Afro Unicorn, Inc. v. Michael Benson

• Court: District Court, C.D. California
• Decided: April 11, 2023
• Docket: 2:22-cv-07483
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 BRIAN M. GROSSMAN (SBN 166681) 2 TESSER | GROSSMAN LLP 11990 San Vicente Boulevard, Suite 300 3 Los Angeles, California 90049 4 Telephone: (310) 207-4558 Facsimile: (424) 256-2689 5 Email: brian@tessergrossman.com 6 ZACHARY EYSTER (Pro Hac Vice Pending) 7 KENNINGTON GROFF (Pro Hac Vice) 8 BEKIARES ELIEZER, LLP 2870 Piedmont Road #512 9 Atlanta, GA 30305 10 Telephone: (404) 537-3686 Email: zeyster@founderslegal.com 11 kgroff@founderslegal.com 12 Attorneys for Defendants 13 MICHAEL BENSON and MB BENSON 14 INVESTMENTS, LLC 15 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 16 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 17 AFRO UNICORN, INC., Case No.: 2:22-cv-07483-MWF-MRW 18 Plaintiff, [PROPOSED] STIPULATED 19 PROTECTIVE ORDER v. 20 DISCOVERY MATTER 21 MICHAEL BENSON, and MB BENSON INVESTMENTS, LLC 22 23 Defendants. 24 25 AND RELATED COUNTERCLAIM 26 27 Pursuant to the Stipulation of the Parties, and for good cause appearing, the Court 28 1 2 A. PURPOSES OF LIMITATIONS 3 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary, 4 or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use 5 for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the 6 parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated 7 Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket 8 protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords 9 from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are 10 entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further 11 acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order 12 does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 13 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied 14 when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 15 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 16 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists and other 17 valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary 18 information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any 19 purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and 20 proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, confidential 21 business or financial information, information regarding confidential business practices, 22 or other confidential research, development, or commercial information (including 23 information implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise generally 24 unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from 25 disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. 26 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of 27 disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information 28 the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted 1 reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, 2 to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a 3 protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the 4 parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that 5 nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a 6 confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the 7 public record of this case. 8 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL 9 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 10 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under 11 seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the 12 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file 13 material under seal. 14 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 15 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, good 16 cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and County 17 of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 18 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 19 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good cause 20 showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with proper 21 evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to Protected 22 Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure 23 or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the submission of 24 competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under 25 seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good 26 cause. 27 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 28 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief 1 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See Pintos 2 v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type 3 of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal in 4 connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must articulate 5 compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the requested 6 sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file documents 7 under seal must be provided by declaration. 8 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its 9 entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 10 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only the 11 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be filed. 12 Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should include 13 an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 14 15 1. DEFINITIONS 16 1.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit, Case No. 22-cv-07843-MWF-MRW 17 1.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of 18 information or items under this Order. 19 1.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how 20 it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under 21 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause 22 Statement. 23 1.4 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –ATTORNEYS’ EYESONLY” Information 24 or Items: extremely sensitive “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items, the disclosure 25 of which to another Party or Non-Party would create a substantial risk of serious harm 26 that could not be avoided by less restrictive means. 27 1.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 28 support staff). 1 1.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items 2 that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL” or 3 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 4 1.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the 5 medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among 6 other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated 7 in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 8 1.8 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 9 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an 10 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 11 1.9 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 12 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel. 13 1.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 14 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 15 1.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to 16 this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have appeared 17 in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared 18 on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 19 1.12 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 20 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 21 support staffs). 22 1.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 23 Discovery Material in this Action. 24 1.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 25 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 26 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and 27 their employees and subcontractors. 28 1 1.15 Designated Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 2 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ 3 EYES ONLY.” 4 1.16 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 5 from a Producing Party. 6 2. SCOPE 7 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Designated 8 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from 9 Designated Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Designated 10 Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their 11 Counsel that might reveal Designated Material. 12 Any use of Designated Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial 13 judge. This Order does not govern the use of Designated Material at trial. 14 3. DURATION 15 FINAL DISPOSITION of the action is defined as the conclusion of any appellate 16 proceedings, or, if no appeal is taken, when the time for filing of an appeal has run. 17 Except as set forth below, the terms of this protective order apply through FINAL 18 DISPOSITION of the action. The parties may stipulate that the they will be contractually 19 bound by the terms of this agreement beyond FINAL DISPOSITION, but will have to 20 file a separate action for enforcement of the agreement once all proceedings in this case 21 are complete. 