Michael Gruen v. Joshua Richards

• Court: District Court, C.D. California
• Decided: May 1, 2025
• Docket: 2:24-cv-01777
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

1 William Moran II 2 Bill@awlegalfirm.com ARTHUR WILLIAM, LLP 3 10015 Old Columbia Rd. 4 Columbia, MD 21046 Tel: 520-604-0260 5 Attorneys for Plaintiff Michael Gruen 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, WESTERN DIVISION 8 9 MICHAEL GRUEN, Case No. 2:24-cv-01777 10 Hon. André Birotte Jr. Plaintiff, 11 Hon. Stephanie S. Christensen v. 12 13 JOSHUA RICHARDS, an individual; CHRISTOPHER SAWTELLE, an 14 individual; CROSSCHECK STUDIOS, 15 LLC, a California Limited Liability Company; BUDDY’S HARD, LLC, a 16 Delaware Limited Liability Company; 17 CREATIVE ARTISTS AGENCY, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability 18 Company; CAA HOLDINGS, LLC, a 19 Delaware Limited Liability Company, 20 Defendants. 21 22 1. INTRODUCTION 23 1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to 24 involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for 25 which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any 26 purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. 27 1 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties 2 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all 3 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords 4 from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or 5 items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable 6 legal principles. 7 1.2 Good Cause Statement. The Parties acknowledge that 8 Plaintiff’s Third Amended Complaint is not presently settled and is 9 subject to a forthcoming motion to dismiss, which may define the scope of 10 discovery in this case. The outcome of that motion may impact the degree 11 to which discovery may potentially involve the sharing of confidential 12 business or personnel information including but not limited to contract 13 and negotiation documents between CrossCheck Studios and Amazon 14 Studios (now Amazon MGM Studios). There may be a possibility that this 15 disclosure would reveal certain pending or upcoming projects risking 16 potential financial loss. Further, the rates paid, deliverables and 17 intellectual property required, and other material terms may compromise 18 one or more parties’ negotiations of current or future contracts. Discovery 19 in this matter may also reveal certain sensitive information such as but 20 not limited to contract rates, personal financial records, business practices 21 22 and activities, and private matters the disclosure of which to the general 23 public could lead to lost financial opportunities, oppression, harassment, 24 or ridicule unnecessary to the resolution of the dispute at hand. 25 This action may involve customer and pricing lists and other 26 valuable commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary information 27 for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any 1 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among 2 other things, confidential business or financial information, information 3 regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential 4 development, or commercial information (including information 5 implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise 6 generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or 7 otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court 8 rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of 9 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over 10 confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information 11 the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties 12 are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation 13 for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the 14 litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such 15 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that 16 information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons 17 and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has 18 been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good 19 cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. Nothing 20 in the foregoing should be deemed to be an admission or concession by 21 22 any party that particular information is appropriately discoverable. 23 1.3 Acknowledgment of Procedure for Filing Under Seal. The 24 parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 25 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential 26 information under seal; Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that 27 must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party 1 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access 2 to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with 3 non-dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing 4 under seal. See Kamakana v. City and Cnty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 5 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips ex rel. Ests. of Byrd v. Gen. Motors 6 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210–11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony 7 Elecs., Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated 8 protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of 9 good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and 10 legal justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that 11 a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of 12 Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not— 13 without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, 14 establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as 15 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause. 16 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion 17 or trial, then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing 18 must be shown, and the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve 19 the specific interest to be protected. See Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 20 605 F.3d 665, 677–79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type of 21 22 information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under 23 seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking 24 protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific 25 facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, 26 competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under 27 seal must be provided by declaration. 1 protectable in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential 2 portions can be redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted 3 version for public viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or 4 otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be filed. Any 5 application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety 6 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 7 2. DEFINITIONS 8 2.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit. 9 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 10 designation of information or items under this Order. 11 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information 12 (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible 13 things that qualify for protection under Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of 14 Civil Procedure, and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement. 15 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as 16 well as their support staff). 17 18 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates 19 information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to 20 discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 21 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, 22 regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or 23 maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and 24 tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or 25 responses to discovery in this matter. 26 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in 27 a matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or 1 its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 2 2.8 Final Disposition: the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and 3 defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment 4 herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, 5 remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits for 6 filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to 7 applicable law. 8 2.9 In-House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to 9 this Action. In-House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of 10 Record or any other outside counsel. 