Matthew D. Van Steenwyk v. Kedrin E. Van Steenwyk

• Court: District Court, C.D. California
• Decided: October 8, 2020
• Docket: 2:20-cv-02375
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 10 11 MATTHEW D. VAN STEENWYK, Case No.: 2:20-cv-02375-FMO (AFMx) Individually, as Trustee and Beneficiary 12 of The Matthew Van Steenwyk Gst Trust STIPULATED PROTECTIVE And The Matthew Van Steenwyk Issue ORDER1 13 Trust, And As Co-Trustee Of The Gretchen Marie Van Steenwyk-Marsh Gst 14 Trust And The Gretchen Marie Van Steenwyk-Marsh Issue Trust and 15 derivatively on behalf of Defendants APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES 16 ASSOCIATES, INC., and ATA 17 RANCHES, INC., 18 Plaintiff, 19 v. 20 KEDRIN E. VAN STEENWYK, Individually, as Successor Trustee of the 21 Donald H. Van Steenwyk and Elizabeth A. Van Steenwyk 1996 Revocable Trust; 22 PAMELA PIERCE, Individually; PHILIP GOBE, Individually; PHILIP 23 LONGORIO, Individually; GENE DUROCHER, Individually; DANIEL 24 CARTER, Individually; JOSEPH MCCOY, Individually; ELIZABETH A. 25 VAN STEENWYK, Individually, and as Original Trustee and as Beneficiary of the 26 Donald H. Van Steenwyk and Elizabeth A. Van Steenwyk 1996 Revocable Trust; 27

