CIRCLE K STORES INC., a Texas Corporation v. J. JACKSON WASTE

• Court: District Court, C.D. California
• Decided: January 7, 2026
• Docket: 2:25-cv-01949
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 J. JACKSON WASTE, SBN 289081 jwaste@fennemorelaw.com 2 FENNEMORE LLP 8080 N. Palm Avenue, Third Floor 3 Fresno, CA 93711 Telephone: (559) 432-4500 4

KEVIN J. ABBOTT, SBN 281312 5 kabbott@fennemorelaw.com 6 FENNEMORE LLP 550 E. Hospitality Lane, Suite 350 7 San Bernardino, CA 92408 Telephone: (909) 723-1700 8 ANTHONY W. AUSTIN, SBN 025351 (Admitted Pro Hac Vice) 9 aaustin@fennemorelaw.com TYLER D. CARLTON, SBN 035275 (Admitted Pro Hac Vice) 10 tcarlton@fennemorelaw.com FENNEMORE CRAIG, P.C. 11 2394 East Camelback Road, Suite 600 12 Phoenix, AZ 85016 Telephone: (602) 916-5000 13 Attorneys for Defendant and Counter-claimant, 14 CIRCLE K STORES INC., a Texas Corporation 15 16 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 17 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 18 WESTERN DIVISION (LOS ANGELES) 19 INDO-PHILI, INC., a California Case No.: 2:25-cv-01949-JFW-SSC corporation, 20 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 21 Plaintiff/Counter-defendant, ORDER 22 v. Courtroom: 7A Action Filed: March 5, 2025 23 CIRCLE K STORES INC., a Texas 24 Corporation, 25 Defendant/Counter-claimant. 26 27 28 1 1. INTRODUCTION 2 1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to involve 3 production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special 4 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 5 prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby 6 stipulate to and petition the court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. 7 The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all 8 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public 9 disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled 10 to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. 11 1.2 Good Cause Statement. This action is likely to involve discovery of 12 confidential and proprietary information, including without limitation, commercial 13 and financial information, valuation methods, underwriting-related materials, and 14 information reflecting internal business practices and decision-making. Such 15 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other 16 things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding 17 confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, or 18 commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third 19 parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be 20 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court 21 rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of 22 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of 23 discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep 24 confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such 25 material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the 26 end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such 27 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information 28 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so 1 designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, 2 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public 3 record of this case. 4 1.3 Acknowledgment of Procedure for Filing Under Seal. The parties 5 further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated 6 Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; 7 Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards 8 that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material 9 under seal. 10 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 11 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 12 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and 13 Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips ex rel. Ests. of Byrd 14 v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210–11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. 15 Sony Elecs., Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective 16 orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or 17 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be 18 made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The 19 parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL 20 or ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY does not—without the submission of competent 21 evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal 22 qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause. 23 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 24 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the 25 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. 26 See Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677–79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each 27 item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under 28 seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must 1 articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for 2 the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application 3 to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration. 4 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 5 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 6 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only 7 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall 8 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety 9 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 10 11 2. DEFINITIONS 12 2.1 Action: Indo-Phili Inc. v. Circle K Stores Inc., No. 2:25-cv-01949-JFW- 13 SSC. 14 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation 15 of information or items under this Order. 16 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 17 how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 18 protection under Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and as specified 19 above in the Good Cause Statement. 20 2.4 “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items: information 21 (regardless of how generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify 22 for protection under Rule 26(c) and that are so highly sensitive that disclosure to a 23 Receiving Party’s officers, directors, employees, or other non-outside-counsel 24 personnel could create a substantial risk of competitive, commercial, financial, or 25 other serious harm that cannot be avoided by less restrictive means. 26 2.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 27 their support staff). 28 /// 1 2.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 2 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 3 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 4 2.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 5 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 6 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 7 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 8 2.8 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 10 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 11 2.9 Final Disposition: the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses 12 in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the 13 completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of 14 this Action, including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for 15 extension of time pursuant to applicable law. 16 2.10 In-House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this 17 Action. In-House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other 18 outside counsel. 19 2.11 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 20 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 21 2.12 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party 22 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have 23 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which 24 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 25 2.13 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 26 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 27 support staffs). 28 /// 1 2.14 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 2 Discovery Material in this Action. 3 2.15 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation- support 4 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 5 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 6 and their employees and subcontractors. 7 2.16 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 8 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 9 2.17 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 10 from a Producing Party. 11 12 3. SCOPE 13 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 14 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 15 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 16 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 17 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 18 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 19 trial judge. This Stipulated Protective Order does not govern the use of Protected 20 Material at trial. 21 22 4. TRIAL AND DURATION 23 The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order apply through Final Disposition 24 of the Action. 25 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 26 CONFIDENTIAL, ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY, or otherwise maintained pursuant 27 to this Stipulated Protective Order and used or introduced as an exhibit at trial 28 becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the public, 1 including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings 2 to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See 3 Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180–81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing 4 documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits- 5 related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, for such materials, the 6 terms of this Stipulated Protective Order do not extend beyond the commencement 7 of the trial. 8 Even after Final Disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 9 imposed by this Stipulated Protective Order shall remain in effect until a Designating 10 Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. 11 12 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 13 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 14 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under 15 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 16 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for 17 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written 18 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, 19 or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably 20 within the ambit of this Order. 21 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 22 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 23 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 24 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 25 Party to sanctions. 26 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 27 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 28 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 1 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 2 this Stipulated Protective Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), 3 or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies 4 for protection under this Stipulated Protective Order must be clearly so designated 5 before the material is disclosed or produced. 6 Designation in conformity with this Stipulated Protective Order requires: 7 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, 8 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the 9 Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or 10 “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” to each page that contains protected material. If 11 only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the 12 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making 13 appropriate markings in the margins). 14 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 15 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 16 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and 17 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 18 deemed CONFIDENTIAL or ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY. After the inspecting 19 Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party 20 must determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under 21 this Stipulated Protective Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, 22 the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES 23 ONLY” legend to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or 24 portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also 25 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings 26 in the margins). 27 /// 28 /// 1 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify 2 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition 3 all protected testimony. 