Equate Media, Inc. v. Disha Virendrabhai Suthar

Opinion

1 BETY JAVIDZAD (SBN 240598) DENTONS US LLP 2 601 South Figueroa Street, Suite 2500 Los Angeles, California 90017-5704 3 Telephone: (213) 243-6115 Facsimile: (213) 623-9924 4 bety.javidzad@dentons.com 5 TONY K. LU (admitted Pro Hac Vice) DENTONS US LLP 6 One Beacon Street, Suite 25300 Boston, MA 02108-3107 7 Telephone: (617) 235 6817 Facsimile: (617) 235 6899 8 tony.lu@dentons.com 9 Attorneys for Plaintiffs EQUATE MEDIA, INC., BUDGET VAN 10 LINES INC.; QUOTE RUNNER, LLC; and HOME EXPERT, INC. 11 14 15 EQUATE MEDIA, INC., a Nevada No. 2:21-cv-00314-RGK-AGR corporation; BUDGET VAN LINES, 16 INC., a New York corporation; STIPULATED PROTECTIVE QUOTE RUNNER, LLC., a Wyoming ORDER 17 limited liability company; and HOME EXPERT, INC., a Nevada corporation, 18 Plaintiffs, Action Filed: January 13, 2021 19 Trial Date: None Set vs. 20 DISHA VIRENDRABHAI SUTHAR; 21 VARUNKUMAR SUTHAR; PRIME MARKETING, LLC., a Nevada limited 22 liability company; and DOES 1 through 10, 23 Defendants. 24 25 26 27 28 1 1. A. 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 prosecuting this litigation may 5 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to 6 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this 7 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. 12 This action involves alleged trade secrets concerning marketing data, source 13 code, and other valuable customer data, as well as commercial, financial, technical 14 and/or proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure 15 and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. 16 Such alleged confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, 17 among other things, confidential business or financial information, information 18 regarding confidential business and marketing intelligence and data (including 19 information implicating privacy rights of third parties), technical information, 20 customer preferences and pricing, information otherwise generally unavailable to 21 the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under 22 state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, 23 to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes 24 over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the 25 parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted 26 reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of 27 trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of 28 justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the 1 intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential or 2 Attorneys Eyes Only for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without 3 a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, 4 and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. UNDER SEAL 6 7 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 8 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information or 9 “Attorneys Eyes Only” documents under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the 10 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a 11 party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 12 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 13 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 14 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City 15 and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. 16 Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony 17 Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective 18 orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or 19 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be 20 made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The 21 parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL 22 or ATTORNEY EYES ONLY CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the 23 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material 24 sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise 25 protectable—constitute good cause. 26 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, 27 then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and 28 the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be 1 protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2 2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed 3 or introduced under seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party 4 seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts 5 and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence 6 supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by 7 declaration. Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise 8 protectable in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can 9 be redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public 10 viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable 11 portions of the document, shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file 12 documents under seal in their entirety should include an explanation of why 13 redaction is not feasible. 14 2. DEFINITIONS 15 2.0 “ATTORNEYS EYES ONLY” Information or Items: As used in this 16 Order, the terms “Highly Confidential” or “Attorneys’ Eyes Only” may be used 17 interchangeably and mean information designated by the producing party that such 18 party contends is Confidential Information constituting the parties’ extremely 19 sensitive information, the disclosure of which, even if limited to the restrictions and 20 treated as Confidential Information in this Order, would nevertheless result in 21 serious competitive harm to the disclosing party if disclosed to the other party and 22 which would reveal: sensitive financial information, product development or 23 strategic business planning specific to a customer; or other customer information 24 which may be covered by applicable non-disclosure agreement(s). 25 2.1 Action: Equate Media, Inc. et al. v. Disha Virendrabhai Suthar et al. 26 (Case No. 2:21-CV-00314-RGK-AGR) 27 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 28 designation 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 4 the Good Cause Statement. 5 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 6 their support staff). 7 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 8 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 9 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 10 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 11 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 12 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced 13 or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 14 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 15 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 16 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 17 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 18 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 19 counsel. 20 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or 21 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 22 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a 23 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and 24 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm 25 that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 26 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 27 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 28 support staffs). 1 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 2 Discovery Material in this Action. 3 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 4 support 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 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 8 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEY’S EYES ONLY.” 9 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 10 Material from a Producing Party. 11 3. SCOPE 12 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 13 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 14 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 15 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 16 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. Any 17 use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial judge. 18 This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 19 4. DURATION 20 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 21 CONFIDENTIAL, ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY, or maintained pursuant to this 22 protective order used or introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be 23 presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless 24 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are 25 made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 26 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery 27 from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of 28 1 court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond 2 the commencement of the trial. 3 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 4 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 5 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under 6 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 7 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for 8 protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written 9 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, 10 items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept 11 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 12 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 13 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 14 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to 15 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 16 Designating Party to sanctions. 17 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 18 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 19 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 20 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 21 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 22 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 23 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 24 produced. Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 25 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 26 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 27 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 28 “CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” (hereinafter 1 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”) or “ATTORNEYS EYES ONLY” (hereinafter 2 “ATTORNEYS EYES ONLY legend”), to each page that contains protected 3 material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the 4 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making 5 appropriate markings in the margins). 6 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 7 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 8 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and 9 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 10 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the 11 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine 12 which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. 13 Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the 14 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” or “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY legend” to each page 15 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies 16 for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected 17 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 18 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party 19 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of 20 the deposition all protected testimony. 21 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary 22 and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place 23 on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the 24 legend “CONFIDENTIAL – SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER” or 25 “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” If only a portion or portions of the information 26 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the 27 protected portion(s). 28 // 1 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 2 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 3 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such 4 material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make 5 reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the 6 provisions of this Order. 7 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 8 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 9 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 10 Scheduling Order. 11 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 12 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq. 13 6.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a 14 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2. 15 6.