28 1 This Stipulated Protective Order is based substantially on the model protective order provided under Magistrate Judge Alexander F. MacKinnon’s Procedures. ADELAIDA CELLARS, INC., a 1 California Corporation; and DOES 1-10, Inclusive, 2 Defendants, 3 and 4 5 APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES ASSOCIATES, INC., a California 6 corporation; and ATA RANCHES, INC., a Delaware corporation, 7 Nominal Defendants. 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 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. 11 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 12 This action is likely to involve private medical information, customer and 13 pricing information and other valuable research, development, commercial, 14 financial, technical and/or proprietary information for which special protection 15 from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this 16 action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information 17 consist of, among other things, private medical records, confidential business or 18 financial information, information regarding confidential business practices, or 19 other confidential research, development, or commercial information (including 20 information implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise 21 generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise 22 protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, 23 or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the 24 prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to 25 adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to 26 ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in 27 preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of 28 the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information 1 is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be 2 designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated 3 without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public 4 manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of 5 this case. 6 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER 7 SEAL 8 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 9 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 10 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed 11 and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court 12 to file material under seal. 13 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 14 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 15 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City 16 and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. 17 Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony 18 Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective 19 orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or 20 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be 21 made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The 22 parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as 23 CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the submission of competent evidence by 24 declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as 25 confidential, privileged, or otherwise 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. 8 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable 9 in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be 10 redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, 11 omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the 12 document, shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in 13 their entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 14 2. DEFINITIONS 15 2.1 Action: This pending federal lawsuit. 16 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 17 designation of information or items under this Order. 18 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 19 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 20 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in 21 the Good Cause Statement. 22 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 23 their support staff). 24 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 25 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 26 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 27 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 28 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 1 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced 2 or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 3 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 4 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve 5 as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 6 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 7 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 8 counsel. 9 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or 10 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 11 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a 12 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action 13 and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law 14 firm that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 15 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 16 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 17 support staffs). 18 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 19 Discovery Material in this Action. 20 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 21 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 22 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 23 and their employees and subcontractors. 24 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 25 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 26 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 27 Material from a Producing Party. 28 // 1 3. SCOPE 2 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 3 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 4 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 5 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 6 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 7 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 8 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 9 4. DURATION 10 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 11 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or 12 introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively 13 available to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling 14 reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the 15 trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 16 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in 17 discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are 18 part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend 19 beyond the commencement of the trial. 20 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 21 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 22 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under 23 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 24 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for 25 protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written 26 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, 27 items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept 28 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 1 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 2 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 3 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to 4 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 5 Designating Party to sanctions. 6 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 7 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 8 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 9 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 10 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 11 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 12 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 13 produced. 14 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 15 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 16 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 17 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 18 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 19 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for 20 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) 21 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 22 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 23 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 24 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and 25 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 26 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the 27 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine 28 which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. 1 Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix 2 the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If 3 only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing 4 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making 5 appropriate markings in the margins). 6 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies 7 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the 8 deposition all protected testimony. 9 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for 10 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 11 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 12 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 13 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the 14 protected portion(s). 15 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 16 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 17 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such 18 material. 19 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make 20 reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the 21 provisions of this Order. 22 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 23 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 24 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 25 Scheduling Order. 26 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 27 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq. 28 6.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a 1 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2. 2 6.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be 3 on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 4 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 5 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating 6 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall 7 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 8 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the 9 challenge. 10 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 11 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 12 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 13 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such 14 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under 15 the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a 16 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL 17 DISPOSITION). 18 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 19 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 20 authorized under this Order. 21 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 22 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 23 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 24 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 25 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well 26 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 27 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 28 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the 1 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 2 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 3 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 4 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 5 (d) the court and its personnel; 6 (e) court reporters and their staff; 7 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 8 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 9 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 10 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 11 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 12 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the 13 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing 14 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) 15 they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 16 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 17 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 18 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may 19 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone 20 except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 21 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 22 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 23 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED 24 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 25 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 26 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 27 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 28 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall 1 include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 2 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to 3 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena 4 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy 5 of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 6 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued 7 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 8 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served 9 with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in 10 this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which 11 the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 12 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 13 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions 14 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action 15 to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 16 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 17 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 18 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non- 19 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information 20 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 21 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 22 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 23 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 24 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 25 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 26 confidential information, then the Party shall: 27 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 28 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 1 agreement with a Non-Party; 2 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 3 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 4 specific description of the information requested; and 5 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 6 Non-Party, if requested. 7 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14 8 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 9 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery 10 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall 11 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 12 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 13 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and 14 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 15 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 16 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has 17 disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized 18 under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) 19 notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its 20 best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform 21 the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms 22 of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the 23 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit 24 A. 25 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR 26 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL 27 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 28 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other 1 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal 2 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify 3 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for 4 production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 5 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure 6 of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or 7 work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the 8 stipulated protective order submitted to the court. 9 12. MISCELLANEOUS 10 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 11 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 12 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 13 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 14 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in 15 this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on 16 any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective 17 Order. 18 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 19 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material 20 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 21 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material 22 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 23 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 24 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 25 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 26 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must 27 return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As 28 used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, 1 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 2 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the 3 Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if 4 not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that 5 (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was 6 returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any 7 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or 8 capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel 9 are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, 10 deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition 11 and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert 12 work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival 13 copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this 14 Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). 15 14. VIOLATION 16 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures 17 including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 18 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 19 WINGET SPADAFORA & 20 SCHWARTZBERG LLP 21 Dated: October 6, 2020 By: /s/ Jared M. Ahern2 22 Timothy W. Fredricks Jared M. Ahern 23 Attorneys for Defendants 24 KEDRIN E. VAN STEENWYK and ADELAIDA CELLARS, INC. 25 26

27 2 Pursuant to Local Rule 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i) I, Jared M. Ahern, the filing attorney, 28 attest that the other signatories on whose behalf this filing is submitted concur in the filing’s content and have authorized the filing. SPERTUS, LANDES & UMHOFER, LLP 2 Dated: October 6, 2020 By: _/s/Diane Bang 3 DIANE BANG, ESQ. 4 Attorneys for Plaintiff 5 ADAMSKI MOROSKI MADDEN 6 CUMBERLAND & GREEN LLP 7 || Dated: October 6, 2020 By: /s/ Chase Martin CHASE MARTIN, ESQ. 9 Attorneys for Plaintiff. 10 O’HAGAN MEYER, LLC 11 Dated: October 6, 2020 By: _/s/ Johnny L. Antwiler 12 JOHNNY L. ANTWILER, ESQ. 13 Attorneys for Defendants Pamela Pierce, 14 Philip Gobe, Poul. Longorio, Gene Durocher, Daniel Carter, Joseph McCoy. Elizabeth A. Van Steenwyk, individually, 15 A. and as Original Trustee and as Beneficiary of 16 the Donald H. Van Steenwyk and Elizabeth A. Van Steenwyk 1996 Revocable Trust, 17 Applied Technologies Associates, Inc. and ATA Ranches, Inc. 18 19 20 21 22 33 IT ISSO ORDERED 10/8/2020 24 (40 y Wfox fe 25 ||- HON. ALEXANDER F. MacKINNON 26 || United States Magistrate Judge 27 28

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