William Crabtree v. Robert Kirkman

Opinion

Case 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF-AFM Document 28 Filed 09/12/22 Page 1 of 17 Page ID #:160

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 WESTERN DIVISION 11 WILLIAM CRABTREE, Case No. 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF (AFMx) 12 Plaintiff, 13 vs. STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 14 ORDER ROBERT KIRKMAN, an individual; 15 ROBERT KIRKMAN, LLC, a Kentucky limited liability company, 16 and DOES 1-10, inclusive., 17 Defendants. 18

19 20 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 21 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 22 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public 23 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may 24 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to 25 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this 26 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to 27 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends 28 Case 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF-AFM Document 28 Filed 09/12/22 Page 2 of 17 Page ID #:161

1 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment 2 under the applicable legal principles. 3 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 4 5 This action, which concerns claims of breach of contract, fraud, accounting, 6 and declaratory relief regarding ownership of a comic book and graphic novel 7 series, is likely to involve valuable financial and proprietary information for which 8 special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 9 prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials 10 and information consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial 11 information, information regarding confidential business practices, or other 12 confidential creative or commercial information that is otherwise generally 13 unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from 14 disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common 15 law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 16 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 17 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 18 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for 19 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and 20 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this 21 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as 22 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good 23 faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and 24 there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 25

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1 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER 2 SEAL 3 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 4 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 5 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed 6 and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court 7 to file material under seal. 8 9 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 10 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 11 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City 12 and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. 13 Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony 14 Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective 15 orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or 16 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be 17 made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The 18 parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL 19 does not—without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, 20 establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, 21 privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause. 22 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, 23 then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and 24 the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be 25 protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 26 2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed 27 or introduced under seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party 28 -3- Case 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF-AFM Document 28 Filed 09/12/22 Page 4 of 17 Page ID #:163

1 seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts 2 and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence 3 supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by 4 declaration. 5 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 6 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. 7 If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting 8 only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, 9 shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their 10 entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 11 12 2. DEFINITIONS 13 2.1 Action: William Crabtree v. Robert Kirkman, an individual, Robert 14 Kirkman, LLC, a Kentucky limited liability company, and DOES 1-10, inclusive, 15 USDC Case No. 2:22-cv-00180-JFW (AFM) 16 17 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 18 designation of information or items under this Order. 19 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 20 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 21 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in 22 the Good Cause Statement. 23 24 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 25 their support staff). 26 27 28 -4- Case 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF-AFM Document 28 Filed 09/12/22 Page 5 of 17 Page ID #:164

1 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 2 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 3 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 4 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 5 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 6 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced 7 or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 8 9 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 10 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 11 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 12 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 13 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 14 counsel. 15 16 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or 17 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 18 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a 19 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and 20 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm 21 that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 22 23 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 24 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 25 support staffs). 26 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 27 Discovery Material in this Action. 28 -5- Case 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF-AFM Document 28 Filed 09/12/22 Page 6 of 17 Page ID #:165

1 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 2 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 3 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 4 and their employees and subcontractors. 5 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 6 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 7 8 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 9 Material from a Producing Party. 10 3. SCOPE 11 12 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 13 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 14 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 15 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 16 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 17 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 18 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 19 20 4. DURATION 21 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 22 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or 23 introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available 24 to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons 25 supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial 26 judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing 27 “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from 28 -6- Case 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF-AFM Document 28 Filed 09/12/22 Page 7 of 17 Page ID #:166

1 “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of court 2 record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the 3 commencement of the trial. 4 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 5 6 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 7 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection 8 under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material 9 that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must 10 designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or 11 written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, 12 documents, items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not 13 swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 14 15 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 16 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 17 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to 18 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 19 Designating Party to sanctions. 20 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 21 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 22 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 23 24 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 25 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 26 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 27 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 28 produced. -7- Case 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF-AFM Document 28 Filed 09/12/22 Page 8 of 17 Page ID #:167

1 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 2 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 3 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 4 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 5 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 6 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for 7 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) 8 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 9 10 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 11 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 12 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and 13 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 14 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the 15 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine 16 which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. 17 Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the 18 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a 19 portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also 20 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings 21 in the margins). 22 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party 23 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of 24 the deposition all protected testimony. 25 26 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary 27 and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place 28 on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the -8- Case 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF-AFM Document 28 Filed 09/12/22 Page 9 of 17 Page ID #:168

1 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information 2 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the 3 protected portion(s). 4 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 5 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 6 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such 7 material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make 8 reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the 9 provisions of this Order. 10 11 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 12 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 13 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 14 Scheduling Order. 15 16 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 17 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq. 18 6.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a 19 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2. 20 6.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 21 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 22 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 23 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating 24 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall 25 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 26 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the 27 challenge. 28 -9- Case 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF-AFM Document 28 Filed 09/12/22 Page 10 of 17 Page ID #:169

