Edylne Nicolas v. American Express

• Court: District Court, C.D. California
• Decided: September 10, 2025
• Docket: 2:25-cv-00246
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 STEPTOE LLP STEPHEN J. NEWMAN (SBN 181570) 2 snewman@steptoe.com 3 docketing@steptoe.com 2029 Century Park East, Suite 980 4 Los Angeles, CA 90067 5 Telephone: (213) 439-9400 Facsimile: (213) 439-9599 6 7 Surya Kundu (SBN 308099) skundu@steptoe.com 8 One Market Plaza 9 Steuart Tower, Suite 1070 San Francisco, CA 94105 10 Telephone: (415) 365-6700 11 Facsimile: (415) 365-6699 12 Attorneys for Defendant AMERICAN EXPRESS NATIONAL BANK 13 (Counsel for additional parties listed on signature page) 14 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 15 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 16 EDYLNE NICOLAS, Case No. 2:25-cv-00246-MAR 17 Plaintiff, 18 v. [PROPOSED] STIPULATED 19 PROTECTIVE ORDER AMERICAN EXPRESS, ZWICKER & 20 ASSOCIATES, P.C., TRANS UNION, 21 LLC, EQUIFAX INFORMATION SERVICES, LLC, EXPERIAN 22 INFORMATION SOLUTIONS, INC. 23 and DOES 1 through 10, inclusive, Defendants. 24

25 26 27 28 1 1. INTRODUCTION 2 1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 3 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 4 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public 5 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be 6 warranted. Accordingly, Plaintiff Edylne Nicolas and Defendants American Express 7 National Bank (erroneously sued as American Express), Zwicker & Associates, P.C., 8 Equifax Information Services, LLC, and Experian Information Solutions, Inc, (the 9 “Parties”)1, by and through their undersigned counsel, hereby jointly stipulate to and 10 petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The Parties 11 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or 12 responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and 13 use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential 14 treatment under the applicable legal principles. 15 1.2 UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE 16 The Parties acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 17 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 18 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and 19 the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file 20 material under seal. The Parties further acknowledge that there is a strong 21 presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial proceedings and records 22 in civil cases, that good cause must be shown (with proper evidence and legal 23 justification) to support a filing under seal, and that mere designation of Disclosure 24 or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not, in and of itself, constitute good 25 cause. The Parties stipulate and agree that any requests to seal shall be narrowly 26

27 1 On August 8, 2025, Defendant Trans Union LLC and Plaintiff filed their Joint Notice of Settlement notifying the Court of their agreement to settle and intention to 28 1 tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. 2 1.3 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 3 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, private financial information and 4 records, and other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical 5 and/or proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure 6 and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. 7 Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other 8 things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding 9 confidential business practices, financial records and account information (including 10 records and information implicating privacy rights of third parties), or information 11 otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or 12 otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case 13 decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to 14 facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery 15 materials, to adequately protect information the Parties are entitled to keep 16 confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of 17 such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling 18 at the end of the litigation, and to serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such 19 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the Parties that information 20 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be 21 designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, 22 non-public manner, and that there is good cause why it should not be part of the 23 public record of this case. 24 2. DEFINITIONS 25 2.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit, captioned Edylne Nicolas v. 26 American Express, et al., Case No. 2:25-cv-00246-MAR. 27 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation 28 of information or items under this Order. 1 2.3 “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. As used herein, “information” shall include (among other 5 things): (i) the information itself; (ii) any notes, abstracts, summaries or any other 6 writing or materials summarizing, referencing, or containing such information 7 (whether in whole or in part); (iii) any documents, exhibits, answers to 8 interrogatories, responses to requests for admission, responses to requests for 9 production, deposition transcripts, pleading, affidavit, declaration, brief, motion, 10 transcript, or other written, recorded, graphic or electronically-stored material 11 summarizing, referencing, or containing such information (whether in whole or in 12 part); (iv) and all identical and non-identical copies thereof. 13 2.4 “CONFIDENTIAL–ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or 14 Items: Extremely sensitive and/or proprietary “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or 15 Items, the disclosure of which to another Party or Non-Party would create a 16 substantial risk of serious harm that could not be avoided by less restrictive means. 17 2.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 18 their support staff). 19 2.6 Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates information or 20 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 21 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL–ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”. 22 2.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless 23 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 24 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 25 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 26 2.8 Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 27 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 28 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 1 2.9 House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 2 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 3 counsel. 4 2.10 Non-Party: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 5 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 6 2.11 Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a party 7 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have 8 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which 9 has appeared on behalf of that party (including support staff). 10 2.12 Party: Any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 11 employees, consultants, retained experts, House Counsel, and Outside Counsel of 12 Record (and their support staffs). 13 2.13 Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 14 Discovery Material in this Action. 15 2.14 Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation support 16 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 17 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 18 and their employees and subcontractors. 