1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 3 4 5 JANE DOE (M.S.H.), Case No. 2:24-CV-04895-SVW-MARx 6 Plaintiff, JOINT STIPULATION FOR 7 v. PROTECTIVE ORDER 8 WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP, LLC, WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS, 9 INC. and PALMDALE MOTEL 10 MANAGEMENT, INC. 11 Defendants. 12 x 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1 Pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and its inherent 2 authority, the Court hereby orders the entry of the following Protective Order in this 3 matter. 4 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 5 Discovery in this action is likely to involve the production of confidential, 6 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure 7 and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be warranted. 8 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following 9 Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer 10 blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection 11 it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or 12 items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. 13 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 14 This action is likely to involve sensitive private information, valuable 15 commercial, and/or proprietary information for which special protection from public 16 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is 17 warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, 18 among other things, confidential business or financial information, information 19 regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential commercial or personal 20 information (including information implicating privacy rights of third parties), 21 information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged 22 or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case 23 decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to 24 facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, 25 to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure 26 that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation 27 for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and 1 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this 2 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as 3 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith 4 belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is 5 good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 6 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE 7 The parties further acknowledge, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not 8 entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth 9 the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a 10 party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. There is a strong 11 presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial proceedings and records in 12 civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to 13 support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 14 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 15 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 16 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific 17 showing of good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal 18 justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material (as defined below) that 19 a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or 20 Discovery Material (as defined below) does not—without the submission of competent 21 evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal 22 qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause. 23 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 24 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief 25 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See 26 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item 27 or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal, 1 the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific 2 facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence 3 supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by 4 declaration. 5 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its 6 entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 7 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only 8 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be 9 filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should 10 include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 11 4. DEFINITIONS 12 A. “Action” means Jane Doe (M.S.H.) v. WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP, 13 LLC., et al., Case No. 2:24-cv-04895, presently pending in the Central District of 14 California, Western Division. 15 B. “Party” means any party named in this Action. 16 C. “Non-Party” means any natural person, partnership, corporation, 17 association, or other legal entity not named as a Party in this Action. 18 D. Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation 19 of information or items under this Order. 20 E. “Plaintiff’s Identity” means: (i) names and aliases used by Plaintiff at any 21 time; (ii) Plaintiff’s date of birth; (iii) Plaintiff’s social security number; (iv) Plaintiff’s 22 current and prior residential addresses; (v) Plaintiff’s current and prior phone numbers 23 and active and inactive social media or online user account names; (vi) Plaintiff’s 24 likeness; and (vii) the names of Plaintiff’s biological or adoptive parents, and biological 25 siblings. Any document containing Plaintiff’s Identity is subject to this Protective 26 Order unless the information constituting Plaintiff’s Identity is redacted from the 27 document. 