1 ATKINSON, ANDELSON, LOYA, RUUD & ROMO A Professional Law Corporation 2 William M. Betley State Bar No. 113326 [email protected] 3 David M. Lester State Bar No. 119966 [email protected] 4 12800 Center Court Drive South, Suite 300 Cerritos, CA 90703 5 Telephone: (562) 653-3200 Fax: (562) 653-3333 6 Attorneys for Defendant 7 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TELEPHONE COMPANY

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10

11 ROBERT BERNSTEIN, individually Case No. 5:19-cv-01888-JGB-SP 12 and on behalf of all others, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 13 Plaintiffs, ORDER

14 v. [Discovery Document: Referred to Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym] 15 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 16 TELEPHONE COMPANY, Judge: Hon. Jesus G. Bernal 17 Defendant.

Complaint filed: October 2, 2019 18 19 20 21 A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 22 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 23 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure 24 and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. 25 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the 26 following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does 27 not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that 28 the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited 1 information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable 2 legal principles. 3 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 4 This action is likely to involve private and confidential information of 5 Defendant’s tax documents, trade secrets, customer and pricing lists and other 6 valuable commercial and/or financial information for which special protection from 7 public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action 8 is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, 9 among other things, confidential business or financial information, information 10 regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential commercial 11 information (including information implicating privacy rights of third parties, and 12 employees), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may 13 be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, 14 court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of 15 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of 16 discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep 17 confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such 18 material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the 19 end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such 20 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information 21 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so 22 designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, 23 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public 24 record of this case. 25 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER 26 SEAL 27 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 28 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 1 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and 2 the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file 3 material under seal. 4 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 5 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 6 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and 7 County of Honolulu,

(9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors 8 Corp.,

, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 9

(E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good 10 cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with 11 proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to 12 Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation 13 of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not— without the 14 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material 15 sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise 16 protectable—constitute good cause. 17 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 18 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief 19 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See 20 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n.,