19 2.15 Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 20 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL–ATTORNEYS’ EYES 21 ONLY”. 22 2.16 Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 23 from a Producing Party. 24 3. SCOPE 25 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 26 Protected Material (as defined above), but also: (i) any information copied or 27 extracted from Protected Material; (ii) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 28 compilations of Protected Material; and (iii) any testimony, conversations, or 1 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 2 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 3 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 4 4. 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. Final disposition shall be 8 deemed to be the later of: (i) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with 9 or without prejudice; and (ii) final judgment herein after the completion and 10 exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, 11 including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time 12 pursuant to applicable law. 13 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 14 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection: 15 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection 16 under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 17 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for 18 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written 19 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, 20 communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably 21 within the ambit of this Order. 22 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 23 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 24 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 25 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 26 Party to sanctions. 27 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 28 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 1 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 2 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations: Except as otherwise provided in 3 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of Section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 4 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 5 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 6 produced. 7 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 8 (a) For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 9 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 10 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 11 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL–ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”, to each 12 page that contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on 13 a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party must also clearly identify the 14 protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). If 15 electronic information is produced in a format such that it is impractical to affix a 16 confidentiality marking in such a manner, that Producing Party shall clearly identify 17 the Protected Material in another appropriate manner (e.g., by including 18 “CONFIDENTIAL” in the file name or in a marked cover-sheet). 19 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 20 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 21 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and 22 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 23 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL,” unless the Producing Party indicates that all or some 24 portion of the material must be treated as “CONFIDENTIAL–ATTORNEYS’ EYES 25 ONLY” during the inspection. After the inspecting Party has identified the 26 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which 27 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before 28 producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must prominently affix the 1 legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL–ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 2 to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the 3 material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party must also clearly 4 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the 5 margins). If electronic information is produced in a format such that it is impractical 6 to affix a confidentiality marking in such a manner, that Producing Party shall clearly 7 identify the Protected Material in another appropriate manner (e.g., by including 8 “CONFIDENTIAL–ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” in the file name or in a marked 9 cover-sheet). 10 (b) For testimony given in depositions, the entire transcript shall be treated 11 as Protected Material for thirty (30) days following receipt by all Parties of the final 12 deposition transcript. By default during this period, the entire transcript will be 13 treated as CONFIDENTIAL, unless a Party designates it at a higher level of 14 confidentiality before the close of the deposition. Any Party wishing to designate 15 portions of the transcript or the exhibits attached thereto as Protected Material must 16 do so within those thirty (30) days. For testimony or exhibits attached thereto to 17 continue to be treated as Protected Material after the expiration of the thirty (30) day 18 period, the Designating Party must identify, in writing to all Parties, the specific 19 portions of the transcript and exhibits attached thereto it designates as Protected 20 Material. 21 (c) For information produced in some form other than documentary and for 22 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 23 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 24 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL–ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” If only a 25 portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the 26 extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s). 27 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate: If timely corrected, an inadvertent 28 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the 1 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 2 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 3 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 4 Order. 5 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 6 6.1 Timing of Challenges: Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 7 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 8 Scheduling Order. 9 6.2 Meet and Confer: The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 10 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq. or follow the procedures for 11 informal, telephonic discovery hearings on the Court’s website. 12 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 13 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose 14 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may 15 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived 16 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the 17 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing 18 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 19 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 20 7.1 Basic Principles: A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 21 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 22 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such 23 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 24 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a 25 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of Section 13 below (FINAL 26 DISPOSITION). 