1 F. “Confidential Information” means Discovery Material (regardless of how 2 it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that contain: (i) sensitive 3 personal identifying or financial information, including but not limited to, dates of 4 birth, social security numbers, phone numbers, employment histories, or credit card 5 information; (ii) information that relates to a person’s business operations, processes, 6 trade secret or proprietary information, and/or technical and development information, 7 the disclosure of which is likely to harm that person’s competitive position; and (iii) 8 any material prohibited from disclosure by statute or Court Order but is nonetheless 9 discoverable. “Confidential Information” does not include “Plaintiff’s Identity” which 10 is separately addressed herein. 11 G. “Highly Confidential Information” means Discovery Material that a Party 12 reasonably believes in good faith constitutes, reflects, discloses, or contains any trade 13 secret or proprietary information that the Party has maintained as non-public and 14 confidential. 15 H. “Designating Party” means a Party or Non-Party that designates 16 information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery and 17 marks as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL.” 18 I. “Discovery Material” means all items or information, regardless of the 19 medium or manner generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things, 20 testimony, transcripts, or tangible things) that are produced, disclosed, or generated by 21 the Designating Party in response to a discovery request issued in this case. 22 J. “Outside Counsel” means attorneys who are not employees of a Party but 23 are retained to represent or advise a Party to the Action, and persons who are 24 employees, partners, or shareholders of a law firm that represents or has appeared on 25 behalf of a Party in this action. 26 K. “In-House Counsel” means Attorneys who are employees of a Party. 27 L. “Counsel” (without qualifier) means Outside Counsel and In-House 1 Counsel (as well as their support staffs). 2 M. “Final Disposition” means the later of (i) dismissal of all claims and 3 defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (ii) final judgment herein after 4 the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, re-hearings, remands, trials, or reviews 5 of this action, including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for 6 extension of time pursuant to applicable law. 7 N. “Producing Party” means any Party or non-party that discloses or 8 produces any Discovery Material in this case. 9 O. “Protected Material” means any Discovery Material that is designated 10 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” as provided for in this Order. 11 P. “Receiving Party” means any Party who receives Discovery Material from 12 a Producing Party 13 Q. “Expert” means a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a 14 matter pertinent to this lawsuit who has been retained by a Party or their Counsel to 15 serve as an expert witness or consultant in this Action. 16 R. “Professional Vendors” means persons or entities that provide litigation 17 support services (e.g., document and ESI processing, hosting, review and production, 18 photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and 19 organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees or 20 subcontractors. 21 5. REPRESENTATION, SCOPE AND DURATION 22 A. Plaintiff represents that she believes in good faith that the alleged 23 trafficker(s) and the traffickers’ associates present an ongoing threat to safety to 24 Plaintiff and her family members, and that the disclosure of Plaintiff’s Identity within 25 the context of this Action will increase that threat as well as the social stigma associated 26 with being a trafficking victim. Plaintiff further represents that she has taken steps to 27 prevent disclosure of Plaintiff’s Identity in conjunction with this Action, that she is 1 unaware of any public disclosure of Plaintiff’s Identity in conjunction with this Action, 2 and that she does not intend to publicly disclose her Identity in conjunction with this 3 Action, on social media or otherwise. If Defendants become aware of any public 4 disclosure of Plaintiff’s Identity in conjunction with this Action by Plaintiff or her 5 counsel, Defendants may apply to the Court for relief from the restrictions imposed in 6 this Protective Order related to nondisclosure of Plaintiff’s Identity. 7 B. The protections conferred by this Order cover not only Protected Material 8 but also (i) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Discovery Material; and 9 (ii) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that 10 might reveal Discovery Material. 11 C. This Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures during 12 discovery, or in the course of making initial or supplemental disclosures under Rule 13 26(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 14 D. This Order is without prejudice to the right of any Party to seek further or 15 additional or less restrictive protection of any Discovery Material or to modify this 16 Order in any way, including, without limitation, an order that certain matter not be 17 produced at all. 18 E. To the extent a Designating Party provides Protected Material under the 19 terms of this Protective Order to the Receiving Party, the Receiving Party shall not 20 share that material with any non-party, absent express written permission from the 21 Designating Party, unless in conformance with this Protective Order. 22 F. Not later than ninety (90) days after the Final Disposition of this case, 23 each Party shall return all Protected Material to the Designating Party’s Counsel or 24 destroy such Protected Material, at the option of the Designating Party. 