Pacira BioSciences, Inc. v. Ventis Pharma, Inc.

Opinion

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

2 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

4 PACIRA BIOSCIENCES, INC., Case No. 2:24-cv-7554-MRA-RAO 5 Plaintiff, 6 v. 7 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER1 8 VENTIS PHARMA, INC., 0F

Defendant. 9

10 11 1. GENERAL 12 1.1 Purposes And Limitations: Discovery in this action is likely to involve 13 production of confidential, proprietary or private information for which special 14 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 15 prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby 16 stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. 17 The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all 18 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public 19 disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled 20 to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. 21 1.2 Good Cause Statement: This action is likely to involve trade secrets, 22 customer and pricing lists and other valuable research, development, commercial, 23 financial, technical and/ or proprietary information for which special protection 24 from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this 25 action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information 26

27 1 This Stipulated Protective Order is substantially based on the model protective order provided under Magistrate Judge Rozella A. Oliver’s Procedures. 1 consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial information, 2 information regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential research, 3 development, or commercial information (including information implicating privacy 4 rights of third parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or 5 which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or 6 federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to 7 expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over 8 confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties 9 are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable 10 necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to 11 address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a 12 protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the 13 parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons 14 and that nothing be so designated without a good-faith belief that it has been 15 maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it 16 should not be part of the public record of this case. 17 1.3 Acknowledgement Of Procedure For Filing Under Seal: The parties 18 further acknowledge, as set forth in Paragraph 12.3, below, that this Stipulated 19 Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; 20 Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the 21 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file 22 material under seal. 23 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 24 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 25 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and 26 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006); Phillips v. Gen. Motors 27 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002); Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, 1 Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders 2 require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling 3 reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with 4 respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere 5 designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL or as 6 HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY does not—without the 7 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material 8 sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise 9 protectable—constitute good cause. 10 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 11 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the 12 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. 13 See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For 14 each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced 15 under seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking 16 protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal 17 justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting 18 the application to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration. 19 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 20 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. 21 If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting 22 only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document 23 shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their 24 entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 25 26 2. DEFINITIONS 27 2.1 Action: The lawsuit captioned Pacira BioSciences, Inc., v. Ventis 1 Pharma, Inc., Case Number Case No. 2:24-cv-7554-MRA-RAO proceeding in the 2 United States District Court for the Central District of California. 3 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 4 designation of information or items under this Order. 5 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 6 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 7 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in 8 the Good Cause Statement. 9 2.4 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 10 Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is generated, stored or 11 maintained) or tangible things that qualifies or qualify for protection under Federal 12 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement, 13 and that is or are deserving of a stricter designation because it contains or they 14 contain extremely sensitive CONFIDENTIAL information that, if disclosed to 15 another Party or Non-Party, would create a substantial risk of harm that cannot be 16 avoided by less restrictive means. 17 2.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 18 their support staff). 19 2.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 20 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 21 “CONFIDENTIAL” or as “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 22 ONLY.” 23 2.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 24 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 25 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things) that are produced or 26 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 27 2.8 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 1 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 2 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 3 2.9 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 4 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 5 counsel. 6 2.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or 7 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 8 2.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a 9 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and 10 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm 11 that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 12 2.12 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 13 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 14 support staffs). 15 2.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 16 Discovery Material in this Action. 17 2.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 18 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 19 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 20 and their employees and subcontractors. 21 2.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 22 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 23 2.16 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 24 Material from a Producing Party.

