Eljon Lako v. Loandepot, Inc.

United States District Court for the Central District of California

Eljon Lako v. Loandepot, Inc.

Trial Court Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 8 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 SOUTHERN DIVISION 10 ARTHUR GARY LAFRANO and ADAM CASE NO. 8:21-cv-01449-JLS-JDE 11 DOBAN, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 12 ORDER Plaintiffs, 13 v. 14 LOANDEPOT, INC.; ANTHONY HSIEH; 15 PATRICK FLANAGAN; NICOLE CARRILLO; ANDREW C. DODSON; 16 JOHN C. DORMAN; BRIAN P. GOLSON; DAWN LEPORE; GOLDMAN SACHS & 17 CO. LLC; BOFA SECURTIES, INC.; CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (USA) 18 LLC; MORGAN STANLEY & CO, LLC; BARCLAYS CAPITAL INC.; CITIGROUP 19 GLOBAL MARKETS INC.; JEFFRIES LLC; UBS SECURITIES LLC; WILLIAM 20 BLAIR & COMPANY, L.L.C.; JMP SECURITIES LLC; PIPER SANDLER & 21 CO.; RAYMOND JAMES & ASSOCIATES, INC.; NOMURA 22 SECURITIES INTERNATIONAL, INC.; and AMERIVET SECURITIES, INC., 23 Defendants. 24

25 26 Based on the parties’ Stipulation (Dkt. 99) and for good cause shown, the Court 27 finds and orders as follows. 28 1 1. 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 disclosure 4 and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be warranted. 5 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the 6 following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does 7 not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the 8 protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited 9 information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable 10 legal principles. 11 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 12 This action is likely to involve confidential and proprietary material and 13 information, including third parties’ financial records and other personal information; 14 Plaintiffs’ financial records and other personal information; Defendants’ confidential 15 business or financial information, information regarding confidential business practices 16 and policies, or other confidential research, development, commercial, financial, 17 technical, and/or proprietary information (including information implicating privacy 18 rights of third parties); and information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, 19 or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or 20 federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite 21 the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over 22 confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are 23 entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable 24 necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address 25 the handling of protected materials at the end of the litigation, and to serve the ends of 26 justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent 27 of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons 28 and that nothing be so designated without a good-faith belief that it has been 1 maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should 2 not be part of the public record of this case. 3 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE 4 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3 below, that this 5 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under 6 seal. Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the 7 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file 8 material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access 9 to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive 10 motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. 11 City and County of Honolulu,

447 F.3d 1172, 1176

(9th Cir. 2006); Phillips v. Gen. 12 Motors Corp.,

307 F.3d 1206

, 1210–11 (9th Cir. 2002); Makar-Welbon v. Sony 13 Electrics, Inc.,

187 F.R.D. 576, 577

(E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective 14 orders require good cause showing). And a specific showing of good cause or 15 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification must be 16 made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The 17 parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as “CONFIDENTIAL” 18 or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” does not—without 19 the submission of competent evidence by declaration establishing that the material 20 sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise 21 protectable—constitute good cause. 22 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 23 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief 24 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See 25 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n,