25 G. All Parties that have received any such Protected Material shall, upon 26 request by the Designating Party, certify in writing that all Protected Material has been 27 returned to the Designating Party’s Outside Counsel or destroyed. Notwithstanding the 1 provisions for return or destruction of Protected Material, Counsel may retain 2 pleadings, correspondence, and attorney or consultant work product containing or 3 appending Protected Material (but not document productions) for archival purposes. 4 Counsel may also retain any deposition of an expert witness or corporate witness for 5 the limited purpose of assisting in the recollection of past testimony and/or 6 impeachment of said witness. 7 H. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of 8 the trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of 9 Protected Material at trial. 10 I. Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated or 11 maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced as an exhibit at trial 12 becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the public, 13 including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings 14 to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 15 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents 16 produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related 17 documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do 18 not extend beyond the commencement of the trial. 19 6. USE AND DISCLOSURE 20 A. All information designated “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 21 CONFIDENTIAL” shall be used solely for the purposes of the above-captioned 22 litigation between the Parties. Nothing herein shall restrict the use of Protected Material 23 of the Producing Party by the Producing Party. 24 B. Access to a Designating Party’s information marked “CONFIDENTIAL” 25 shall be limited to, and only to, the following persons: 26 i. The Parties including the current employees, officers, and 27 representatives of the Parties as needed to litigate any claims or defenses. 1 ii. Former employees, officers, and representatives of the Parties who 2 execute the Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound attached to this 3 Protective Order as Exhibit A; 4 iii. Current and former contractors of the Parties who execute the 5 Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound attached to this Protective Order 6 as Exhibit A; 7 iv. Counsel for the Parties and employees, agents, and representatives 8 of counsel as needed to litigate any claims or defenses; 9 v. Adjusters and claims professionals of an insurer of a Party and 10 counsel for such insurer of a Party as needed to litigate any claims or defenses 11 who execute the Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound attached to this 12 Protective Order as Exhibit A ; 13 vi. The Court and Court personnel; 14 vii. Court reporters, recorders, and videographers engaged for 15 depositions; 16 viii. Any mediator appointed by the Court or jointly selected by the 17 Parties who executes the Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound attached 18 to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 19 ix. Any Expert, outside consultant, or investigator retained by Outside 20 Counsel of Record specifically in connection with this Action and who execute 21 the Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached to this Protective 22 Order attached to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 23 x. A person identified in the document marked “CONFIDENTIAL” 24 as an author, source, addressee, or recipient of the communication or document, 25 or who already has a copy of the document marked “CONFIDENTIAL”; 26 xi. Professional Vendors who execute the Acknowledgment & 27 Agreement to Be Bound attached to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 1 xii. Government agencies and agency personnel, but only to the extent 2 that the disclosure of Confidential Information is necessary to litigate any claims 3 or defenses or to comply with any obligations or requirements; 4 xiii. In the course of a deposition, any Non-Party deponent and such 5 Non-Party deponent’s counsel may be shown Confidential Information if the 6 Non-Party deponent and the Non-Party deponent’s counsel first execute the 7 Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached to this Protective Order 8 as Exhibit A, provided that any such Non-Party deponent and his or her counsel 9 may not retain any documents containing Confidential Information following the 10 deposition; and 11 xiv. Such other persons as hereafter may be designated by written 12 agreement in this Action or by order of the Court and who execute the 13 Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached as Exhibit A. 14 C. Access to a Designating Party’s information marked “HIGHLY 15 CONFIDENTIAL” shall be limited to, and only to, the following persons: 16 i. Employees, officers, and representatives of the Designating Party; 17 ii. Former employees, officers, and representatives of the Designating 18 Party who execute the Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached to 19 this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 20 iii. Contractors and former contractors of the Designating Party who 21 execute the Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached to this 22 Protective Order as Exhibit A; 23 iv. Employees and former employees of a Party operating with the 24 brand of a Designating Party who execute the Acknowledgment and Agreement 25 to Be Bound attached to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 