David Cavaliere v. Alternative Ventures LLC

• Court: District Court, C.D. California
• Decided: July 22, 2025
• Docket: 2:25-cv-00137
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 BURSOR & FISHER, P.A. VENABLE LLP Neal J. Deckant (SBN 322946) Daniel S. Silverman. (SBN 137864) 2 Luke Sironski-White (SBN 348441) Bryan J. Weintrop (SBN 307416) 3 Karen B. Valenzuela (SBN 357231) Zoe E. Gallagher (SBN 355362) 1990 North California Blvd., 9th Floor 2049 Century Park East, Suite 2300 4 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 Los Angeles, CA 90067 5 Telephone: (925) 300-4455 Telephone: (310) 229-9900 Facsimile: (925) 407-2700 Facsimile: (310) 229-9901 6 E-mail: ndeckant@bursor.com Email: dssilverman@venable.com 7 lsironski@bursor.com bjweintrop@venable.com 8 kvalenzuela@bursor.com zgallagher@venable.com

9 LYNCH CARPENTER, LLP Attorneys for Defendant Alternative 10 Todd D. Carpenter (SBN 234464) Ventures LLC, dba PRESS’D Scott G. Braden (SBN 305051) 11 1234 Camino Del Mar 12 Del Mar, CA 92014 Telephone: (619) 762-1910 13 Facsimile: (858) 313-1850 14 E-mail: todd@lcllp.com scott@lcllp.com 15 16 Attorneys for Plaintiffs and the Proposed Class 17 18 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 19 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 20

21 DAVID CAVALIERE and DALLAS Case No. 2:25-cv-137-SRM-RAO LEBLANC, individually and 22 on behalf of all others similarly situated, Hon. Serena R. Murillo 23 Plaintiffs, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 24 v. ORDER