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 16 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 17 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 18 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating 19 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall 20 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 21 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the 22 challenge. 23 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 24 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 25 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 26 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such 27 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 28 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a 1 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL 3 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 4 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 5 authorized under this Order. 6 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 7 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 8 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 9 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 10 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, 11 as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 12 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 13 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House 14 Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this 15 Action; 16 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to 17 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 18 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 19 (d) the court and its personnel; 20 (e) court reporters and their staff subject to requirements to file 21 under seal; 22 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and 23 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action 24 and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 25 (Exhibit A); 26 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information 27 or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 28 // 1 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, 2 in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the 3 deposing party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; 4 and (2) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they 5 sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless 6 otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of 7 transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected 8 Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to 9 anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 10 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting 11 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement 12 discussions. 13 7.3 Disclosure of “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items. 14 Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating 15 Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 16 “ATTORNEYS EYES ONLY” only to: 17 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, 18 as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 19 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 20 (b) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to 21 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 22 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 23 (c) the court and its personnel; 24 (d) court reporters and their staff subject to requirements to file 25 under seal; 26 (e) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and 27 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action 28 1 and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 2 (Exhibit A); 3 (f) the author or recipient of a document containing the information 4 or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 5 (g) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, 6 in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the 7 deposing party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; 8 and (2) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they 9 sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless 10 otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of 11 transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected 12 Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to 13 anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 14 (h) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting 15 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement 16 discussions. 17 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 18 19 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 20 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 21 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 22 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 23 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 24 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 25 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 26 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall 27 include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 28 // 1 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 2 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 3 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 4 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 5 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the 6 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 7 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 8 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions 9 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action 10 to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 11 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 12 13 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 14 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “ATTORNEYS 15 EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this 16 litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in 17 these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking 18 additional protections. 19 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 20 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information or Attorneys’ Eyes Only 21 information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the 22 Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information or Attorneys’ 23 Eyes Only information, then the Party shall: 24 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non- 25 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 26 agreement with a Non-Party; 27 // 28 // 1 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 2 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 3 specific description of the information requested; and 4 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 5 Non-Party, if requested. 6 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 7 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 8 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential or Attorneys Eyes Only information 9 responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective 10 order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or 11 control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a 12 determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party 13 shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected 14 Material. 15 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 16 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 17 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 18 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 19 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best 20 efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the 21 person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of 22 this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment 23 and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 24 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR 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 27 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal 28 1 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify 2 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for 3 production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 4 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure 5 of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work 6 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated 7 protective order submitted to the court. 8 12. MISCELLANEOUS 9 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 10 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 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 13 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in 14 this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on 15 any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective 16 Order. 17 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 18 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material 19 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 20 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material 21 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 22 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 23 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 24 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 25 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must 26 return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As 27 used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, 28 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 1 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the 2 Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if 3 not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that 4 (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was 5 returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any 6 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or 7 capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel 8 are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, 9 deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition 10 and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert 11 work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival 12 copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective 13 Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). 14 14. VIOLATION 15 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures 16 including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 18 Dated: September 3, 2021 DENTONS US LLP 19 20 By: /s/Bety Javidzad 21 Bety Javidzad 22 Attorneys for Plaintiffs EQUATE MEDIA, INC., BUDGET RUNNER, LLC, and HOME EXPERT, 25 26 27 28 1 Dated: September 3, 2021 SHAH ATTORNEY GROUP 2 3 By: /s/Earth Shah Earth Shah 4 6 By: /s/Malcolm S. McNeil 7 Malcolm S. McNeil Gary D. Brophy 8 Attorneys for Defendants 9 DISHA VIRENDRABHAI SUTHAR; VARUNKUMAR SUTHAR; PRIME 10 MARKETING, LLC, and Counter- Claimants DISHA VIRENDRABHAI SUTHAR 12 13 SIGNATURE ATTESTATION 14 I hereby attest that all signatories listed above, on whose behalf this 15 stipulation is submitted, concur in the filing’s content and have authorized the 16 filing. 17 Dated: September 3, 2021 DENTONS US LLP 18 19 By: /s/Bety Javidzad 20 Bety Javidzad 21 Attorneys for Plaintiffs EQUATE MEDIA, INC., BUDGET RUNNER, LLC, and HOME EXPERT, 24 25 26 27 28 2 3 || DATED:_ September 17, 2021 4 Wbias A Kendra, 5 HONORABLE ALICIA G. ROSENBERG United States Magistrate Judge 9

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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 7 was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California 8 on [date] in the case of Equate Media, Inc. et al. v. Disha Virendrabhai Suthar et 9 al. (Case No. 2:21-CV-00314-RGK-AGR). 10 I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated 11 Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could 12 expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly 13 promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is 14 subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict 15 compliance with the provisions of this Order. I further agree to submit to the 16 jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Central District of California 17 for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such 18 enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. 19 I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of 20 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and 21 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with 22 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective 23 Order. 24 Date: ______________________________________ 25 City and State where sworn and signed: ____________________________ 26 Printed name: _______________________________ 27 Signature: __________________________________ 118467491 28