26 v. Outside Counsel for the Parties and employees, agents, and 27 representatives of Outside Counsel as needed to litigate any claims or defenses; 1 vi. The Court and Court personnel; 2 vii. Court reporters, recorders, and videographers engaged for 3 depositions; 4 viii. Any mediator appointed by the Court or jointly selected by the 5 Parties; 6 ix. Any Expert, outside consultant, or investigator retained by Outside 7 Counsel of Record specifically in connection with this Action and who have 8 signed the Acknowledgment & Agreement to be Bound attached to this 9 Protective Order as Exhibit A; 10 x. A person identified in the document marked “HIGHLY 11 CONFIDENTIAL” as an author, source, addressee, or recipient of the 12 communication or document, or who already has a copy of the document marked 13 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL”; 14 xi. Professional Vendors who have signed the Acknowledgment & 15 Agreement to Be Bound attached to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; and 16 xii. Such other persons as hereafter may be designated by written 17 agreement in this Action or by order of the Court and who execute the 18 Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached as Exhibit A. 19 D. Access to “PLAINTIFF’S IDENTITY” information shall be treated as 20 “Confidential Information” and limited to, and only to, the following: 21 i. The Parties including the current employees, officers, and 22 representatives of the Parties as a Party in good faith believes may be helpful or 23 informative in investigating or litigating any claims or defenses. 24 ii. Law enforcement agencies and agency personnel, but only to the 25 extent that a Party in good faith believes that the disclosure of Plaintiff’s Identity 26 may be helpful or informative in investigating or litigating any claims or 27 defenses or to comply with any Party’s discovery obligations or requirements. 1 To the extent that Discovery Materials are obtained, a copy shall be provided to 2 all Parties upon receipt so long as the Discovery Materials are responsive to a 3 proper and non-objectionable discovery request. Nothing herein shall be 4 construed as a waiver of any objections that a Party may have to discovery 5 requests or the production of Discovery Materials pursuant to this provision; 6 iii. Former employees, officers, and representatives of the Parties, who 7 counsel for a Party in good faith believes may have relevant information or may 8 be called to testify at trial or deposition in this action and who execute the 9 Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound attached to this Protective Order 10 as Exhibit A; 11 iv. Current and former contractors of the Parties, who counsel for a 12 Party in good faith believes may have relevant information or may be called to 13 testify at trial or deposition in this action and who execute the Acknowledgment 14 and Agreement to Be Bound attached to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 15 v. Any potential, anticipated, or actual fact witness and their counsel, 16 who Counsel for a Party in good faith believes may possess discoverable 17 information (i.e., information which may lead to the discovery of admissible 18 information) related to Plaintiff’s claims and/or the Defendants’ defenses 19 thereto, provided that any such person may not retain any documents containing 20 Plaintiff’s Identity, and that Plaintiff’s family’s physical locations will never be 21 disclosed to any such person, Counsel for the Party presenting such information 22 to a fact witness and/or counsel must present and request such person to execute 23 the Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound attached to this Protective 24 Order as Exhibit A, and if such person refuses to execute it, Counsel for the Party 25 presenting such information shall: (a) deliver a copy of this Order to such person; 26 (b) advise any such person that Plaintiff’s Identity is to be held confidential 27 pursuant to the Order; (c) advise such person that such person may not record or 1 reveal Plaintiff’s Identity to any other person without obtaining prior 2 authorization from this Court, with prior notice to all Parties herein and subject 3 to other provisions of this Order; and (d) keep a record of any persons to whom 4 counsel discloses Plaintiff’s Identity, with such record not being subject to 5 discovery, in whole or in part, without a further order of the Court; 6 vi. Counsel for the Parties, retained specifically for this action and 7 employees, agents, and representatives of counsel as needed to litigate any 8 claims or defenses; 9 vii. Adjusters and claims professionals of an insurer of a Party and 10 counsel for such insurer of a Party as needed to litigate any claims or defenses 11 and who execute the Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound attached to 12 this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 13 viii. The Court and Court personnel; 14 ix. Court reporters, recorders, and videographers engaged for 15 depositions; 16 x. Any custodian of records. 