1 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 2 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 3 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 4 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such 5 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 6 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a 7 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL 8 DISPOSITION). 9 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 10 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 11 authorized under this Order. 12 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 13 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 14 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 15 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 16 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, 17 as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is 18 reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 19 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) 20 of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this 21 Action; 22 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 23 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 24 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 25 (d) the court and its personnel; 26 (e) court reporters and their staff; 27 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and 28 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this -10- Case 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF-AFM Document 28 Filed 09/12/22 Page 11 of 17 Page ID #:170

1 Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be 2 Bound” (Exhibit A); 3 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or 4 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the 5 information; 6 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in 7 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the 8 deposing party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 9 hereto; and (2) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential 10 information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be 11 Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or 12 ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to 13 depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately bound by the 14 court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under 15 this Stipulated Protective Order; and 16 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 17 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement 18 discussions. 19 20 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 21 IN OTHER LITIGATION 22 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 23 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 24 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 25 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall 26 include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 27 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to 28 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena -11- Case 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF-AFM Document 28 Filed 09/12/22 Page 12 of 17 Page ID #:171

1 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy 2 of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 3 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued 4 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 5 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 6 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 7 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the 8 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 9 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 10 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions 11 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action 12 to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 13 14 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 15 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 16 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced 17 by a Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such 18 information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected 19 by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions 20 should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 21 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery 22 request, to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the 23 Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 24 confidential information, then the Party shall: 25 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the 26 Non-Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a 27 confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party; 28 -12- Case 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF-AFM Document 28 Filed 09/12/22 Page 13 of 17 Page ID #:172

1 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the 2 Stipulated Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery 3 request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the information 4 requested; and 5 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by 6 the Non-Party, if requested. 7 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court 8 within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the 9 Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information 10 responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a 11 protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its 12 possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the 13 Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the 14 contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 15 protection in this court of its Protected Material. 16 17 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 18 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 19 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 20 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 21 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best 22 efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the 23 person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of 24 this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment 25 and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 26 27 28 -13- Case 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF-AFM Document 28 Filed 09/12/22 Page 14 of 17 Page ID #:173

1 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 2 PROTECTED MATERIAL 3 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 4 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other 5 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal 6 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify 7 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for 8 production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 9 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure 10 of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work 11 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated 12 protective order submitted to the court. 13 14 12. MISCELLANEOUS 15 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 16 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 17 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 18 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 19 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in 20 this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on 21 any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective 22 Order. 23 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 24 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material 25 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 26 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material 27 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 28 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. -14- Case 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF-AFM Document 28 Filed 09/12/22 Page 15 of 17 Page ID #:174

1 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 2 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 3 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must 4 return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As 5 used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, 6 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 7 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the 8 Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if 9 not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that 10 (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was 11 returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any 12 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or 13 capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel 14 are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, 15 deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition 16 and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert 17 work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival 18 copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective 19 Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). 20 /// 21 /// 22 /// 23 /// 24 /// 25 /// 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// -15- Case 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF-AFM Document 28 Filed 09/12/22 Page 16 of 17 Page ID #:175

1 14. VIOLATION 2 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures 3 including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 4 5 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 6 DATED: September 1, 2022 /s/ Peter D. Scott 7 Attorneys for Plaintiff

8 Devin A. McRae Peter Scott 9 EARLY SULLIVAN WRIGHT GIZER & MCRAE LLP 10 6420 Wilshire Boulevard, 17th Floor Los Angeles, California 90048 11

12 DATED: September 1, 2022 /s/ Tim B. Henderson 13 Attorneys for Defendants

14 Allen B. Grodsky Tim B. Henderson 15 GRODSKY, OLECKI & PURITSKY LLP 11111 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 1070 16 Los Angeles, California 90025

17 18 CERTIFICATION 19 Pursuant to L.R. 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), the filing attorney attests that he has 20 obtained concurrence regarding this document’s content and authorization to file 21 this document from the indicated signatories to the document. 22

23 Dated: September 9, 2022 /s/ Tim B. Henderson Tim B. Henderson 24

25 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

27 DATED: 9/12/2022 /s/ HON. ALEXANDER F. MacKINNON 28 United States Magistrate Judge -16- Case 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF-AFM Document 28 Filed 09/12/22 Page 17 of 17 Page ID #:176

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 Crabtree v. Kirkman et al., Case No. 2:22-cv-00180-MEMF 8 (AFM). I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated 9 Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could 10 expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly 11 promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is 12 subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict 13 compliance with the provisions of this Order. I further agree to submit to the 14 jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Central District of California 15 for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such 16 enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. 17 I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of 18 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and 19 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with 20 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective 21 Order. 22 Date: ______________________________________ 23 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 24 25 Printed name: _______________________________ 26 Signature: __________________________________ 27 28 -17-