(9th Cir. 2010). For each 21 item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under 22 seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must 23 articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for 24 the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to 25 file documents under seal must be provided by declaration. Any document that is not 26 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its entirety will not be filed under 27 seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. 28 / / / 1 If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, 2 omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the 3 document, shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in 4 their entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 5 1. DEFINITIONS 6 1.1 Action: means the above-entitled proceeding, Bernstein v. 7 Southern California Telephone Company, United States District Court, Central 8 District of California Case No. 5:19-cv-01888-JGB-SP. 9 1.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 10 designation of information or items under this Order. 11 1.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information 12 (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify 13 for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in 14 the Good Cause Statement. 15 1.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record as well as their support staff. 16 1.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates 17 information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 18 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 19 1.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, 20 regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained 21 (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are 22 produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 23 1.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a 24 matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to 25 serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 26 1.8 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, 27 association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 28 1 1.9 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a 2 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and 3 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm 4 which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 5 1.10 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, 6 directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record 7 (and their support staffs). 8 1.11 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 9 Discovery Material in this Action. 10 1.12 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 11 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 12 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 13 and their employees and subcontractors. 14 1.13 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 15 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 16 1.14 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 17 Material from a Producing Party. 18 1.15 Final Disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal 19 of all claims and defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final 20 judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, 21 remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits for filing any 22 motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law. 23 2. SCOPE 24 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 25 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted 26 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of 27 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties 28 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 1 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 2 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 3 3. DURATION 4 Even after Final Disposition of this litigation, as defined in paragraph 1.15, the 5 confidentiality obligations imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a 6 Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. 7 4. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 8 4.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for 9 Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for 10 protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific 11 material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must 12 designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or 13 written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, 14 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept 15 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 16 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. 17 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an 18 improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or 19 to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 20 Designating Party to sanctions. 21 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items 22 that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party 23 must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable 24 designation. 25 4.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise 26 provided in this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 4.2(a) below), or as 27 otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for 28 1 protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is 2 disclosed or produced. 3 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 4 a. for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 5 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 6 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 7 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 8 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 9 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected 10 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 11 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for 12 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has 13 indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection 14 and before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 15 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents 16 it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, 17 or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing 18 the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL 19 legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of 20 the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly 21 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the 22 margins). 23 b. for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party 24 identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the 25 deposition all protected testimony. 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 1 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 2 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 3 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 the 6 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 7 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 8 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 9 Order. 10 5. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 11 5.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 12 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 13 Scheduling Order. 14 5.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 15 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. 16 5.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge of a confidentiality designation 17 submitted to the Court shall be via a joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2. 18 5.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall 19 be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 20 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) 21 may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has 22 waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to 23 afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the 24 Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 25 6. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 26 6.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material 27 that is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with 28 this Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such 1 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 2 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving 3 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 4 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party 5 at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 6 authorized under this Order. 7 6.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 8 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 9 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 10 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 11 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, 12 as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 13 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 14 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) 15 of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 16 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 17 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 18 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 19 (d) the court and its personnel; 20 (e) court reporters and their staff; 21 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and 22 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and 23 who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 24 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information 25 or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 26 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in 27 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing 28 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they 1 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 2 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 3 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 4 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be 5 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as 6 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 7 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 8 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 9 7. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED 10 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 11 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 12 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 13 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 14 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such 15 notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 16 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or 17 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 18 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include 19 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 20 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 21 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 22 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 23 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action 24 as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena 25 or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 26 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court 27 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as 28 1 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful 2 directive from another court. 3 8. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 4 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 5 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by 6 a Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information 7 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 8 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 9 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 10 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, 11 to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 12 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 13 confidential information, then the Party shall: 14 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the 15 Non-Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a 16 confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party; 17 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the 18 Stipulated Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery 19 request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the information 20 requested; and 21 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by 22 the Non-Party, if requested. 23 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court 24 within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving 25 Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the 26 discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving 27 Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to 28 the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 1 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense 2 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 3 9. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED 4 MATERIAL 5 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 6 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 7 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 8 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 9 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 10 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 11 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 12 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 13 10. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR 14 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL 15 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 16 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 17 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 18 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure 19 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior 20 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the 21 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or 22 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the 23 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted 24 to the court. 25 / / / 26 11. MISCELLANEOUS 27 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of 28 any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 1 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of 2 this Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 3 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 4 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 5 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 6 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 7 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 8 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific 9 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is 10 denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public 11 record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 12 12. FINAL DISPOSITION 13 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 1.15, within 14 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must 15 return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used 16 in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, 17 compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 18 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the 19 Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not 20 the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) 21 identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned 22 or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, 23 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any 24 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to 25 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing 26 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert 27 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such 28 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or 1 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in 2 Section 4 (DURATION). Additionally, the Parties may retain any audit reports or 3 summaries prepared during this case even if said reports or summaries contain 4 information derived from Protected Materials. 5 13. VIOLATION OF THIS ORDER 6 Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate 7 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary 8 sanctions. 9 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 10 11 DATED: May 27, 2020 Paronich Law, P.C.

12 13 /S/ - Anthony I. Paronich Attorneys for Plaintiffs and Proposed 14 Class 15 16 DATED: May 27, 2020 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo 17 18 /S/ - David M. Lester 19 William M. Betley 20 David M. Lester Attorneys for Defendant SOUTHERN 21 CALIFORNIA TELEPHONE CO. 22 Pursuant to Local Rule 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), I, David M. Lester, hereby attest that all other 23 signatories listed, and on whose behalf the filing is submitted, concur in the filing’s 24 content and have authorized the filing. 25

26

27

28 1 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 2 3 DATED: June 1, 2020

4 _____________________________________ 5 HON. SHERI PYM United States Magistrate Judge 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 4 I, _________________________________ [print or type full name], of 5 ________________________________ [print or type full address], declare under 6 penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated 7 Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central 8 District of California on _____________ [date] in the case of Bernstein v. Southern 9 California Telephone Company, United States District Court, Central District of 10 California Case No. 5:19-cv-01888-JGB-SP. I agree to comply with and to be bound 11 by all the terms of the Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge 12 that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature 13 of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any 14 information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or 15 entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 16 I further agree submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for 17 the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 18 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 19 termination of this action. I hereby appoint ______________________________ 20 [print or type full name] of ___________________________________ [print or type 21 full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in 22 connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this 23 Stipulated Protective order. 24 Date: __________________________ 25 City and State where sworn and signed: ________________________________ 26 Printed Name: ____________________________________ 27 Signature: ____________________________________ 28