17 xi. Any mediator appointed by the Court or jointly selected by the 18 Parties who executes the Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound attached 19 to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 20 xii. Any Expert, outside consultant, or investigator retained by Outside 21 Counsel of Record specifically in connection with this Action and who have 22 signed the Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached to this 23 Protective Order attached to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 24 xiii. Professional Vendors and other independent providers of 25 documents production, electronic discovery, and other litigation services, 26 including focus groups, mock jurors, and jury consultants, who are retained or 27 employed by Outside Counsel of Record in connection with this Action and who 1 have signed the Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached to this 2 Protective Order as Exhibit A; 3 xiv. Government agencies and agency personnel, but only to the extent 4 that a Party in good faith believes the disclosure of Plaintiff’s Identity is 5 necessary to litigate any claims or defenses or to comply with any obligations or 6 requirements. To the extent that Discovery Materials are obtained, a copy shall 7 be provided to all Parties upon receipt so long as the Discovery Materials are 8 responsive to a proper and non-objectionable discovery request. Nothing herein 9 shall be construed as a waiver of any objections that a Party may have to 10 discovery requests or the production of Discovery Materials pursuant to this 11 provision; 12 xv. The Plaintiff’s street-level trafficker and/or the street-level 13 trafficker’s associates (as disclosed by Plaintiff pursuant to Section 9.B of this 14 Order or as otherwise known to the Defendants), but only after providing 7-day 15 notice to the Plaintiff of the intention to contact the trafficker or trafficker’s 16 associate to permit Plaintiff to seek further protection from the Court should it 17 be necessary. The Plaintiff’s Identity will be revealed to the trafficker and/or 18 associates (as disclosed by Plaintiff pursuant to Section 9.B of this Order or as 19 otherwise known to the Defendants) only to the extent a Party believes such 20 disclosure is likely to be helpful or informative in investigating or litigating 21 Plaintiff’s claims or defenses, and any such person may not retain any 22 documents, images or information containing Plaintiff’s Identity. Plaintiff’s and 23 Plaintiff’s family’s physical location will never be disclosed to Plaintiff’s 24 trafficker and/or the trafficker’s associates (as disclosed by Plaintiff pursuant to 25 Section 9.B of this Order or as otherwise known to the Defendants); and 26 xvi. Such other persons as hereafter may be designated by written 27 agreement in this Action or by order of the Court and who execute the 1 Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached as Exhibit A. 2 E. Plaintiff represents that, consistent with her privacy concerns, it is her 3 intent not to disclose her identity or image in relation to the status of this matter or the 4 underlying allegations on social media or with any media outlet while the case is 5 pending. The identity and image protections provided to Plaintiff in this Protective 6 Order will become inapplicable if Plaintiff does disclose her identity or image in 7 relation to the underlying allegations on social media or with any media outlet while 8 the case is pending; 9 F. Prior to any disclosure of “Plaintiff’s Identity” or any Discovery Material 10 marked “Confidential” or “Highly Confidential” to any person required by this Order 11 to execute the Acknowledgement & Agreement to Be Bound attached as Exhibit A, 12 such person shall be provided a copy of this Protective Order and shall sign the 13 Acknowledgement & Agreement to Be Bound, in the form annexed as Exhibit A hereto 14 stating that that person has read this Protective Order and agrees to be bound by its 15 terms. Counsel shall retain each signed Acknowledgement & Agreement to Be Bound, 16 and produce it to opposing counsel prior to such person being permitted to testify at 17 deposition or trial. 18 G. In the event that an attorney of record for a Party desires that Protected 19 Material be disclosed to anyone beyond that which is allowed in this Order, the Parties 20 shall confer in good faith and attempt to resolve the matter; if no agreement can be 21 reached, the matter shall be referred to the Court for resolution. If an agreement is 22 reached, or the Court decides that the document(s) or information shall be disclosed, 23 the person to whom disclosure is to be made shall execute an Acknowledgement. 24 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 25 A. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for 26 protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific 27 material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must 1 designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written 2 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items or 3 communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably 4 within the ambit of this Order. 5 B. Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. 6 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an 7 improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to 8 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 9 Designating Party to sanctions. 10 C. If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that 11 it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 12 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 13 D. When producing Protected Material, the Producing Party shall clearly 14 mark every page of any such document prior to production as “CONFIDENTIAL,” 15 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL,” as appropriate, or give other comparable notice. For 16 digital files being produced, the Producing Party may mark each viewable page or 17 image with the appropriate designation, and mark the medium, container, and/or 18 communication in which the digital files were contained. 