11 2.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, 12 association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 13 2.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees 14 of a party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to 15 this Action and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or 16 are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party, 17 and includes support staff. 18 2.12 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, 19 directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel 20 of Record (and their support staffs). 21 22 2.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces 23 Disclosure or Discovery Material in this Action. 24 2.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide 25 litigation- support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, 26 preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or 27 retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and 1 2.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that 2 is designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 3 2.16 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 4 Material from a Producing Party. 5 3. SCOPE 6 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not 7 only Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information 8 copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, 9 summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any 10 testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel 11 that might reveal Protected Material. 12 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the 13 orders of the trial judge. This Stipulated Protective Order does not 14 govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 15 4. TRIAL AND DURATION 16 17 The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order apply through Final 18 Disposition of the Action. 19 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 20 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this Stipulated Protective 21 Order and used or introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and 22 will be presumptively available to all members of the public, including 23 the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual 24 findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of 25 the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180–81 (distinguishing “good 26 cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from 27 1 of court record). Accordingly, for such materials, the terms of this 2 Stipulated Protective Order do not extend beyond the commencement of 3 the trial. 4 Even after Final Disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality 5 obligations imposed by this Stipulated Protective Order shall remain in 6 effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court 7 order otherwise directs. 8 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 9 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for 10 Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or 11 items for protection under this Order must take care to limit any such 12 designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate 13 standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only 14 those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written 15 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, 16 documents, items, or communications for which protection is not 17 18 warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 19 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. 20 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been 21 made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case 22 development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on 23 other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions. 24 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or 25 items that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that 26 Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is 27 withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 1 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise 2 provided in this Stipulated Protective Order (see, e.g., second paragraph 3 of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure 4 or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Stipulated 5 Protective Order must be clearly so designated before the material is 6 disclosed or produced. 7 Designation in conformity with this Stipulated Protective Order 8 requires: 9 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 10 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or 11 trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the 12 legend “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains protected 13 material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 14 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify 15 the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the 16 margins). 17 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for 18 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the 19 inspecting Party has indicated which documents it would like copied 20 and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of 21 22 the material made available for inspection shall be deemed 23 CONFIDENTIAL. After the inspecting Party has identified the 24 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must 25 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection 26 under this Stipulated Protective Order. Then, before producing the 27 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the 1 Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 2 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify 3 the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the 4 margins). 5 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party 6 identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the 7 close of the deposition all protected testimony. 8 (c) for information produced in some form other than 9 documentary and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party 10 affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers 11 in which the information is stored the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend. If only 12 a portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the 13 Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 14 portion(s). 15 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an 16 inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items does not, 17 18 standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection 19 under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a 20 designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure 21 that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 22 Stipulated Protective Order. 23 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 24 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may 25 challenge a designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent 26 with the court’s Scheduling Order. 27 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the 1 dispute resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. and with 2 Section 2 of Judge Christensen’s Civil Procedures titled “Brief Pre- 3 Discovery Motion Conference.”1 4 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding 5 shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those 6 made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary 7 expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging 8 Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or 9 withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to 10 afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 11 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the court rules on 12 the challenge. 13 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 14 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected 15 Material that is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non- 16 Party in connection with this Action only for prosecuting, defending, or 17 18 attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material may be 19 disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions 20 described in this Order. When the Action reaches a Final Disposition, a 21 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below. 22 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving 23 Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is 24 limited to the persons authorized under this Stipulated Protective 25 Order. 26

