Candace Gomez v. Walmart, Inc.

United States District Court for the Central District of California

Candace Gomez v. Walmart, Inc.

Trial Court Opinion

Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 1 of 21 Page ID #:141

1 Stephen M. Doniger (SBN 179314) 2 [email protected] Scott Alan Burroughs (SBN 235718) 3 [email protected] 4 Kelsey M. Schultz (SBN 328159) [email protected] 5 DONIGER / BURROUGHS 6 603 Rose Avenue Venice, California 90291 7 Telephone: (310) 590-1820 8 Attorneys for Plaintiff 9

10 Shanen R. Prout (Cal. SBN 236137) [email protected] 11 LAW OFFICE OF SHANEN R. PROUT 12 11400 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 700 Los Angeles, CA 90064 13 Tel. (626) 590-1976 14 Fax: (310) 494-9382

15 Attorney for Defendant WALMART, INC. 16 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 17 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 18

19 CANDACE GOMEZ, doing business as Case No.: 2:21-cv-06425-MWF(PDx) 20 “VampireKitten Productions,” an

21 individual, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 22 Plaintiff, 23 v. 24 25 WALMART, INC., a Delaware Corporation; and, DOES 1-10, 26

27 Defendants.

28 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 2 of 21 Page ID #:142

1 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 2 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 3 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public 4 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be 5 warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter 6 the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order 7 does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and 8 that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the 9 limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the 10 applicable legal principles. 11 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 12 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists, and 13 other valuable research, design, development, commercial, financial, technical, 14 marketing, planning, personal, or commercial and/or proprietary information, 15 contracts, non-public compilations of retail prices, supplier and vendor agreements, 16 supplier pricing information and commissions or fees paid to suppliers, personnel 17 files, claim/litigation information, nonpublic policies and procedures, as well as 18 other documents and information concerning the Subject Design and Plaintiff and 19 Defendant’s businesses, for which special protection from public disclosure and 20 from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such 21 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other 22 things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding 23 confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, or 24 commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third 25 parties), corporate trade secrets, nonpublic research and development data, 26 including, but not limited to, cost data, pricing formulas, inventory management 27 programs, sales or business information not known to the public, information 28 1 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 3 of 21 Page ID #:143

1 obtained from a non-party pursuant to a non-disclosure agreement, and other 2 information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be 3 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, 4 court rules, case decisions, or common law. 5 Such confidential and proprietary materials and information may also consist 6 of any information that a party believes in good faith to be subject to federal, state or 7 foreign data protection laws or other privacy obligations. Examples of such data 8 protection laws include but are not limited to The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 15

9 U.S.C. § 6801

et seq. (financial information). 10 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 11 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 12 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 13 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for 14 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and 15 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this 16 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as 17 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good 18 faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and 19 there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 20 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL 21 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this 22 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 23 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and 24 the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to 25 file material under seal. 26 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 27 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 28 2 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 4 of 21 Page ID #:144

1 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and 2 County of Honolulu,

447 F.3d 1172, 1176

(9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors 3 Corp.,

307 F.3d 1206

, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, 4 Inc.,

187 F.R.D. 576, 577

(E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require 5 good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons 6 with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to 7 Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation 8 of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the 9 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material 10 sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise 11 protectable—constitute good cause. 12 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 13 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the 14 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. 15 See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n,

605 F.3d 665, 677-79

(9th Cir. 2010). For each 16 item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under 17 seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection 18 must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal 19 justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting 20 the application to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration. 21 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 22 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 23 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only 24 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall 25 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety 26 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 27 28 3 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 5 of 21 Page ID #:145

1 2. DEFINITIONS 2 2.1 Action: the instant action entitled Gomez, et al. v. Walmart, 3 Inc., et al., with case number: 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD. 4 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges 5 the designation of information or items under this Order. 6 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 7 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 8 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the 9 Good Cause Statement. 10 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 11 their support staff). 12 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 13 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 14 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 15 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 16 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 17 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 18 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 19 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 20 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 21 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 22 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 23 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 24 counsel. 25 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 26 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 27 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party 28 4 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 6 of 21 Page ID #:146

