or produced.
24 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
25 (a) For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but
26 excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix
27 the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains protected material. If only a portion or
1 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). A Party or Non-
2 Party that makes original documents or materials available for inspection need not designate them for
3 protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which material it would like copied and
4 produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for
5 inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the
6 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or
7 portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified
8 documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend to each page that contains
9 Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the
10 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
11 markings in the margins).
12 (b) for testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings, that the
13 Designating Party identify all protected testimony within 30 days of receiving the transcript from the
14 deposition, hearing, or other proceeding.
15 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any other
16 tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or
17 containers in which the information or item is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion
18 or portions of the information or item warrant protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable,
19 shall identify the protected portion(s).
20 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to
21 designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right
22 to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the
23 Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with
24 the provisions of this Order.
25 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
26 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of
27 confidentiality at any time. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s confidentiality
1 a significant disruption or delay of the litigation, a Party does not waive its right to challenge a
2 confidentiality designation by electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the original designation
3 is disclosed.
4 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process by
5 providing written notice of each designation it is challenging and describing the basis for each
6 challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to whether a challenge has been made, the written notice must recite
7 that the challenge to confidentiality is being made in accordance with this specific paragraph of the
8 Protective Order. The parties shall attempt to resolve each challenge in good faith and must begin the
9 process by conferring directly (in voice to voice dialogue; other forms of communication are not
10 sufficient) within 14 days of the date of service of notice. In conferring, the Challenging Party must
11 explain the basis for its belief that the confidentiality designation was not proper and must give the
12 Designating Party an opportunity to review the designated material, to reconsider the circumstances,
13 and, if no change in designation is offered, to explain the basis for the chosen designation. A
14 Challenging Party may proceed to the next stage of the challenge process only if it has engaged in this
15 meet and confer process first or establishes that the Designating Party is unwilling to participate in the
16 meet and confer process in a timely manner.
17 6.3 Judicial Intervention. If the Parties cannot resolve a challenge without court
18 intervention, the Designating Party shall file and serve a motion to retain confidentiality (and in
19 compliance with Civil Local Rule 141, if applicable) within 21 days of the initial notice of challenge or
20 within 14 days of the parties agreeing that the meet and confer process will not resolve their dispute,
21 whichever is earlier. Each such motion must be accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that
22 the movant has complied with the meet and confer requirements imposed in the preceding paragraph.
23 Failure by the Designating Party to make such a motion including the required declaration within 21
24 days (or 14 days, if applicable) shall automatically waive the confidentiality designation for each
25 challenged designation. In addition, the Challenging Party may file a motion challenging a
26 confidentiality designation at any time if there is good cause for doing so, including a challenge to the
27 designation of a deposition transcript or any portions thereof. Any motion brought pursuant to this
1 with the meet and confer requirements imposed by the preceding paragraph.
2 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating Party.
3 Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary
4 expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the
5 Designating Party has waived the confidentiality designation by failing to file a motion to retain
6 confidentiality as described above, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level
7 of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the court rules on the
8 challenge.
9 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
10 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or
11 produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this case only for prosecuting,
12 defending, or attempting to settle this litigation. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the
13 categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When the litigation has been
14 terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
15 DISPOSITION).
16 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and in a
17 secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under this Order.
18 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by
19 the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any
20 information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
21 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this action, as well as employees of
22 said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this
23 litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached
24 hereto as Exhibit A;
25 (b) the party-plaintiffs may access CONFIDENTIAL materials through their counsel.
26 (c) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the Receiving Party
27 to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the
1 (d) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is
2 reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to
3 Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
4 (e) the court and its personnel;
5 (f) court reporters and their staff, professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
6 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have
7 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
8 (g) during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is reasonably
9 necessary and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A),
10 unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
11 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material must be separately bound
12 by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated
13 Protective Order.
14 (h) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or other
15 person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.