27 1 Judge Christensen’s Procedures are available at 1 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. 2 Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the 3 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or 4 item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only: 5 (a) to the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this 6 Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom 7 it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 8 (b) to the officers, directors, and employees (including House 9 Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably 10 necessary for this Action; 11 (c) to Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to 12 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 13 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 14 (d) to the court and its personnel; 15 (e) to court reporters and their staff; 16 (f) to professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and 17 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for 18 this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement 19 to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 20 (g) to the author or recipient of a document containing the 21 22 information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or 23 knew the information; 24 (h) during their depositions, to witnesses, and attorneys for 25 witnesses, in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary, 26 provided: (1) the deposing party requests that the witness sign the 27 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); and (2) the 1 unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 2 (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or 3 ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or 4 exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately 5 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except 6 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 7 (i) to any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting 8 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in 9 settlement discussions. 10 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED 11 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 12 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in 13 other litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items 14 designated in this Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 15 16 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such 17 notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 18 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the 19 subpoena or order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the 20 material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective 21 Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated 22 Protective Order; and 23 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to 24 be pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be 25 affected. 26 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the 27 Party served with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any 1 information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a 2 determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, 3 unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 4 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 5 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these 6 provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a 7 Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another 8 court. 9 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 10 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 11 9.1 Application. The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order 12 are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in this Action and 13 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Non- 14 Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies 15 and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 16 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional 17 protections. 18 9.2 Notification. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid 19 discovery request, to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in 20 its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the Non- 21 22 Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then the 23 Party shall: 24 (a) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the 25 Non-Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a 26 confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party; 27 (b) make the information requested available for inspection by 1 9.3 Conditions of Production. If the Non-Party fails to seek a 2 protective order from this court within 14 days of receiving the notice 3 and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce the 4 Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. 5 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party 6 shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is 7 subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a 8 determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the 9 Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in 10 this court of its Protected Material. 11 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED 12 MATERIAL 13 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it 14 has disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance 15 not authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving 16 Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of 17 18 the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all 19 unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 20 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of 21 this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the 22 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A). 23 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR 24 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL 25 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that 26 certain inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege 27 1 forth in Rule 26(b)(5)(B) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This 2 provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be 3 established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without 4 prior privilege review. Pursuant to Rules 502(d) and (e) of the Federal 5 Rules of Evidence, insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the 6 effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the 7 attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties may 8 incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order 9 submitted to the court. 10 12. MISCELLANEOUS 11 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Stipulated 12 Protective Order abridges the right of any person to seek its 13 modification by the court in the future. 14 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry 15 of this Stipulated Protective Order no Party waives any right it 16 otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any 17 18 information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated 19 Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 20 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this 21 Stipulated Protective Order. 22 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under 23 seal any Protected Material must comply with Local Rule 79-5. 24 Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court 25 order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. 26 If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the 27 court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public 1 record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 2 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 3 After the Final Disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4 4, within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each 5 Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing 6 Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all 7 Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 8 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 9 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or 10 destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to 11 the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the 12 Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by 13 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was 14 returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not 15 retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other 16 format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. 17 18 Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel is entitled to retain an archival 19 copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing 20 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial 21 exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and 22 expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. 23 Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material 24 remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4. 25 14. VIOLATION 26 Any violation of this Stipulated Protective Order may be punished 27 by any and all appropriate measures including, without limitation, 1 || contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 2 3 || ITIS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. A 5 DATED: 04/30/2025 Aijhiar dare, Xr 6 William Moran II 7 Attorney for Plaintiff Michael Gruen 8 DATED: 04/30/2025 ade QR, 9 TT 10 Jeremiah Reynolds Attorney for Defendants Joshua 1 Richards, Christopher Sawtelle, 12 CrossCheck Studios, LLC and 3 Buddy’s Hard, LLC

14 15 '° || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 17 18 DATED: May 1, 2025 19 STEPHANIE 8S. CHRISTENSEN 20 United States Magistrate Judge 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

1 EXHIBIT A ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 2

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

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