22 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 23 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced as 24 an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of 25 the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual 26 findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See 27 Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing 28 documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits- 1 related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, for such materials, the terms 2 of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial. 3 4 4. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 5 4.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each 6 Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order 7 must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the 8 appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only those 9 parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify so 10 that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for which 11 protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 12 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that 13 are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., 14 to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary 15 expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions. 16 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 17 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 18 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 19 4.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this 20 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or 21 ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order 22 must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced. 23 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 24 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 25 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), 26 that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or 27 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” (hereinafter 28 “CONFIDENTIAL” legend or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES 1 ONLY legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a portion or 2 portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must 3 clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the 4 margins). 5 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection need 6 not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which 7 documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the 8 designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed 9 “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” After the inspecting Party has 10 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must 11 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. 12 Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the 13 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 14 ONLY legend” to each page that contains Designated Material. If only a portion or 15 portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must 16 clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the 17 margins). 18 (b) Deposition transcripts and portions thereof taken in this action may 19 be designated as “CONFIDENTIAL,” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –ATTORNEYS’ 20 EYES ONLY” during the deposition or after, in which case the portion of the transcript 21 containing Designated Material shall be identified in the transcript by the Court Reporter 22 as “CONFIDENTIAL,” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 23 ONLY.” The designated testimony shall be bound in a separate volume and marked by 24 the reporter accordingly. 25 Where testimony is designated during the deposition, the Designating Party shall 26 have the right to exclude, at those portions of the deposition, all persons not authorized 27 by the terms of this Protective Order to receive such Designated Material Within thirty 28 (30) days after a deposition transcript is certified by the court reporter, any party may 1 designate pages of the transcript and/or its exhibits as Designated Material. During such 2 thirty (30) day period, the transcript in its entirety shall be treated as “CONFIDENTIAL” 3 (except for those portions identified earlier as “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – 4 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” which shall be treated accordingly from the date of 5 designation). If any party so designates such material, the parties shall provide written 6 notice of such designation to all parties within the thirty (30) day period. Designated 7 Material within the deposition transcript or the exhibits thereto may be identified in 8 writing by page and line, or by underlining and marking such portions 9 “CONFIDENTIAL,” “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 10 and providing such marked-up portions to all counsel. 11 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and 12 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 13 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 14 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 15 If only a portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, 16 to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s). 17 5 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure 18 to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the 19 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon 20 timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to 21 assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 22 5. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 23 5.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation 24 of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order. 25 5.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution 26 process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. 27 5.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the 28 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., 1 to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 2 Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn 3 the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the material in 4 question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s 5 designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 6 6. ACCESS TO AND USE OF DESIGNATED MATERIAL 7 6.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Designated Material that is 8 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action 9 only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Designated 10 Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions 11 described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must 12 comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 13 Designated 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 6.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise 17 ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party 18 may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 19 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 20 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary 21 to disclose the information for this Action; 22 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 23 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 24 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 25 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 26 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 27 (d) the court and its personnel; 28 (e) court reporters and their staff; 1 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 2 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed 3 the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 4 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 5 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 6 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, andattorneys for witnesses, in the 7 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party 8 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they will not 9 be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment 10 and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating 11 Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to 12 depositions that reveal Designated Material may be separately bound by the court 13 reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated 14 Protective Order; and 15 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 16 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 17 6.3 Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES 18 ONLY” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in 19 writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item 20 designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 21 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 22 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary 23 to disclose the information for this Action; 24 (b) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 25 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 26 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 27 (c) the court and its personnel; 28 1 (d) private court reporters and their staff to whom disclosure is 2 reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and 3 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 4 (e) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 5 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed 6 the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 7 (f) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 8 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; and 9 (g) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 10 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 11 6.4 Nothing herein in any way restricts the ability of the Receiving Party to use 12 “CONFIDENTIAL,” “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 13 material produced to it in examining or cross-examining any employee or consultant of 14 the Designating Party. 