4 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for 5 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 6 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the 7 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” legend. If only a portion or 8 portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent 9 practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s). 10 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 11 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 12 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 13 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 14 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 15 Stipulated Protective Order. 16 17 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 18 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 19 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the court’s 20 Scheduling Order. 21 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 22 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. and with Section 2 of Judge 23 Christensen’s Civil Procedures titled “Brief Pre-Discovery Motion Conference.” 24 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 25 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose 26 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may 27 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived 28 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the 1 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing 2 Party’s designation until the court rules on the challenge. 3 4 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 5 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 6 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 7 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such 8 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 9 conditions described in this Order. When the Action reaches a Final Disposition, a 10 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below. 11 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 12 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 13 authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order. 14 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 15 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 16 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 17 “CONFIDENTIAL” only: 18 (a) to the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 19 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 20 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 21 (b) to the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 22 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 23 (c) to Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 24 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 25 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 26 (d) to the court and its personnel; 27 (e) to court reporters and their staff; 28 /// 1 (f) to professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 2 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 3 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 4 (g) to 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, to witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the 7 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary, provided: (1) the deposing party 8 requests that the witness sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 9 (Exhibit A); and (2) the witness will not be permitted to keep any confidential 10 information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 11 (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. 12 Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal 13 Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be 14 disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 15 (i) to any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 16 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 17 7.3 Disclosure of “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items. 18 Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating 19 Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 20 “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” only to: 21 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, and 22 employees of Outside Counsel of Record to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary 23 for this Action; 24 (b) Experts retained for this Action, to whom disclosure is reasonably 25 necessary, provided that: (i) the Expert has signed the “Acknowledgment and 26 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); and (ii) the Receiving Party maintains the 27 signed acknowledgment; 28 (c) the Court and its personnel, including court reporters and their staff, in 1 connection with this Action; 2 (d) Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this 3 Action, provided they have signed Exhibit A; 4 (e) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, mutually 5 agreed upon by the parties; 6 (f) the author, recipient, or custodian of the document or information, or a 7 person who otherwise possessed or knew the information, only to the extent 8 reasonably necessary and provided that such person is advised of the confidentiality 9 obligation (and, upon request, signs Exhibit A); 10 (g) during depositions, a deponent or deposition witness to whom disclosure 11 is reasonably necessary, provided that the witness is advised of the confidentiality 12 obligation and signs Exhibit A unless the Designating Party agrees otherwise or the 13 Court orders otherwise; and provided further that the witness shall not be permitted 14 to retain any ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY material absent written agreement of the 15 Designating Party or Court order. 16 No other disclosure permitted. ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY material shall not 17 be disclosed to the Receiving Party’s officers, directors, employees, or In-House 18 Counsel absent written consent of the Designating Party or Court order. 19 20 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED 21 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 22 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 23 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 24 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY,” that Party must: 25 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall 26 include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 27 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 28 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena 1 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of 2 this Stipulated Protective Order; and 3 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued 4 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 5 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 6 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 7 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” before a 8 determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party 9 has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear 10 the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material 11 and nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a 12 Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 13 14 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 15 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 16 9.1 Application. The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order are 17 applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in this Action and designated as 18 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information 19 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 20 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 21 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 22 9.2 Notification. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery 23 request, to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the 24 Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 25 confidential information, then the Party shall: 26 (a) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that 27 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with 28 a Non-Party; 1 (b) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non- 2 Party, if requested. 3 9.3 Conditions of Production. If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective 4 order from this court within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying 5 information, the Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential 6 information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a 7 protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its 8 possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non- 9 Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the 10 Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its 11 Protected Material. 12 13 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 14 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 15 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 16 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 17 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 18 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 19 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 20 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 21 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A). 22 23 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR 24 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL 25 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 26 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 27 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Rule 26(b)(5)(B) of the 28 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This provision is not intended to modify whatever 1 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production 2 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Rules 502(d) and (e) of the Federal Rules 3 of Evidence, insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of 4 a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work 5 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated 6 protective order submitted to the court. 7 8 12. MISCELLANEOUS 9 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Stipulated Protective Order 10 abridges the right of any person to seek its modification by the court in the future. 11 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 12 Stipulated Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to 13 object to disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not 14 addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right 15 to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this 16 Stipulated Protective Order. 17 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 18 Protected Material must comply with Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only 19 be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific 20 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal 21 is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public 22 record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 23 24 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 25 After the Final Disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraphs 2.9 and 4, 26 within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party 27 must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. 28 As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, 1 || compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 2 || Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the 3 || Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if 4 || not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that 5 || (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was 6 || returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any 7 || copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or 8 || capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel is 9 || entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, 10 || and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial 11 || exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work 12 || product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies 13 || that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order 14 || as set forth in Section 4. 15 16 14. VIOLATION 17 Any violation of this Stipulated Protective Order may be punished by any and 18 || all appropriate measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or 19 || monetary sanctions. 20 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 21 DATED: January 5,2026 —_/s/ Kenneth Roberts Attorney(s) for Plaintiff(s) 23 DATED: January 5, 2026 Arerthony Austin endant(s) 25 26 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 27 DATED: January 7, 2026 28 United States Magistrate Judge

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