25 26 27 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 10 4. DURATION 11 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 12 imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees 13 otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be 14 deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, 15 with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion 16 and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this 17 Action, including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for 18 extension of time pursuant to applicable law. 19 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, items 27 or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably 1 within the ambit of this Order. 2 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 3 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 4 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 5 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 6 Party to sanctions. 7 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 8 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 9 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 10 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 11 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of Paragraph 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 12 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 13 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 14 produced. 15 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 16 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 17 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 18 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 19 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 20 ONLY” to each page that contains protected material. 21 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 22 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 23 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and 24 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 25 deemed “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” After the 26 inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the 27 Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for 1 protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the 2 Producing Party must affix the appropriate legend (“CONFIDENTIAL” or 3 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”) to each page that 4 contains Protected Material. 5 (b) for information in documentary form provided in native format, that the 6 Producing Party include the legend “CONFIDENTIAL,” or “HIGHLY 7 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” in the filename and, when 8 included, on a slip page (e.g. placeholder TIFF image). 9 (c) for testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial 10 proceedings, that the Designating Party identify on the record, before the close of 11 the deposition, hearing, or other proceeding, all protected testimony and specify the 12 level of protection being asserted. When it is impractical to identify separately each 13 portion of testimony that is entitled to protection and it appears that substantial 14 portions of the testimony may qualify for protection, the Designating Party may 15 invoke on the record (before the deposition, hearing, or other proceeding is 16 concluded) a right to have up to 30 days to identify the specific portions of the 17 testimony as to which protection is sought and to specify the level of protection 18 being asserted. Only those portions of the testimony that are appropriately 19 designated for protection within the 30 days shall be covered by the provisions of 20 this Stipulated Protective Order. Alternatively, a Designating Party may specify, at 21 the deposition or up to 30 days afterwards if that period is properly invoked, that the 22 entire transcript shall be treated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 23 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 24 (d) for information produced in some form other than documentary and 25 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on 26 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the 27 legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ 1 EYES ONLY,” as appropriate. 2 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 3 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 4 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 5 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 6 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 7 Order. 8 9 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 10 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party may challenge a designation of 11 confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order. 12 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 13 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq. 14 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 15 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 16 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 17 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating 18 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall 19 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 20 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the 21 challenge. 22 23 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 24 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 25 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 26 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action (or any 27 appeal from this action). However, notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent 1 documents produced by the parties in this action are also relevant and responsive to 2 properly served discovery in the action captioned United States of America, ex rel. 3 Pacira BioSciences, Inc. v. Nephron Sterile Compounding Center, LLC, et al., Case 4 No. 1:23-cv-10135, pending in the United States District Court for the District of 5 Massachusetts (the “Massachusetts Case”), the Producing Party in this Action may 6 cross-designate such relevant and responsive documents for both cases, using 7 different Bates-numbers prefixes for each action but the same document 8 identification number. Such cross-designated documents shall maintain the 9 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 10 ONLY” designation assigned by the Producing Party. 11 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and 12 under the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, 13 a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of Paragraph 13 below (FINAL 14 DISPOSITION). 15 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 16 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 17 authorized under this Order. 18 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 19 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 20 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 21 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to the limited categories of persons set forth in 22 subparagraphs (a)-(i) below. Except for the persons set forth in categories (a), (d), 23 and (e) below, every person receiving such limited disclosure must sign the form 24 attached as Exhibit A hereto in order to view the disclosed information: 25 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 26 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 27 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 1 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 2 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action, but 3 only to the extent counsel of record in this Action shall certify that such specifically- 4 named persons are necessary to conduct the Action; 5 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 6 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 7 (d) the court and its personnel; 8 (e) court reporters and their staff; 9 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 10 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 11 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 12 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 13 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the 14 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary. Pages of transcribed deposition 15 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately 16 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted 17 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 18 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 19 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 20 7.3 Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 21 ONLY” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in 22 writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or 23 item designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 24 ONLY” only to the limited categories of persons set forth in subparagraphs 7.2(a), 25 (c)-(g), and (i) above. Except for the persons set forth in categories (a), (d), and (e) 26 above, every person receiving such limited disclosure must sign the form attached as 27 Exhibit A hereto in order to view the disclosed information. 1 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 2 IN OTHER LITIGATION 3 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 4 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 5 “CONFIDENTIAL” or as “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 6 ONLY,” that Party must: 7 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 8 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 9 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 10 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 11 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include 12 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 13 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 14 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 15 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 16 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 17 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or as “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ 18 EYES ONLY” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or 19 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 20 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that 21 court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed 22 as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful 23 directive from another court. 24 25 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 26 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 27 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 1 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or as ““HIGHLY 2 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by 3 Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief 4 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as 5 prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 6 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 7 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 8 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 9 confidential information, then the Party shall: 10 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 11 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 12 agreement with a Non-Party; 13 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 14 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 15 specific description of the information requested; and 16 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 17 Non-Party, if requested. 18 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 19 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 20 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery 21 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall 22 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 23 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 24 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and 25 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 26 27 1 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 2 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 3 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 4 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 5 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 6 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 7 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 8 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 9 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 10 11 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 12 PROTECTED MATERIAL 13 The production of any privileged or otherwise protected or exempted 14 information, as well as the production of information without an appropriate 15 designation of confidentiality, shall not be deemed a waiver or impairment of any 16 claim of privilege or protection, including, but not limited to, the attorney-client 17 privilege, the protection afforded to work product materials or the subject matter 18 thereof, or the confidential nature of any such information, as to the produced 19 information, or any other information in this case or in any other federal or state 20 proceeding. 21 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 22 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 23 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 24 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever 25 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production 26 without prior privilege review. This Order shall be interpreted to provide the 27 maximum protection allowed by Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d). Pursuant to 1 Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement 2 on the effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the 3 attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate 4 their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the court. 5 6 12. MISCELLANEOUS 7 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 8 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 9 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 10 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 11 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 12 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 13 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 14 12.3 Filing Protected Material. In the event a Party seeks to file any 15 material that is subject to protection under this Order with the Court, that Party shall 16 take appropriate action to ensure that the documents receive proper protection from 17 public disclosure, including: (1) filing a redacted document with the consent of the 18 Designating Party; (2) where appropriate (e.g. in relation to discovery and 19 evidentiary motions), submitting the documents solely for in camera review; or 20 (3) where the preceding measures are not adequate, seeking permission to file the 21 document under seal pursuant to Local Civil Rule 79-5, or such other rule or 22 procedure as may apply. Absent extraordinary circumstances making prior 23 consultation impractical or inappropriate, the Party seeking to submit the document 24 to the Court shall first consult with counsel for the Designating Party to determine if 25 some measure less restrictive than filing the document under seal may serve to 26 provide adequate protection. This duty exists irrespective of the duty to consult on 27 the underlying motion. Nothing in this Order shall be construed as a prior directive 1 to the Clerk of Court to allow any document to be filed under seal. The parties 2 understand that documents may be filed under seal only with the permission of the 3 Court after proper motion pursuant to Local Rule 79-5. 4 5 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 6 Within thirty (30) days after final disposition of this Action, including 7 conclusion of any appeal, all Protected Material, and any copies thereof, shall be 8 returned to the Producing Party or destroyed using commercially reasonable efforts 9 unless: (1) the document has been entered as evidence or filed (unless introduced or 10 filed under seal); or (2) as to documents containing the notations, summations, or 11 other mental impressions of the Receiving Party, that Party elects destruction. 12 Notwithstanding the above requirements to return or destroy documents, counsel 13 may retain attorney work product including an index which refers or relates to 14 information designated “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – 15 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” so long as that work product does not duplicate 16 verbatim substantial portions of the text of said documents. This work product 17 continues to be confidential under the terms of this Order. An attorney may use his 18 or her work product in a subsequent litigation provided that its use does not disclose 19 the confidential documents. 20 21 14. VIOLATION 22 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including, 23 without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 24