605 F.3d 665

, 677–79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item 26 or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal, 27 the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific 28 facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence 1 supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by 2 declaration. 3 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its 4 entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 5 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only 6 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be 7 filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should 8 include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 9 4. DEFINITIONS 10 4.1 Action: Lako v. loanDepot, Inc., et al., Case No. 8:21-cv-01449-JLS- 11 JDE. 12 4.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation 13 of information or items under this Order. 14 4.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 15 how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection 16 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause 17 Statement. 18 4.4 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 19 Information or Items: extremely sensitive “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items 20 (regardless of how they are generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that 21 qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), disclosure of which 22 to a Party or Non-Party would create a substantial risk of serious harm and/or 23 competitive or business injury to the Producing Party (or Non-Party) that could not be 24 avoided by less restrictive means. “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ 25 EYES ONLY” Information or Items include, but are not limited to, sensitive, highly 26 confidential, non-public information consisting of either trade secrets or proprietary or 27 other highly confidential business, financial, regulatory, or strategic information, as 28 well as sensitive personal information regarding individuals (including but not limited 1 to social security numbers, financial account numbers, credit card numbers, mothers’ 2 maiden names, passwords, driver’s license numbers or state identification numbers, 3 dates of birth, home addresses, personal e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers of 4 persons other than Lead Plaintiffs). 5 4.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and In-House Counsel (as well as 6 their support staff). 7 4.6 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 8 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 9 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 10 ONLY.” 11 4.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of 12 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. 15 4.8 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 an 17 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 18 4.9 In-House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this 19 Action. In-House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other 20 outside counsel. 21 4.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 22 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 23 4.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party 24 to this Action but are retained to represent a party to this Action and have appeared in 25 this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that has appeared on 26 behalf of that party (including support staff). 27 4.12 Party: any party to this Action, including officers, directors, employees, 28 consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support staffs). 1 4.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 2 Discovery Material in this Action. 3 4.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 4 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 5 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and 6 their employees and subcontractors. 7 4.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 8 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ 9 EYES ONLY.” 10 4.15 Receiving Party: a Party, or a Non-Party who has signed the 11 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), that receives Disclosure 12 or Discovery Material from a Producing Party. 13 5. SCOPE 14 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected 15 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from 16 Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected 17 Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their 18 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 19 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial 20 judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of Protected 21 Material at trial. 22 6. DURATION 23 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 24 imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise 25 in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be 26 the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this action, with or without 27 prejudice; or (2) entry of final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of 28 all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this action, including the 1 expiration of time limits pursuant to applicable law for pursuing such appeals, 2 rehearings, remands, trials, or review. 3 However, if this case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 4 CONFIDENTIAL or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY or 5 maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced as an exhibit at trial 6 becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the public, 7 including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to 8 proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 9 447 F.3d at 1180–81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents 10 produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related 11 documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do 12 not extend beyond the commencement of the trial, without prejudice to a Party 13 requesting CONFIDENTIAL or HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 14 ONLY treatment of certain information at trial. 15 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 16 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 17 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this 18 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies 19 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection 20 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that 21 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for 22 which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this 23 Order. 24 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 25 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 26 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 27 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party 28 to sanctions. 1 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 2 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 3 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 4 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this 5 Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material that 6 qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the 7 material is disclosed or produced. 8 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 9 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 10 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 11 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix, at a minimum, the legend 12 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 13 to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a 14 page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the 15 protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 16 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 17 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 18 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before 19 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed 20 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” After the inspecting 21 Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party 22 must determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this 23 Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix 24 the “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 25 ONLY” legend to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the 26 material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly 27 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 28 1 (b) for protected testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party 2 either (1) identifies on the record or (2) identifies in writing within 30 days of receipt 3 of the final transcript that the transcript shall be treated as “CONFIDENTIAL” OR 4 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 5 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and 6 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 7 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 8 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 9 ONLY,” as applicable. If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 10 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 11 portion(s). 12 7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 13 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the 14 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon 15 timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to 16 assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 17 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 18 8.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 19 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling 20 Order. 21 8.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 22 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq. 23 8.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a joint 24 stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2. 25 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge shall be on the 26 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., 27 to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose 28 the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or 1 withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the 2 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing 3 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 4 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 5 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 6 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 7 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action (or the 8 related stockholder derivative actions, including In re loanDepot, Inc. Stockholder 9 Derivative Litigation, Case No. 2:21-cv-08173-JLS-JDE, and In re loanDepot, Inc. 10 Derivative Litigation, Case No. 1-22-cv-00320-CFC). Such Protected Material may be 11 disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this 12 Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the 13 provisions of section 15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 14 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 15 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 16 authorized under this Order. 