16 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER
17 LITIGATION
18 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels
19 disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party
20 must:
21 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall include a copy
22 of the subpoena or court order;
23 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue in the
24 other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this
25 Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
26 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the
27 Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
1 court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a
2 determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the
3 Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
4 protection in that court of its confidential material - and nothing in these provisions should be construed
5 as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this action to disobey a lawful directive from
6 another court.
7 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED IN
8 THIS LITIGATION
9 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in this
10 action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in
11 connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in
12 these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
13 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce a Non-
14 Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the
15 Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then the Party shall:
16 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that some or all
17 of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
18 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective Order in
19 this litigation, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the information
20 requested; and
21 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party.
22 (c) If the Non-Party fails to object or seek a protective order from this court within 14 days
23 of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce the Non-
24 Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a
25 protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that
26 is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
27 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
1 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
2 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected
3 Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the
4 Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized
5 disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c)
6 inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this
7 Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be
8 Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
9 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE PROTECTED
10 MATERIAL
11 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently produced
12 material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties
13 are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to
14 modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production
15 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
16 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by
17 the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in
18 the stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
19 12. MISCELLANEOUS
20 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek
21 its modification by the court in the future.
22 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective Order no
23 Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or
24 item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any
25 right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
26 12.3 Filing Protected Material. Without written permission from the Designating Party or a
27 court order secured after appropriate notice to all interested persons, a Party may not file in the public
1 must comply with Civil Local Rule 141. Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a
2 court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. Pursuant to Civil Local
3 Rule 141, a sealing order will issue only upon a request establishing that the Protected Material at issue
4 is privileged, protectable as a trade secret, or otherwise entitled to protection under the law. If a
5 Receiving Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal pursuant to Civil Local Rule 141 is
6 denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record pursuant to
7 Civil Local Rule 141 unless otherwise instructed by the court.
8 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
9 Within 60 days after the final disposition of this action, as defined in paragraph 4, each
10 Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As
11 used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
12 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the
13 Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to
14 the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day
15 deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned
16 or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
17 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material.
18 Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion
19 papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial
20 exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
21 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected
22 Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).
23 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
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25 DATED: August 11, 2026 /s/ Matthew Freeman
Attorney for Plaintiffs
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VICTOR DIAZ AND MARIA DIAZ
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DATED: August 11, 2026 /s/ David A. Belcher
1 Attorney for Defendant
CARGILL MEAT SOLUTIONS CORPORATION
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, , declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety
4 and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for
5 the Eastern District of California on in the case of Diaz v. Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation, Eastern
6 District of California Case No. 1:26−CV−02089−SAB. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all
7 the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so
8 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise
9 that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated
10 Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. I
11 further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Eastern of
12 California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such
13 enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action.
14 I hereby appoint [print or type full name] of
15 [print or type full address and telephone
16 number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any proceedings
17 related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
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19 Date:
20 City and State where sworn and signed:
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22 Printed name:
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24 Signature:
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1 COURT ORDER ENTERING STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
2 Pursuant to the stipulation of the parties and good cause appearing, IT IS HEREBY
3 | ORDERED that:
4 1. The above stipulated protective order is ENTERED;
5 2. The provisions of the parties’ stipulation and this protective order shall remain in
6 effect until further order of the Court;
7 3. The parties are advised that pursuant to the Local Rules of the United States
8 District Court, Eastern District of California, any documents which are to be filed
9 under seal will require a written request which complies with Local Rule 141;
10 4. The party making a request to file documents under seal shall be required to show
11 either good cause or compelling reasons to seal the documents, depending on the
12 type of filing, Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-78 (9th Cir.
13 2009); Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1101 (9th Cir.
14 2016);
15 5. If a party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the Court,
16 then the previously filed material shall be immediately accepted by the Court and
17 become information in the public record and the information will be deemed filed
18 as of the date that the request to file the Protected Information under seal was
19 made; and
20 6. Additionally, the parties shall consider resolving any dispute arising under this
21 protective order according to the Court’s informal discovery dispute procedure.
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73 IT IS SO ORDERED. DAA Le
24 | Dated: _ August 12, 2026 _ eee
STANLEY A. BOONE
25 United States Magistrate Judge
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