19 E. All Protected Material not reduced to documentary, tangible or physical 20 form, or which cannot be conveniently designated pursuant to the preceding Paragraph, 21 shall be designated by the Producing Party in writing to the Receiving Party and the 22 designated information shall thereafter be treated in accordance with the terms of this 23 Order, by, for example, affixing a legend to the exterior of a container or in a file name. 24 F. In the event that a Producing Party fails to stamp or otherwise designate a 25 document or other information as confidential at the time of its production, that 26 Producing Party may do so thereafter on notice to all of the Receiving Parties; provided 27 however, that the Receiving Party shall not be liable for any disclosure or use of such 1 information that may have occurred prior to receiving notice of the confidential 2 designation. Upon receiving the Protected Material with the correct confidentiality 3 designation, the Receiving Party shall return or securely destroy, at the Designating 4 Party’s option, all Discovery Material that was not designated properly. 5 G. If at any time during the deposition of a Party’s or Non-Party's employee, 6 agent, or representative, information is sought that the Party or non-party considers to 7 be Protected Material, Counsel for the Party or Non- Party may interrupt the deposition 8 so as to ask persons to whom disclosure of Protected Material is not authorized pursuant 9 to this Order to leave the room. Aside from deponents, only persons to whom Protected 10 Material is authorized to be shown shall be permitted to attend confidential portions of 11 depositions involving Protected Material. 12 H. For testimony given in deposition or in a pre-trial hearing, the Parties may 13 agree on the record during the deposition or pre-trial hearing that testimony in that 14 proceeding will or will not be treated as Confidential Information or Highly 15 Confidential Information. If a Party requests on the record during a deposition or pre- 16 trial hearing that said testimony be provisionally treated as Confidential Information, 17 then said deposition or hearing testimony shall be treated as Confidential Information 18 until 30 days after the transcript is delivered by the court reporter to each Party’s 19 Outside Counsel of Record. Within the 30-day period following the court reporter’s 20 delivery of the transcript, any Party may serve a Notice of Designation to all other 21 Parties as to specific portions of the testimony that shall be designated as Confidential 22 Information or Highly Confidential Information. After the 30-day period, only those 23 portions identified in any Notice of Designation shall be protected by the terms of this 24 Protective Order. The Parties may agree to a reasonable extension of the 30-day period 25 for designation. Parties shall endeavor to give the other Parties notice if they reasonably 26 expect a deposition, hearing, or other proceeding to implicate Protected Material. 27 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 1 A. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of confidentiality at 2 any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order. 3 B. A Receiving Party shall not be obligated to challenge the propriety of any 4 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” designation by the Designating 5 Party of Discovery Material under this Order at the time the designation is made, and 6 a failure to do so shall not preclude a subsequent challenge thereto. 7 C. Any challenge to a designation of the Designating Party's Discovery 8 Material under this Order shall be written, shall be served on Counsel for the 9 Designating Party, shall particularly identify the documents or information that the 10 Receiving Party contends should be differently designated, and shall state the grounds 11 for the objection. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process 12 under Local Rule 37-1 et seq. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a joint 13 stipulation pursuant to Local Rul 37-2..Notwithstanding any challenge to a designation, 14 the Protected Material in question shall continue to be treated as designated under this 15 Order until one of the following occurs: (a) the Designating Party withdraws such 16 designation in writing; or (b) the Court rules that the Discovery Material in question is 17 not entitled to the designation. In the event that a Designating Party withdraws a 18 confidentiality designation or the Court rules that the Discovery Material in question is 19 not entitled to the designation, the Designating Party shall promptly reproduce the 20 information in question with the appropriate confidentiality designation, if any, as 21 applicable. 22 9. REDACTION AND USE OF PLAINITFF’S IDENTITY 23 A. During the pre-trial proceedings in this litigation and in any public filing, 24 the Parties will either redact Plaintiff’s Identity or use the pseudonym “M.S.H.” in place 25 of Plaintiff’s Identity without prejudice as to Defendants seeking relief from such 26 protection. The Parties dispute whether the use of a pseudonym is appropriate at trial 27 (in documents or otherwise) and agree to revisit the issue at the time of trial. 1 B. Within three days upon the filing of this Order with the Court, Plaintiff 2 shall provide Defendants, through their Counsel, with (1) Plaintiff’s full name, maiden 3 name, alias names used at any time, including those used in connection with social 4 media, (2) date of birth, (3) the full name(s) of Plaintiff’s alleged trafficker(s), and 5 aliases used at any time, (“Trafficker’s Identity”) and any known associates of 6 Plaintiff’s trafficker(s). Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of 7 confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order. 