1 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have 2 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which 3 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 4 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all its officers, directors, 5 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 6 support staffs). 7 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 8 Discovery Material in this Action. 9 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 10 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 11 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 12 and their employees and subcontractors. 13 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 14 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 15 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 16 from a Producing Party. 17 18 3. SCOPE 19 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 20 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 21 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 22 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 23 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 24 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 25 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 26 27 4. DURATION 28 5 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 7 of 21 Page ID #:147

1 FINAL DISPOSITION of the action is defined as the conclusion of any 2 appellate proceedings, or, if no appeal is taken, when the time for filing of an appeal 3 has run. Except as set forth below, the terms of this protective order apply through 4 FINAL DISPOSITION of the action. The parties may stipulate that they will be 5 contractually bound by the terms of this agreement beyond FINAL DISPOSITION, 6 but will have to file a separate action for enforcement of the agreement once all 7 proceedings in this case are complete. 8 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 9 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced 10 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all 11 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by 12 specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance 13 of the trial. See Kamakana,

447 F.3d at 1180-81

(distinguishing “good cause” 14 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 15 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, for 16 such materials, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the 17 commencement of the trial. 18 19 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 20 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 21 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under 22 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 23 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for 24 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written 25 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, 26 or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably 27 within the ambit of this Order. 28 6 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 8 of 21 Page ID #:148

1 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 2 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 3 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 4 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 5 Party to sanctions. 6 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 7 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 8 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 9 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 10 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 11 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 12 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 13 produced. Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 14 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 15 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 16 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 17 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 18 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 19 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected 20 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 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 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the 26 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which 27 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before 28 7 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 9 of 21 Page ID #:149

1 producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the 2 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a 3 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing 4 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate 5 markings in the margins). 6 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify 7 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition 8 all protected testimony. Alternatively, the party may designate information disclosed 9 at the deposition as confidential by notifying the court reporter and other parties in 10 writing, within fifteen (15) business days of receipt of the transcript, of the specific 11 pages and lines of the transcript which are designated as confidential. The parties may 12 agree to a reasonable extension of the 15-business-day period for designation. 13 Designations of transcripts will apply to audio, video, or other recordings of the 14 testimony. During such 15-business-day period, the entire transcript shall receive 15 confidential treatment. Upon such designation, the court reporter and each party shall 16 affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend to the designated pages and segregate them as 17 appropriate. 18 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for 19 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 20 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 21 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 22 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 23 portion(s). The Receiving Party shall mark any hard-copy printouts and the storage 24 medium of any permissible copies of such electronic material with the corresponding 25 legend contained on the original and such copies shall become subject to the same 26 protections, as the Confidential Information or Items from which those copies were 27 made. 28 8 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 10 of 21 Page ID #:150

1 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 2 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 3 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 4 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 5 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 6 Order. 7 8 6. DATA SECURITY 9 The Parties agree to provide adequate security to protect data produced by 10 the other party(ies) or by non-parties. At a minimum, any receiving party subject to 11 the terms of this Protective Order, will provide reasonable measures to protect non- 12 client data consistent with the American Bar Association Standing Committee on 13 Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Formal Opinion 477R. 14 15 7. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 16 7.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 17 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 18 Scheduling Order. 19 7.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 20 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. 21 7.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 22 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose 23 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may 24 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived 25 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the 26 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing 27 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 28 9 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 11 of 21 Page ID #:151

1 2 8. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 3 8.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 4 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 5 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such 6 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 7 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a 8 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL 9 DISPOSITION). 10 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 11 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 12 authorized under this Order. 13 8.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 14 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 15 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 16 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 17 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well 18 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary 19 to disclose the information for this Action; 20 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the 21 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 22 (c) the officers, directors, and employees (including in-house counsel) of 23 the supplier of the alleged Offending Products to Walmart Inc. to whom disclosure 24 is reasonably necessary for the supplier to analyze defendants’ potential liability, 25 damages, or settlement of the Action; 26 (d) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 27 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 28 10 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 12 of 21 Page ID #:152