25 ALTERNATIVE VENTURES LLC, d/b/a DISCOVERY MATTER PRESS’D, 26 Action Filed: January 6, 2025 27 Defendant. 1 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 2 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 3 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public 4 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be 5 warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to 6 grant the following Stipulated Protective Order (“Order”). The parties acknowledge 7 that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to 8 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends 9 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment 10 under the applicable legal principles. 11 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 12 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists of 13 Defendant, and other valuable research regarding the development of Defendant’s 14 PRESS’D 7-Hydroxymitragynine (“7-OH”) tablet products (the “Products”), 15 Defendant’s confidential financial information, and proprietary information for 16 which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other 17 than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary 18 materials and information consist of, among other things, confidential business or 19 financial information of Defendant, information regarding Defendant’s confidential 20 business practices, Defendant’s confidential research regarding the development of 21 Defendant’s Products, and commercial information (including information 22 potentially implicating privacy rights of third party customers of Defendant), 23 information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be 24 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, 25 court rules, case decisions, or common law. Such documents are generally 26 considered confidential and protected under California law. See, e.g., Fed. R. Civ. P. 27 26(c)(1) (For good cause, courts may issue an order “requiring that a trade secret or 1 other confidential research, development, or commercial information not be revealed 2 or be revealed only in the specified way”); Geophysical Sys. Corp. v. Raytheon Co., 3 117 F.R.D. 646, 649 (C.D. Cal. 1987) (ordering disclosure of customer lists subject 4 to a protective order). The disclosure of such information absent confidentiality 5 designations may compromise the privacy of Defendant’s third-party customers and 6 may further result in competitive harm to Defendant. 7 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 8 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 9 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 10 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for 11 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and 12 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this 13 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as 14 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good 15 faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and 16 there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 17 3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE 18 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this 19 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 20 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and 21 the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to 22 file material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of 23 access to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non- 24 dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See 25 Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), 26 Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar- 27 Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even 1 stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of 2 good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal 3 justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to 4 file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as 5 CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the submission of competent evidence by 6 declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as 7 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause. 8 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 9 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the 10 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. 11 See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 667-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For 12 each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced 13 under seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, 14 supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. 15 Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal 16 must be provided by declaration. 17 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 18 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 19 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only 20 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall 21 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety 22 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 23 4. DEFINITIONS 24 4.1 Action: The above captioned federal lawsuit entitled David Cavaliere et 25 al. v. Alternative Ventures LLC, Case No. 2:25-cv-00137-SRM-RAO. 26 4.2 Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the 27 designation of information or items under this Order. 1 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information (regardless of 2 how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 3 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the 4 Good Cause Statement. 5 4.4 “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or 6 Items: Extremely sensitive “Confidential Information or Items,” which would create 7 a substantial risk of serious harm if it were disclosed to another Party or Non-Party. 8 4.5 Counsel (without qualifier): Outside Counsel of Record and House 9 Counsel (as well as their support staff). 10 4.6 Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates information or 11 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 12 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 13 4.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless 14 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 15 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 16 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 17 4.8 Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 18 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 19 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 20 4.9 Final Disposition: The later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses 21 in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the 22 completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of 23 this Action, including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for 24 extension of time pursuant to applicable law. 25 4.10 In-House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a party to this 26 Action. In-House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other 27 outside counsel. 1 4.11 Non-Party: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 2 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 3 4.12 Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a 4 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and 5 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm 6 that has appeared on behalf of that party, including support staff. 7 4.13 Party: Any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 8 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 9 support staffs). 10 4.14 Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 11 Discovery Material in this Action. 12 4.15 Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation support 13 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 14 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 15 and their employees and subcontractors. 16 4.16 Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 17 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 18 ONLY.” 19 4.17 Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 20 Material from a Producing Party. 21 5. SCOPE 22 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 23 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 24 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 25 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 26 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 27 1 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 2 trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of 3 Protected Material at trial. 4 6. DURATION 5 Even after Final Disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 6 imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees 7 otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. 8 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 9 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under 10 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 11 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for 12 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written 13 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, 14 or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably 15 within the ambit of this Order. 16 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 17 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 18 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 19 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 20 Party to sanctions. 21 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 22 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 23 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 24 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 25 this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material 26 that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before or 27 contemporaneous with disclosure or production. Nothing in this Order shall prevent 1 a Designating Party from using and disclosing its Protected Material in any way. 2 Nothing in this Order shall restrict any Counsel from advising their client with 3 respect to this Action and from relying in a general way upon an examination of 4 information designated pursuant to this Order in giving such advice; provided, 5 however, that in giving such advice and communicating with the client, Counsel 6 shall not disclose the substance or contents of any “CONFIDENTIAL – 7 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” information except to persons permitted such access 8 under this Order. 9 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 10 a. Documents: For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or 11 electronic documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or 12 trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 13 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 14 (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected 15 material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for 16 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) 17 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 18 b. Originals: A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents 19 available for inspection need not designate them for protection until after the 20 inspecting Party has indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. 21 During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available 22 for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has 23 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must 24 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this 25 Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must 26 affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. 27 If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the 1 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making 2 appropriate markings in the margins). 3 c. Interrogatory Answers and Responses to Requests for 4 Admission: For interrogatory answers and responses to requests for admissions, in 5 answering any interrogatory or request for admission, or any part, a Party may 6 designate its answer as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ 7 EYES ONLY” by affixing the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – 8 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – 9 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” answers shall be made on separate pages from any 10 other answers or portions that are not designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or 11 “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 12 d. Deposition Testimony: For testimony given in depositions, any 13 Party or Non-Party giving deposition testimony may obtain “CONFIDENTIAL” or 14 “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” treatment by designating the 15 testimony that is claimed to be “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – 16 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” during the course of that testimony. The reporter 17 shall separately transcribe and bind the testimony so designated as 18 “CONFIDENTIAL” and “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” and 19 shall mark the face of the separate bound transcript with the term 20 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 21 During the course of deposition testimony, if any Party or Non-Party reasonably 22 believes that the answer to a question will result in the disclosure of 23 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 24 information, all persons must be excluded from the room in which the deposition 25 testimony is given, except those persons entitled to receive such information 26 pursuant to paragraphs 7.2 and 7.3. Unless previously designated as 27 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY,” all transcripts of deposition testimony, any related exhibits, and all information adduced 1 in deposition, shall be treated as “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 2 ONLY” in their entirety for a period of fourteen (14) calendar days after receipt of 3 the transcript by Counsel for the Designating Party. Within that fourteen (14) 4 calendar day period, the Designating Party may designate information contained in 5 the transcript(s) and/or exhibit(s) as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – 6 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” (whether or not previously designated as such) by 7 notifying all Parties in writing of the portions of the transcript or exhibit which 8 contain such information. Each Party shall attach a copy of such written statement to 9 the face page of the transcript or exhibit and to each copy in their possession, 10 custody or control. These portions of the transcript or exhibits designated as 11 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” shall be 12 treated in accordance with the terms of this Protective Order. 