15 6.5 Nothing herein shall bar any attorney in the course of rendering advice to 16 such attorney’s client with respect to this litigation from conveying to any party client 17 the attorney’s evaluation in a general way of HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL 18 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY information produced or exchanged under the terms of this 19 Protective Order; provided, however, that in rendering such advice and otherwise 20 communicating with the client, the attorney shall not disclose the specific contents of any 21 HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY produced by another party if 22 such disclosure would be contrary to the terms of this Confidentiality Agreement. The 23 Parties further agree that Plaintiff is free to name revealed alleged infringers as 24 defendants in lawsuit, notwithstanding any Party’s designation of documents showing 25 such information as HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY. 26 7. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 27 IN OTHER LITIGATION 28 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that 1 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 2 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY,” 3 that Party must: 4 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 5 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 6 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 7 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or 8 order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this 9 Stipulated Protective Order; and 10 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 11 pursued by the Designating Party whose Designated Material may be affected. 12 (d) If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party 13 served with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in 14 this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ 15 EYES ONLY” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order 16 issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 17 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court 18 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as 19 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive 20 from another court. 21 8. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 22 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 23 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 24 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 25 CONFIDENTIAL -- ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by 26 Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief 27 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a 28 Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 1 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 2 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject 3 to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential 4 information, then the Party shall: 5 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non- 6 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 7 agreement with a Non-Party; 8 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 9 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 10 specific description of the information requested; and 11 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 12 Non-Party, if requested. 13 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may 15 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If 16 the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any 17 information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement 18 with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the 19 contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this 20 court of its Designated Material. 21 9. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 22 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 23 Designated Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 24 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing 25 the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve 26 all unauthorized copies of the Designated Material, (c) inform the person or persons to 27 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request 28 1 such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 2 that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 3 10. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 4 PROTECTED MATERIAL 5 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 6 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the 7 obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be 9 established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege 10 review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach 11 an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by 12 the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their 13 agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the court. 14 11. MISCELLANEOUS 15 11.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 16 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 17 11.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 18 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 19 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 20 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground 21 to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 22 11.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected 23 Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed 24 under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected 25 Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by 26 the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless 27 otherwise instructed by the court. 28 12 FINAL DISPOSITION After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 days 2 | of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all 3 || Designated Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this 4 || subdivision, “all Designated Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 5 | summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Designated 6 || Material. Whether the Designated Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party 7 | must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or 8 | entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, 9 || where appropriate) all the Designated Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) 10 || affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, 11 || summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Designated Material. 12 | Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all 13 || pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, 14 || correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and 15 || consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Designated Material. 16 || Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Designated Material remain subject 17 || to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). 18 13 VIOLATION 19 Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate measures 20 | including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 21 IT IS SO ORDERED. ee □ 23 □ 54 | Date: 4/11/23 \_ ON. MICHAEL R. WILNER 25 U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE 26 27 28

1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of 4 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I 5 have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued 6 by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the 7 case of Afro Unicorn, Inc. v. Michael Benson et al. 2:22-cv-07483-MWF-MRW. I agree 8 to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I 9 understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and 10 punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any 11 manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any 12 person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 13 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for 14 the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated 15 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this 16 action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of 17 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and telephone 18 number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or 19 any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. 20 Date: ______________________________________ 21 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 22 23 Printed name: _______________________________ 24 Signature: __________________________________ 25 26 27 28