1 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 2 (e) the court and its personnel; 3 (f) court reporters and their staff; 4 (g) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 5 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 6 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 7 (h) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 8 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 9 (i) during their depositions, witnesses ,and attorneys for witnesses, in the 10 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party 11 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they will 12 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 13 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 14 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 15 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may 16 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except 17 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 18 (j) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 19 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 20 Notwithstanding the foregoing, Confidential Information or Items shall not be 21 disclosed to any current or former employees of, or current or former consultants, 22 advisors, or agents of, a direct competitor of any party named in the litigation. If a 23 Receiving Party is in doubt about whether a particular entity is a direct competitor of 24 a party named in this lawsuit, then before disclosing any Confidential Information or 25 Items to a current or former employee, consultant, advisor, or agent of that entity, the 26 Receiving Party’s counsel must confer with counsel for the Producing Party. 27 28 11 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 13 of 21 Page ID #:153

1 9. WITHHOLDING OF INFORMATION 2 9.1 Non-relevant Attachments. The parties will not produce non-relevant 3 attachments that are attached to relevant emails. When an attachment is withheld, 4 either for privilege or non-responsiveness, the Producing Party shall produce a one- 5 page TIFF image (or PDF if production format dictates) in place of the withheld 6 attachment, correspondingly stating “Attachment Withheld-Privileged” or 7 “Attachment Withheld-Nonresponsive”, and bearing a sequential BATES number 8 within the family BATES range. If any attachment to an email contains responsive 9 content, then the cover email shall be produced for context, regardless of the cover 10 email’s responsiveness. The cover email may be redacted in part to remove sensitive 11 information, as described below. 12 9.2 Redactions. The parties may redact (1) information that is privileged or 13 protected from discovery as work product or by reason of any other applicable 14 privilege or immunity; (2) information subject to non-disclosure obligations imposed 15 by governmental authorities, law or regulation (e.g., protected personal information); 16 and (3) sensitive, non-relevant information, including but not limited to personally 17 identifiable information, trade secrets, or information regarding products, data, or 18 people. Privilege redactions will state, over the redacted portion, “Redacted– 19 Privileged,” and all other redactions will state, “Redacted–Nonresponsive.” 20 Redactions of emails will not redact the names of recipients or the subject line of the 21 emails, unless the subject line is itself privileged or contains the sensitive information 22 described above, in which case only so much of the subject line will be redacted as 23 may be needed. The parties will produce redacted documents in TIFF format (or 24 searchable PDF if production format dictates; or in native format for file types that 25 do not convert well to TIFF/PDF, such as Excel files) with corresponding searchable 26 OCR text and the associated metadata for the document, ensuring the redacted 27 content is fully protected from disclosure. 28 12 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 14 of 21 Page ID #:154

1 2 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 3 IN OTHER LITIGATION 4 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 5 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 6 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 7 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall 8 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 subpoena 11 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of 12 this Stipulated Protective Order; and 13 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued 14 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 15 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served 16 with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 17 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the 18 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 19 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 20 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions 21 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action 22 to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 23 24 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 25 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 26 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 27 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information 28 13 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 15 of 21 Page ID #:155

1 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 2 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 3 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 4 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 5 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 6 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 7 confidential information, then the Party shall: 8 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 9 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement 10 with a Non-Party; 11 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 12 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 13 specific description of the information requested; and 14 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 15 Non-Party, if requested. 16 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 17 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 18 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery 19 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall 20 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 21 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 22 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense 23 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 24 25 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 26 Confidential Material shall only be used for the purpose of litigating the 27 above-captioned lawsuit and may not be used in other lawsuits. 28 14 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 16 of 21 Page ID #:156

1 Persons having knowledge of Confidential Material and information due to 2 their participation in the conduct of this litigation shall use such knowledge and 3 information only as permitted herein, and shall not disclose such Confidential 4 Material, their contents or any portion or summary thereof to any person(s) not 5 involved in the conduct of this litigation. 6 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 7 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 8 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 9 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 10 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 11 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 12 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 13 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 14 15 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 16 PROTECTED MATERIAL 17 The inadvertent production of privileged or work-product protected 18 documents, electronically stored information (ESI) or information is not a waiver of 19 the privilege or protection from discovery in this case or in any other federal or state 20 proceeding. When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 21 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 22 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 23 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure 24 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior 25 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the 26 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or 27 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the 28 15 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 17 of 21 Page ID #:157