13 e. Other items: For information produced in some form other than 14 documentary and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a 15 prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the 16 information is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – 17 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” If only a portion or portions of the information 18 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the 19 protected portion(s). 20 Except as otherwise provided in this Protective Order, the Receiving Party 21 shall not reveal any information produced for a period of seven (7) calendar days 22 following receipt. Failure to designate a document, thing or other information as 23 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” in 24 accordance with this Protective Order shall not preclude any Party or Non-Party 25 desiring to so designate the document, thing or information from so designating 26 thereafter; provided that after discovering any omission of marking, the Party or 27 Non-Party promptly and in good faith marks the document, thing or other information and makes a written request that each Receiving Party so mark and treat 1 the document, thing or other information in accordance with this Protective Order. 2 Thereafter, the document, thing or other information shall be fully subject to this 3 Protective Order. No Party shall incur liability for any disclosures made prior to 4 notice of such designation, except to the extent that any such disclosures occurred 5 prior to the time periods proscribed by this Protective Order. 6 7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 7 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 8 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 9 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 10 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 11 Order. 12 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 13 8.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 14 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 15 Scheduling Order. 16 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party Shall initiate the dispute 17 resolution process under Civil Local Rule 37-1 et seq. 18 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a 19 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2. 20 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 21 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 22 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 23 parties), may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating 24 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall 25 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 26 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the 27 challenge. 1 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 2 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 3 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 4 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. 5 Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and 6 under the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been 7 terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of Section 15 below 8 (FINAL DISPOSITION). 9 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 10 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 11 authorized under this Order. 12 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 13 otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 14 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 15 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 16 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 17 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 18 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 19 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 20 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 21 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 22 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 23 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 24 (d) the Court and its personnel; 25 (e) court reporters and their staff; 26 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 27 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 1 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 2 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 3 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in 4 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing 5 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) 6 they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 7 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 8 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed 9 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be 10 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as 11 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 12 (i) any mediator or settlement officers, and their supporting personnel, 13 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 14 9.3 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 15 Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing 16 by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item 17 designated “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” only to: 18 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record and their 19 employees to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this 20 litigation; 21 (b) Experts (as defined in the Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 22 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the 23 “Acknowledgement and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 24 (c) the Court, jury, and court personnel; 25 (d) court reporters and their staff; 26 (e) professional jury or trial consultants, and Professional Vendors to 27 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 1 (f) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 2 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 3 (g) during their depositions, the Designating Party; and 4 (h) any mediator who is assigned to hear this matter, and his or her staff, 5 subject to their agreement to maintain confidentiality to the same degree as required 6 by this Protective Order. 7 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 8 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 9 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 10 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” that 11 Party must: 12 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 13 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 14 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or 15 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 16 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include 17 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 18 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 19 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 20 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 21 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 22 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 23 ONLY” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order 24 issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 25 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that 26 court of its confidential material, and nothing in these provisions should be construed 27 1 as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful 2 directive from another court. 3 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 4 11.1 Application. The terms of this Order are applicable to information 5 produced by a Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or 6 “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information produced 7 by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and 8 relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as 9 prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 10 11.2 Notification. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery 11 request, to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the 12 Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 13 confidential information, then the Party shall: 14 (a) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non- 15 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 16 agreement with a Non-Party; 17 (b) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 18 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 19 specific description of the information requested; and 20 (c) make the information requested available for inspection by the 21 Non-Party, if requested. 22 11.3 Conditions of Production. If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective 23 order from this Court within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying 24 information, the Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential 25 information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a 26 protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its 27 possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non- 1 Party before a determination by the Court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the 2 Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this Court of its 3 Protected Material. 4 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 5 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 6 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 7 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 8 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 9 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 10 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 11 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 12 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 13 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR 14 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL 15 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 16 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 17 such as confidentiality, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in 18 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). When a Receiving Party receives 19 material that the Receiving Party has reason to believe (1) is subject to a claim of 20 privilege or work-product protection, and (2) was inadvertently produced, the 21 Receiving Party shall promptly notify the Producing Party and shall immediately 22 destroy the inadvertently produced material. When a Receiving Party receives 23 information that the Receiving Party has reason to believe (1) is subject to a 24 confidentiality designation, and (2) was inadvertently not designated as such, the 25 Receiving Party shall promptly notify the Producing Party such that the Producing 26 Party may re-produce the materials with the intended designation. 27 This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be 1 established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior 2 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the 3 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or 4 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the 5 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted 6 to the Court. 7 14. MISCELLANEOUS 8 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 9 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 10 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 11 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 12 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 13 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 14 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 15 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 16 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 17 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 18 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material 19 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 20 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 21 15. FINAL DISPOSITION After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section 6 22 (DURATION), within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each 23 Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy 24 such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all 25 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or 26 capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned 27 or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the 1 Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by 2 the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the 3 Protected Material that was returned or destroyed; and (2) affirms that the Receiving 4 Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, or any other 5 format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this 6 provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion 7 papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, 8 deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant 9 and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any 10 such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to 11 this Protective Order as set forth in Section 6 (DURATION). 12 16. VIOLATION 13 Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate 14 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary 15 sanctions. 16 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 17

