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7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10

11 MEGAN FRIEDLANDER, and Case No.: 2:20-CV-07296-JWH-GJS individual, 12 Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 13 ORDER1 v. 14 MASAVA CORPORATION, a 15 California Corporation; MARY CHU, and individual, 16 Defendants. 17 18 19 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 20 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 21 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public 22 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may 23 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to 24 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this 25 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to 26 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends 27 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 Plaintiff contends that information regarding the investigative techniques used 5 by Southern California Housing Rights Center’s (HRC) staff and relating to any 6 investigation carried out by the HRC is confidential and public disclosure of such 7 information would jeopardize ongoing and future testing of other property owners’ 8 practices in the County of Los Angeles and would tax the limited resources of the 9 HRC by requiring it to continually find and use new anonymous testers and 10 investigative techniques. Furthermore, the identities and methodologies of HRC’s 11 testers may be used solely for the purpose of conducting the current litigation. 12 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists and 13 other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or 14 proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure and 15 from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such 16 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other 17 things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding 18 confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, or 19 commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third 20 parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be 21 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, 22 court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of 23 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of 24 discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep 25 confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of 26 such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling 27 at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such 1 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so 2 designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, 3 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public 4 record of this case. 5 Defendants (Masava Corporation, a California corporation, and Mary Chu, an 6 individual) contend that information regarding their respective financial information 7 is protected pursuant to the Privacy Laws of the State of California and Federal law. 8 Defendants acknowledge that while financial information may be relevant for 9 purposes of determining punitive damages, Defendants contend that such use is first 10 dependent upon a finding of liability and malice. Defendant Masava Corporation is 11 not a publicly traded company nor a large scale business. Instead, Masava 12 Corporation is a family run business serving its community. As such, any public 13 disclosure of otherwise private financial information would be highly prejudicial 14 and offensive to Defendants. To avoid wasting judicial resources and to avoid 15 causing delay in litigation, and for Defendants’ aforementioned recitals, good cause 16 exists for a protective order to treat all of Defendants’ private financial information 17 as confidential, for which use is limited only to the current litigation, and not to be 18 publicly disclosed by any party. 19 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL 20 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 21 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 22 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed 23 and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court 24 to file material under seal. 25 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 26 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 27 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and 1 Corp.,

, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, 2 Inc.,

(E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders 3 require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling 4 reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with 5 respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere 6 designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not— 7 without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the 8 material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or 9 otherwise 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,

(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 2. DEFINITIONS 26 2.1 Action: [this pending federal lawsuit]. [*Option: consolidated or 27 related actions.] 1 designation of information or items under this Order. 2 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 3 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 4 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in 5 the Good Cause Statement. 6 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 7 their support staff). 8 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 9 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 10 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 11 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 12 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 13 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 14 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 15 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 16 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 17 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 18 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 19 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 20 counsel. 21 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or 22 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 23 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a 24 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and 25 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm 26 that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 27 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 1 support staffs). 2 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 3 Discovery Material in this Action. 4 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 5 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 6 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 7 and their employees and subcontractors. 8 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 9 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 10 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 11 Material from a Producing Party. 3. SCOPE 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 4. DURATION 20 FINAL DISPOSITION of the action is defined as the conclusion of any 21 appellate proceedings, or, if no appeal is taken, when the time for filing of an appeal 22 has run. Except as set forth below, the terms of this protective order apply through 23 FINAL DISPOSITION of the action. The parties may stipulate that the they will be 24 contractually bound by the terms of this agreement beyond FINAL DISPOSITION, 25 but will have to file a separate action for enforcement of the agreement once all 26 proceedings in this case are complete. 27 1 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced 2 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all 3 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by 4 specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance 5 of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” 6 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 7 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, for 8 such materials, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the 9 commencement of the trial. 10 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 11 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 12 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under 13 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 14 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for 15 protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written 16 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items 17 or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably 18 within the ambit of this Order. 19 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 20 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 21 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 22 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 23 Party to sanctions. 24 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 25 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 26 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 27 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 1 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 2 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 3 produced. 4 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 5 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 6 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 7 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 8 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 9 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for 10 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) 11 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 12 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 13 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 14 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and 15 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 16 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the 17 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which 18 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, 19 before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the 20 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a 21 portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also 22 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings 23 in the margins). 24 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies 25 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the 26 deposition all protected testimony. 27 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and 1 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the 2 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information 3 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the 4 protected portion(s). 5 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 6 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 7 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 8 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 9 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 10 Order. 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 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 16 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. 17 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 18 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 19 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 20 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating 21 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall 22 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 23 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the 24 challenge. 25 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 26 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 27 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 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 3 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL 4 DISPOSITION). 5 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 6 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 7 authorized under this Order. 8 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 9 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 10 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 11 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 12 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 13 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 14 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 15 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 16 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 17 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 18 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 19 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 20 (d) the court and its personnel; 21 (e) court reporters and their staff; 22 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 23 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 24 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 25 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 26 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 27 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the 1 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they will 2 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 3 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 4 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 5 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may 6 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except 7 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 8 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 9 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 10 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 11 IN OTHER LITIGATION 12 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 13 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 14 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 15 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 16 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 17 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 18 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 19 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include 20 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 21 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 22 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 23 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 24 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 25 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the 26 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 27 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 1 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action 2 to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 3 9. 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 a 6 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, to 11 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 Non-Party 15 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 16 agreement with a Non-Party; 17 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 18 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 19 specific description of the information requested; and 20 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 21 Non-Party, if requested. 22 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 23 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 24 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery 25 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall 26 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 27 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 1 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 2 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 3 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 4 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 5 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 6 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 7 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 8 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 9 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 10 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 11 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 12 PROTECTED MATERIAL 13 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 14 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 15 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 16 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever 17 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production 18 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and 19 (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a 20 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work 21 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated 22 protective order submitted to the court. 23 12. MISCELLANEOUS 24 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 25 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 26 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 27 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 1 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 2 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 3 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 4 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material 5 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 6 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material 7 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 8 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 9 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 10 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 11 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return 12 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in 13 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 14 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected 15 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving 16 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 17 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies 18 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or 19 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, 20 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any 21 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to 22 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing 23 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert 24 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such 25 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or 26 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in 27 Section 4 (DURATION). 1 || 14. VIOLATION 2 |} Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including, 3 |} without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 4 || ITIS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 5 6 || DATED: 01/22/2021 7 □□

9 10 Attorneys for Plaintiff

11 12 || DATED: February 2, 2021 13 14 /s/ 5 Attorneys for Defendant

16 17 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 18 19 || DATED: February 4, 2021 20 21 22 23 / | 24 || UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 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 penalty of perjury 6 that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that 7 was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California 8 on [date] in the case of ___________ [insert formal name of the case and the 9 number and initials assigned to it by the court]. I agree to comply with and to be 10 bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and 11 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment 12 in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner 13 any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any 14 person 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 I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of 19 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and 20 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with 21 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective 22 Order. 23 Date: ______________________________________ 24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 25 26 Printed name: _______________________________ 27