1 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted 2 to the court. 3 This Order shall be interpreted to provide the maximum protection allowed by 4 Federal Rule of Evidence (FRE) 502(d) and shall be enforceable and granted full 5 faith and credit in all other state and federal proceedings by

28 U.S. Code § 1738

. In 6 the event of any subsequent conflict of law, the law that is most protective of 7 privilege and work product shall apply. 8 Nothing contained in this Order is intended to or shall serve to limit a party’s 9 right to conduct a review of documents, ESI or information (including metadata) for 10 relevance, responsiveness and/or segregation of privileged and/or protected 11 information before production. 12 If a Receiving Party has reason to believe that a produced document or other 13 information may reasonably be subject to a claim of privilege, then the Receiving 14 Party shall immediately sequester the document or information, cease using the 15 document or information and cease using any work product containing the 16 information, and shall inform the producing party of the beginning BATES number 17 of the document or, if no BATES number is available, shall otherwise inform the 18 Producing Party of the information. 19 A Producing Party must give written notice to any Receiving Party asserting 20 a claim of privilege, work-product protection, or other ground for reclaiming 21 documents or information (a “clawback request”). After a clawback request is 22 received, the Receiving Party shall immediately sequester the document (if not 23 already sequestered) and shall not review or use that document, or any work product 24 containing information taken from that document, for any purpose. The parties shall 25 meet and confer regarding any clawback request. 26 27 28 16 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 18 of 21 Page ID #:158

1 14. MISCELLANEOUS 2 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 3 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 4 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 5 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 6 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 7 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 8 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 9 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 10 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 11 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 12 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material 13 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 14 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 15 16 15. FINAL DISPOSITION 17 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in section 4, within 60 18 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return 19 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in 20 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 21 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected 22 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving 23 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 24 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies 25 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or 26 destroyed, including any copies of Confidential materials provided to persons 27 required to execute the Exhibit A (Affidavit), and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party 28 17 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 19 of 21 Page ID #:159

1 has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format 2 reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this 3 provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion 4 papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, 5 deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant 6 and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such 7 archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this 8 Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). 9 16. VIOLATION 10 Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate 11 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary 12 sanctions. 13

14 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 15

16 17 Dated: January 18, 2022 By: /s/ Stephen M Doniger Stephen M. Doniger, Esq. 18 Kelsey M. Schultz, Esq. 19 DONIGER / BURROUGHS Attorneys for Plaintiff 20

21 Dated: January 18, 2022 By: /s/ Shanen R. Prout 22 Shanen R. Prout, Esq. LAW OFFICE OF SHANEN R. PROUT 23 Attorneys for Defendant Walmart Inc 24 Pursuant to L.R. 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), the e-filer of this document hereby attests that all 25 other signatories listed, on whose behalf this stipulation is submitted, concur in the 26 filing’s content and have authorized the filing. 27

28 18 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 20 of 21 Page ID #:160 9 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 4 || DATED: January 18, 2022 5 . AP aluce Lona koe_ Patricia Donahue 7 || United States Magistrate Judge 10 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 19 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER

Case 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD Document 21 Filed 01/18/22 Page 21 of 21 Page ID #:161

EXHIBIT A 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 2

3 I, ________________________, of _______________________________, 4 declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the 5 Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for 6 the Central District of California on November ___, 2021 in the case of Candace 7 Gomez, et al. v. Walmart, Inc., et al, case no. 2:21-cv-06425-MWF-PD. I agree to 8 comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order 9 and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to 10 sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will 11 not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated 12 Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the 13 provisions of this Order. 14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for 15 the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 16 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 17 termination of this action. I hereby appoint ________________________ of 18 ________________________________________________________________as 19 my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any 20 proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. 21 22 Date: __________________________ 23 City and State where sworn and signed: _____________________________ 24

25 Printed name: ____________________________________ 26 27 Signature: ________________________________ 28 20 STIPULATED PROCTECTIVE ORDER

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