18 DATED: July 22, 2025 BURSOR & FISHER, P.A.

19 By: /s/ Neal J. Deckant 20 Neal J. Deckant

21 Neal J. Deckant (State Bar No. 322946) Luke Sironski-White (State Bar No. 348441) 22 Karen B. Valenzuela (State Bar No. 357231) 1990 North California Boulevard, 9th Floor 23 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 24 Telephone: (925) 300-4455 Facsimile: (925) 407-2700 25 Email: ndeckant@bursor.com lsironski@bursor.com 26 kvalenzuela@bursor.com 27 LYNCH CARPTENTER, LLP 1 Scott G. Braden (State Bar No. 305051) 1234 Camino del Mar 2 Del Mar, CA 92014 Telephone: (619) 762-1910 3 Facsimile: (858) 313-1850 4 Email: todd@lcllp.com scott@lcllp.com 5 Attorneys for Plaintiffs and Proposed Class 6

7 8 DATED: July 22, 2025 VENABLE LLP

9 By: /s/ Daniel S. Silverman 10 Daniel S. Silverman

11 Daniel S. Silverman (State Bar No. 137864) 12 Bryan J. Weintrop (State Bar No. 307416) Zoe E. Gallagher (State Bar No. 355362) 13 2049 Century Park East, Suite 2300 14 Los Angeles, CA 90067 Telephone: (310) 229-9900 15 Facsimile: (310) 229-9901 16 Email: dssilverman@venable.com bjweintrop@venable.com 17 zgallagher@venable.com 18 Attorneys for Defendant Alternative Ventures 19 LLC, d/b/a PRESS’D 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1 ATTESTATION 2 Pursuant to Local Rule 5-4.3.4(2), the filer attests that all signatories 3 listed, and on whose behalf the filing is submitted, concur in the filing’s content 4 and have authorized the filing.

5 /s/ Neal J. Deckant . 6 Neal J. Deckant 7

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1 [PROPOSED] ORDER 2 3 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 4 5 DATED _ July22,2025 6 5 || _“/Neal J. Deckant Attorneys for Plaintiffs 8 9 DATED: July 22, 2025 10 11 /s/ Daniel S. Silverman || Attorneys for Defendant 13 14 15 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 16 17. || DATED:___ 7/22/2025 18 . 19 Rapeis, Oy, OC HON. ROZELLA A. OLIVER 20 United States Magistrate Judge 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, ____________________ [print or type full name], of 4 _____________________ _______________________ [print or type full address], 5 declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the 6 Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the U.S. District Court for the Central 7 District of California in the case of Dallas Cavaliere et al v. Alternative Ventures 8 LLC, Case No. 2:25-cv-00137-SRM-RAO. I agree to comply with and to be bound 9 by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and 10 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment 11 in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner 12 any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any 13 person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the 15 Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated 16 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of 17 this action. 18 I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of 19 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and 20 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with 21 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective 22 Order. 23 24 Date: _________________________________ 25 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 26 Printed name: ______________________________ 27 Signature: __________________________________