17 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise 18 ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving 19 Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 20 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 21 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 22 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 23 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including In-House Counsel) of 24 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 25 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 26 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 27 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 28 (d) the court and its personnel; 1 (e) court reporters and their staff; 2 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 3 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 4 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 5 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 6 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 7 (h) during their depositions, witnesses and attorneys for witnesses in the 8 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party 9 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) the 10 witness will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 11 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed 12 by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition 13 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately 14 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted 15 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 16 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel, 17 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 18 9.3 Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 19 ONLY” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered or permitted in writing by the 20 Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 21 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” only to: 22 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 23 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 24 necessary to disclose the information for this Action and who have signed the 25 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 26 (b) 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 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 1 (c) the court and its personnel; 2 (d) court reporters and their staff; 3 (e) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 4 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 5 (f) during their depositions, witnesses and attorneys for witnesses in the 6 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party 7 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) the 8 witness will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 9 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed 10 by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition 11 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately 12 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted 13 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 14 (g) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel, 15 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 16 For the avoidance of doubt, disclosure of information or items designated 17 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” may not be disclosed 18 to any person or entity who, on and after the date this Action began, is or was a named 19 plaintiff to this Action. 20 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN 21 OTHER LITIGATION 22 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that 23 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 24 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 25 that Party must: 26 (a) within five (5) days notify in writing the Designating Party. Such 27 notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 28 1 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 2 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena 3 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of 4 this Stipulated Protective Order; and 5 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 6 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the 7 Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena 8 or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as 9 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 10 before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless 11 the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall 12 bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its Protected 13 Material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or 14 encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from 15 another court. 16 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED 17 IN THIS LITIGATION 18 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 19 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 20 CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by 21 Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief 22 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting 23 a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 24 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 25 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 26 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 27 confidential information, then the Party shall: 28 1 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non- 2 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 3 agreement with a Non-Party; 4 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 5 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 6 specific description of the information requested; and 7 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 8 Non-Party, if requested. 9 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 10 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 11 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery 12 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not 13 produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 14 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 15 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense 16 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 17 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 18 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 19 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 20 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing 21 the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve 22 all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to 23 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) 24 request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment an Agreement to Be 25 Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A. 26 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 27 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 28 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 1 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 2 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure 3 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior 4 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), disclosure 5 (including production) of information that a Party or Non-Party later claims should not 6 have been disclosed because of a privilege, including, but not limited to, the attorney- 7 client privilege or work product doctrine (“Privileged Information”), shall not by itself 8 constitute a waiver of, or estoppel to, any claim of attorney-client privilege, attorney 9 work product, or other ground for withholding disclosure (including production) as to 10 which the Producing Party would be entitled in this Action or any other action or 11 proceeding. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B) and Federal Rule 12 of Evidence 502(e), the Receiving Party hereby agrees to return, sequester, or destroy 13 any Privileged Information disclosed or produced by the Producing Party upon request. 14 If the Receiving Party reasonably believes that Privileged Information has been 15 inadvertently disclosed or produced to it, it shall promptly notify the Producing Party 16 and sequester such information until instructions as to disposition are received. The 17 failure of any Party to provide notice or instructions under this Paragraph shall not by 18 itself constitute a waiver of, or estoppel to, any claim of attorney-client privilege, 19 attorney work product, or other ground for withholding disclosure (including 20 production) as to which the Producing Party would be entitled in this Action or any 21 other action or proceeding. 22 14. MISCELLANEOUS 23 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 24 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 25 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 26 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 27 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 28 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 14.3 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 may 5 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific 6 Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied 7 by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record 8 unless otherwise instructed by the court. 9 15. FINAL DISPOSITION 10 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6, 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 this 13 section, “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 Party 16 must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person 17 or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies (by 18 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed 19 and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, 20 compilations, summaries, or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the 21 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an 22 archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, 23 legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, 24 attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials 25 contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute 26 Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 6 27 (DURATION). 28 1] 16. VIOLATION 2 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 4 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 6 je de 7|| DATED: April 07, 2023 g JOB D. EARLY : : 9 nited States Magistrate Judge

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 17

1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, ___________________________ [print or type full name], of 4 _________________________________ [print or type full address], declare under 5 penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated 6 Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central 7 District of California on April 7, 2023, in the case of Lako v. loanDepot, Inc., et al., 8 Case No. 8:21-CV-01449-JLS-JDE. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the 9 terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, and I understand and acknowledge that 10 failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of 11 contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information 12 or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except 13 in strict compliance with the 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. 18 I hereby appoint _______________________ [print or type full name] of 19 __________________________________ [print or type full address and telephone 20 number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or 21 any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. 22 Date: ________________________________ 23 City and State where sworn and signed: ______________________________ 24 Printed name: ______________________________ 25 Signature: _________________________________ 26 27 28

Reference

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