8 C. Nothing in this Order shall prevent any party from seeking further 9 protections or modification of this Order for the trial or litigation of this action. Nothing 10 in this Order shall prevent a Party from requesting from Plaintiff during the course of 11 discovery any other information that is linked or linkable to the true identity of Plaintiff 12 or her trafficker(s) or her/their associates, such as, but not limited to, any medical, 13 educational, financial, employment, or other information. Relatedly, nothing in this 14 Order relieves Plaintiff of the obligation to produce any discoverable documents or 15 information that Plaintiff would otherwise be required to produce in the normal course 16 of discovery. The protections conferred by this Order do not cover information that is 17 in the public domain or becomes part of the public domain through trial or otherwise. 18 10. SUBPOENAS OR COURT RECORDS 19 A. If a Receiving Party receives a subpoena or other compulsory process 20 (e.g., court order) from any court or other arbitral, administrative, or legislative body 21 commanding the production of another Party’s Protected Material, the Party to whom 22 the subpoena or other request is directed shall promptly give written notice thereof (and 23 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order) to the Designating Party and its 24 Counsel within seven (7) days to allow the Designating Party an opportunity to move 25 for a protective order regarding the production of Protected Materials implicated by the 26 subpoena or other compulsory process. Nothing in this Order authorizes any person to 27 disobey or ignore lawful process or a order from another court. 1 11. FILING PROTECTED MATERIAL AND MATERIAL CONTAINING 2 PLAINTIFF’S IDENTITY 3 A. The parties have agreed not to file or disclose in the public record any 4 Protected Material designated by another party without written permission from the 5 Designating Party or a court order secured after appropriate notice to all interested 6 persons. 7 B. Any Party is authorized to seek leave to file under seal with the Court any 8 brief, document, or materials that are designated as Protected Material or containing 9 Plaintiff’s Identity under this Order in accordance with the Local Rules. 10 12. INADVERTENT DISCLOSURE NOT AUTHORIZED BY ORDER 11 A. In the event of a disclosure of any Discovery Material pursuant to this 12 Order to any person or persons not authorized to receive such disclosure under this 13 Protective Order, the Party responsible for having made such disclosure, and each Party 14 with knowledge thereof, shall immediately notify Counsel for the Designating Party 15 and provide to such Counsel all known relevant information concerning the nature and 16 circumstances of the disclosure. The responsible Disclosing Party shall also promptly 17 take all reasonable measures to retrieve the improperly disclosed Discovery Material 18 and to ensure that no further or greater unauthorized disclosure and/or use thereof is 19 made. 20 B. Unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure does not change the status of 21 Protected Material or waive the right to hold the disclosed document or information as 22 Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information. 23 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF SUBSEQUENTLY-CLAIMED 24 PRIVILEGED INFORMATION 25 A. The production of privileged or work-product protected Discovery 26 Material (“Disclosed Protected Information”) in this case, whether inadvertent or 27 otherwise, is not a waiver of the privilege or protection from discovery in this case or 1 in any other federal or state proceeding. This Protective Order shall be interpreted to 2 provide the maximum protection allowed by Fed. R. Evid. 502(d). Nothing contained 3 herein is intended to, or shall serve to limit a Party’s right to conduct a review of any 4 Discovery Material for relevance, responsiveness, or segregation of privileged or 5 protected information before production. Additionally, the inadvertent production of 6 Discovery Material without an appropriate designation of Confidential Information 7 shall not be deemed a waiver or acknowledgment as to the confidentiality of any 8 inadvertently produced document and any related material. 9 B. Upon discovery that a document has been produced that the Producing 10 Party believes to contain privileged and/or work product material, the Producing Party 11 must notify the Receiving Party within thirty (30) days of that discovery, in writing, 12 asserting the attorney-client privilege, work product protection, or other applicable 13 privilege or protection with respect to Disclosed Protected Information. 14 C. The Receiving Party must—unless it contests the claim of privilege or 15 protection in accordance with this Protective Order—within fourteen (14) days of 16 receipt of that writing and, to the extent applicable: (i) return, delete, or destroy all 17 copies of the Disclosed Protected Information; and (ii) provide a certification from 18 Outside Counsel of Record that all of the Disclosed Protected Information has been 19 returned or destroyed. 20 D. Disclosed Protected Information that is sought to be reclaimed by the 21 Parties to this case pursuant to this Protective Order shall not be used as grounds by 22 any third party to argue that any waiver of privilege or protection has occurred by virtue 23 of any production in this case. 24 14. MISCELLANEOUS 25 A. Modification. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any Party to seek 26 its modification by the Court in the future. By stipulating to or complying with this 27 Order, the Designating Party does not waive the right to argue that certain Protected 1 Material may require additional or different confidentiality protections than those set 2 forth herein. Furthermore, this Order is subject to modification sua sponte by Court 3 order. 