27 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 28 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 1 authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order. 2 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Unless 3 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 4 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 5 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 6 (a) The Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well 7 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 8 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 9 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the 10 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 11 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 12 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 13 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 14 (d) The Court and its personnel; 15 (e) Court reporters and their staff; 16 (f) Professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 17 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who 18 have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 19 (g) The author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 20 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 21 (h) During their depositions, witnesses and attorneys for witnesses in the 22 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (i) the deposing 23 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and 24 (ii) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they 25 sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless 26 otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of 27 transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal 28 Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not 1 be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective 2 Order; and 3 (i) Any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 4 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 5 7.3 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL–ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 6 Information or Items: Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing 7 by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item 8 designated “CONFIDENTIAL–ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” only to: 9 (a) The Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well 10 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 11 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 12 (b) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 13 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 14 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 15 (c) The Court and its personnel; 16 (d) Court reporters and their staff; 17 (e) Professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 18 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who 19 have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 20 (f) The author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 21 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 22 (g) During their depositions, witnesses and attorneys for witnesses in the 23 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (i) the witness is 24 eligible to see it based on its confidentiality designation, (ii) the deposing party 25 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (iii) 26 they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they 27 sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless 28 otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of 1 transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal 2 Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not 3 be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective 4 Order; and 5 (h) Any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 6 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 7 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED 8 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 9 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 10 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 11 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 12 (a) Promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall 13 include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 14 (b) Promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 15 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 17 include 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” before a determination by the court from which the 23 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 24 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 25 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions 26 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to 27 disobey a lawful directive from another court. 28 1 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 2 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 3 9.1 The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 4 Non-Party in this Action and designated as Protected Material. Such information 5 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 6 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 7 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 8 9.2 In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 9 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 10 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 11 confidential information, then the Party shall: 12 (a) Promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that 13 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 14 agreement with a Non-Party; 15 (b) Promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective 16 Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 17 specific description of the information requested; and 18 (c) Make the information requested available for inspection by the Non- 19 Party, if requested. 20 9.3 If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 21 fourteen (14) days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the 22 Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to 23 the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving 24 Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to 25 the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 26 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense 27 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 28 1 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 2 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 3 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 4 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 5 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 6 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 7 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 8 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 9 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 10 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 11 PROTECTED MATERIAL 12 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 13 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 14 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 15 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure 16 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior 17 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the 18 Parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or 19 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the 20 Parties may incorporate their agreement in a stipulated protective order submitted to 21 the court. 