25 26 27 1 || ITIS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 2 3 |} DATED: January 9, 2025 4 || Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP 5 6 || /s/ Kazim Naqvi Attorney. for Plaintiff 7 || Pacira BioSciences, Inc 8 9 DATED: January 9, 2025 10 Womble Bond Dickinson LLP 1] 12 /s/ Carrie Richey 13 Attorney for Defendant 4 Ventis Pharma, Inc.

15 16 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 17 18 || DATED: 1/13/2025 19 . 0 |Rapebls, A OC HON SROZELLA A. OLIVER 21 || United States Magistrate Judge 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -17-

1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, ___________________________________________ [print or type full name], of 4 _______________________________________________________________ 5 [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its 6 entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the 7 United States District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the 8 case of Pacira BioSciences, Inc., v. Ventis Pharma, Inc., Case Number Case No. 9 2:24-cv-7554-MRA-RAO (“Action”). I agree to comply with and to be bound by all 10 the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that 11 failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of 12 contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any 13 information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person 14 or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the 16 Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective 17 Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this Action. 18 [For signatories who are not located within the United States:] I hereby 19 appoint _______________________________________ [print or type full name] of 20 ________________________ [print or type full address and telephone number] as 21 my California agent for service of process in connection with this Action or any 22 proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. 23 Date: ______________________________________ 24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 25 Printed name: _______________________________ 26 27 Signature: __________________________________