4 B. Termination of Matter and Retention of Jurisdiction. The Parties agree 5 that the terms of this Protective Order shall survive and remain in effect after the Final 6 Determination of the above-captioned matter. The Court shall retain jurisdiction after 7 Final Determination of this matter to hear and resolve any disputes arising out of this 8 Protective Order. 9 C. Successors. This Order shall be binding upon the Parties, their Outside 10 Counsel, and their successors, executors, personal representatives, administrators, 11 heirs, legal representatives, assigns, subsidiaries, divisions, employees, agents, retained 12 consultants and experts, and any persons or organizations over which they have direct 13 control. 14 D. Right to Assert Other Objections. Designating Party does not waive any 15 right it otherwise would have in this action to claim that any Discovery Material, or 16 any portion thereof, is privileged or otherwise non-discoverable, or is not admissible 17 in evidence in this action or any other proceeding. Similarly, neither Party waives any 18 right to object on any grounds to the use in evidence of any Protected Material covered 19 by this Order. 20 E. Burdens of Proof. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, 21 nothing in this Protective Order shall be construed to change the burdens of proof or 22 legal standards applicable in disputes regarding whether particular Discovery Material 23 is confidential, whether disclosure should be restricted, and if so, what restrictions 24 should apply. 25 F. Discovery Rules Remain Unchanged. Nothing herein shall alter or change 26 in any way the discovery provisions of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Local 27 Rules, or the Court's own orders. Identification of any individual pursuant to this 1 || Protective Order does not make that individual available for deposition or any other 2 ||\form of discovery outside of the restrictions and procedures of the Federal Rules of 3 || Civil Procedure, the Local Rules or the Court's own orders. 4 5 Dated: 4/1/2025 6 Honorable Margo A. Rocconi United States Magistrate Judge 7 8 9 10 Dated: March 12, 2025 By: /s/_ Bryan O. Blevins Brian J. Perkins CA State Bar No. 315870 12 PEIFFER WOLF CARR KANE CONWAY & WISE 13 555 Montgomery Street, Suite 820 San Francisco, California 94111 14 T: (415) 766-3544 15 Email: bperkins @ peifferwolf.com 16 Annie McAdams, pro hac vice ANNIE MCADAMS PC 17 2900 North Loop West, Suite 1130 18 Houston, Texas 77092 T: (713) 785-6262 19 annie @ mcadamspc.com 20 Bryan O. Blevins, pro hac vice PROVOST UMPHREY LAW FIRM 21 350 Pine Street, Ste., 1100 02 Beaumont, TX 77701 T: (409) 835-6000 23 bblevins @ pulf.com 24 David E. Harris, pro hac vice 25 Preston Burns CA State Bar No. 300358 6 SICO HOELSCHER HARRIS, LLP 819 N. Upper Broadway 27 Corpus Christi, Texas 78401 T: (361) 653-3300 28 PROTECTIVE ORDER CASE No. 2:24-CV-04895-S VW-MARX
1 dharris@shhlaw.com pburns@shhlaw.com 2 3 Attorneys for Plaintiff 4 5 Dated: March 12, 2025 DLA PIPER LLP (US) 6 By: /s/ Melissa A. Reinckens 7 Melissa A. Reinckens (SBN 314657) 8 4365 Executive Drive, Suite 1100 San Diego, California 92121-2133 9 T. 619.699.2798 / F. 619.764.6624 10 melissa.reinckens@dlapiper.com 11 David S. Sager (Pro Hac Vice) 12 51 John F. Kennedy Pkwy, Suite 120 13 Short Hills, New Jersey 07078 T. 973.520.2570 / F. 973.215.2604 14 david.sager@us.dlapiper.com 15 Susan N. Acquista (SBN 253969) 16 4365 Executive Drive, Suite 1100 17 San Diego, California 92121-2133 T: 619.699.2723 | F: 619.764.6797 18 susan.acquista@us.dlapiper.com 19 Desiree Moshayedi (335104) 20 2000 Avenue of the Stars 21 Suite 400, North Tower Los Angeles, California 90067 22 T. 310.595.3000 | F: 310.595.3300 23 desiree.moshayedi@us.dlapiper.com 24 Attorneys for Defendant 25 Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. and Wyndham Hotel Group, LLC 26 27 1 ATTESTATION 2 In accordance with Civ. L.R. 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), I attest that concurrence in the 3 filing of this document has been obtained from the other Signatories, which shall serve 4 in lieu of their signatures on the document. 5 6 Dated: March 12, 2025 7 /s/ Melissa A. Reinckens Melissa A. Reinckens 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 2 3 JANE DOE (M.S.H.), Case No. 2:24-CV-04895-SVW-MARx 4 5 Plaintiff, Hon. Stephen V. Wilson 6 7 vs. 8 WYNDHAM HOTEL GROUP, LLC, EXHIBIT A TO PROTECTIVE 9 WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS, ORDER - ACKNOWLEDGMENT & INC. and PALMDALE MOTEL AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 10 MANAGEMENT, INC., 11 Defendants. 12 13 I, , declare that: 14 1. My title is , and the name and address of my present employer is 15 . 16 2. I have received a copy of the Protective Order in the above-captioned 17 lawsuit. 18 3. I have carefully read and understand the provisions of the Protective 19 Order, agree to be bound by them, and specifically agree I will not use or disclose to 20 anyone any of the contents of any Confidential Information or Highly Confidential 21 Information received under the protection of the Protective Order in violation thereof. 22 4. I consent to the exercise of personal jurisdiction by this Court, the United 23 States District Court for the Central District of California, in connection with this 24 Acknowledgment & Agreement to be Bound, and my obligations under the Protective 25 Order. 26 I declare under penalty of perjury that the facts stated above are true and correct. 27 1 Executed this ___day of ____20___in the State of . 2 3 By: (SIGNATURE) 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27