22 12. MISCELLANEOUS 23 12.1 Right to Further Relief: Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 24 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future or prevents any Party from 25 raising the confidential nature of Information in response to particular discovery 26 requests or from seeking additional protections to be afforded to the disclosure of 27 particular Information. 28 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections: No Party waives any right it otherwise 1 would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or item on any 2 ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives 3 any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered 4 by this Order, or conversely, to raise any objections as to its admissibility. Further, 5 nothing in this Order waives or prohibits the assertion of any privilege or protection 6 against disclosure under the Federal Rules of Evidence and/or Rules of Civil 7 Procedure, or any other applicable statute, regulation, or rule. 8 12.3 Filing Protected Material: A Party that seeks to file under seal any 9 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 10 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 11 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material 12 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 13 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 14 12.4 Production of Third Party Confidential Account Information. The 15 Parties acknowledge that this action concerns non-public, private, and confidential 16 information of third parties, including but not limited to American Express card 17 account information. Those third parties have a legitimate expectation and/or right 18 of privacy in their personal, non-public, financial information (including as 19 represented on American Express card account statements) pursuant to constitution, 20 statute, such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 15 U.S.C. § 6801 et seq., and 12 21 C.F.R. Part 1016 et seq., and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, 15 22 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq., and/or case law, such as Marks v. Global Mortgage Group, 23 Inc., 218 F.R.D. 492, 497 (S.D. W. Va. 2003) (“Congress has expressed a strong 24 interest in protecting the privacy of consumers’ financial information.”); Davis v. 25 Leal, 43 F. Supp. 2d 1102, 1111 (E.D. Cal. 1999) (finding information that 26 implicates private financial information is “presumptively privileged”); In re 27 Crawford, 194 F.3d 954, 958-59 (9th Cir. 1999) (noting that the existence of a 28 constitutionally protected “zone of privacy” is firmly established by the Supreme 1 Court). Indeed, under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (“GLBA”), American Express is 2 prohibited from “disclos[ing] to a nonaffiliated third party any nonpublic personal 3 information” relating to its customers, unless an exception to GLBA applies. 15 4 U.S.C. § 6802(a). “Personally identifiable financial information” means any 5 information, in the context of the provision of a financial product or service, that (1) 6 a consumer gives to a financial institution, (2) is about a consumer’s transaction, or 7 (3) a financial institution obtains from a consumer. 16 C.F.R. § 313.3(o)(1); see also 8 15 U.S.C. § 6809(4)(A)(i)-(iii). Even the fact that an individual is or has been the 9 customer of a financial institution constitutes “personally identifiable financial 10 information” under GLBA’s implementing regulation. See 16 C.F.R. § 313(o). 11 Through entry of this Order, American Express is permitted to disclose records 12 relating to the American Express card accounts to which payments at issue in this 13 action were made, notwithstanding that those account records contain information in 14 which third parties may have a legitimate expectation and/or right of privacy 15 pursuant to federal and state constitutions, statute or case law. 16 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 17 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section 4, within sixty 18 (60) days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must 19 return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used 20 in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, 21 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 22 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the 23 Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if 24 not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that 25 (i) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was 26 returned or destroyed and (ii) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any 27 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or 28 capturing any of the Protected Material. 1 Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy 2 ||of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, lega 3 ||memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney 4 || work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contair 5 || Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protectec 6 ||Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 7 || (DURATION). 8g |14. NON-COMPLIANCE 9 Any violation of this Stipulated Order may be punished by any and al 10 ||appropriate measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/o 11 ||monetary sanctions. The Parties further agree that, if necessary, an injunction may bs 12 |{issued to prevent violations of this Stipulation and Order. The agreement tc 13 ||injunctive relief does not preclude a Party from also obtaining damages tha 14 ||reasonably arise from a breach of this Stipulation and Order 15 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED, i Dated: 9/10/2025 18 Hon. Margo A. Rocconi 19 United States Magistrate Judge 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

1 EXHIBIT A ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 2 3 I, ____________________ [print or type full name], of _________________ 4 [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its 5 entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United 6 States District Court for the Central District of California on _____________ [date] 7 in the case of Edylne Nicolas v. American Express, et al., Case No. 2:25-cv-00246- 8 MAR. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated 9 Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could 10 expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly 11 promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject 12 to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance 13 with the provisions of this Order. 14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 15 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 16 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 17 termination of this action. I hereby appoint ____________________________ [print 18 or type full name] of ________________________________________ [print or type 19 full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in 20 connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this 21 Stipulated Protective Order. 22 Date: _________________________ 23 City and State where signed: ___________________________________ 24 Printed name: _____________________________ 25 26 Signature: ________________________________

27 28 1 SIGNATURE ATTESTATION Pursuant to L.R. 5-4.3.4(a)(2), I, Surya Kundu hereby certify that the content 2 of this Joint Statement is acceptable to all parties who are required to sign this 3 stipulation. All parties have authorized me to affix the CM/ECF signatures to this 4 document. 5 Dated: August 14, 2025 By: Surya Kundu 6 Surya Kundu 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28