1 JOSHUA S. GOODMAN – State Bar #116576 ZACHARY S. TOLSON – State Bar #242824 2 ANGELIQUE HERNANDEZ – State Bar #349156 GOODMAN NEUMAN HAMILTON LLP 3 100 Bush Street, Suite 1800 San Francisco, California 94104 4 Telephone: (415) 705-0400 Facsimile: (415) 705-0411 5 Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

6 Attorneys for Defendant HOME DEPOT U.S.A., INC. 7 SARK OHANIAN – State Bar # 208905 8 EDWARD HOVANNISIAN – State Bar # 340968 CARPENTER & ZUCKEMAN 9 8827 West Olympic Boulevard Beverly Hills, CA 90211-3613 10 Telephone: (310) 273-1230 Emails: [email protected]; [email protected] 11

12 Attorneys for Plaintiff, ANNE ARTINO 13 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 14 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 15 16 ANNE ARTINO, an Individual, Case No. 1:22-CV-01588-TLN-KJN 17 Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 18 vs. 19 HOME DEPOT USA, INC., a 20 Delaware Corporation; KING OF CENTRAL VALLEY II, L.P., a 21 California Limited Partnership; THE VIGORO CORPORATION, a 22 Delaware Corporation; and DOES 1 to DOES 50, Inclusive, 23 Defendants. 24 25 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS Goodman Neuman 26 Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are likely to involve production of Hamilton LLP 100 S uB itu es h 1 8S 0t 0re et 27 confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public San Francisco, CA 94104 1 warranted. More specifically, this will include the production of HOME DEPOT U.S.A., 2 INC.’s (hereinafter “Home Depot”) internal policies and procedures. Home Depot spends 3 significant time developing its policies and procedures and considers them proprietary and 4 trade secret and not intended for dissemination to the public. Accordingly, the parties 5 hereby stipulate to and petition the court to enter the following Stipulated Protective 6 Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all 7 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public 8 disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to 9 confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further 10 acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order 11 does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rules 140, 12 141 and 141.1 set forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be 13 applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 14 2. DEFINITIONS 15 2.1 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of 16 information or items under this Order. 17 2.2 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it 18 is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under 19 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c). 20 2.3 Counsel (without qualifier): Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel 21 (as well as their support staff). 22 2.4 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 23 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 24 2.5 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the 25 medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other G No eo ud mm aa nn 26 things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in Hamilton LLP 100 S uB itu es h 1 8S 0t 0re et 27 disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. San Francisco, CA 94104 1 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an 2 expert witness or as a consultant in this action. 3 2.7 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this action. 4 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel. 5 2.8 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 6 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 7 2.9 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to 8 this action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this action and have appeared 9 in this action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared 10 on behalf of that party. 11 2.10 Party: any party to this action, including all of its officers, directors, 12 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 13 support staffs). 14 2.11 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 15 Discovery Material in this action. 16 2.12 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 17 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 18 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and 19 their employees and subcontractors. 20 2.13 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated 21 as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 22 2.14 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 23 from a Producing Party. 24 3. SCOPE 25 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected G No eo ud mm aa nn 26 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Hamilton LLP 100 S uB itu es h 1 8S 0t 0re et 27 Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected San Francisco, CA 94104 1 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. However, the protections conferred by this 2 Stipulation and Order do not cover the following information: (a) any information that is 3 in the public domain at the time of disclosure to a Receiving Party or becomes part of the 4 public domain after its disclosure to a Receiving Party as a result of publication not 5 involving a violation of this Order, including becoming part of the public record through 6 trial or otherwise; and (b) any information known to the Receiving Party prior to the 7 disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the disclosure from a source who 8 obtained the information lawfully and under no obligation of confidentiality to the 9 Designating Party. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by a separate 10 agreement or order. 11 4. DURATION 12 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 13 imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in 14 writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later 15 of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) 16 final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, 17 remands, trials, or reviews of this action, including the time limits for filing any motions 18 or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law. 19 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 20 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each 21 Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order 22 must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the 23 appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only those 24 parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify – so 25 that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for which G No eo ud mm aa nn 26 protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. Hamilton LLP 100 S uB itu es h 1 8S 0t 0re et 27 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that San Francisco, CA 94104 1 to unnecessarily encumber or delay the case development process or to impose 2 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) expose the Designating Party to 3 sanctions. 4 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 5 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 6 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation. 7 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this 8 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or 9 ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order 10 must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced. 11 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 12 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but 13 excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the 14 Producing Party affix the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains protected 15 material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the 16 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making 17 appropriate markings in the margins). A Party or Non-Party that makes original 18 documents or materials available for inspection need not designate them for protection 19 until after the inspecting Party has indicated which material it would like copied and 20 produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material made 21 available for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party 22 has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must 23 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. 24 Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the 25 “CONFIDENTIAL” legend to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a Goodman Neuman 26 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party Hamilton LLP 100 S uB itu es h 1 8S 0t 0re et 27 also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings San Francisco, CA 94104 1 (b) for testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings, that 2 the Designating Party identify on the record, before the close of the deposition, hearing, or 3 other proceeding, all protected testimony. 4 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any 5 other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of 6 the container or containers in which the information or item is stored the legend 7 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information or item warrant 8 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 9 portion(s). 10 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure 11 to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the 12 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon 13 timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to 14 assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 15 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 16 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation 17 of confidentiality at any time. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s 18 confidentiality designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial unfairness, 19 unnecessary economic burdens, or a significant disruption or delay of the litigation, a 20 Party does not waive its right to challenge a confidentiality designation by electing not to 21 mount a challenge promptly after the original designation is disclosed. 22 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution 23 process by providing written notice of each designation it is challenging and describing 24 the basis for each challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to whether a challenge has been made, 25 the written notice must recite that the challenge to confidentiality is being made in G No eo ud mm aa nn 26 accordance with this specific paragraph of the Protective Order. The parties shall attempt Hamilton LLP 100 S uB itu es h 1 8S 0t 0re et 27 to resolve each challenge in good faith and must begin the process by conferring directly San Francisco, CA 94104 1 days of the date of service of notice. In conferring, the Challenging Party must explain the 2 basis for its belief that the confidentiality designation was not proper and must give the 3 Designating Party an opportunity to review the designated material, to reconsider the 4 circumstances, and, if no change in designation is offered, to explain the basis for the 5 chosen designation. A Challenging Party may proceed to the next stage of the challenge 6 process only if it has engaged in this meet and confer process first or establishes that the 7 Designating Party is unwilling to participate in the meet and confer process in a timely 8 manner. 9 6.3 Judicial Intervention. If the Parties cannot resolve a challenge without court 10 intervention, the Designating Party shall file and serve a motion to retain confidentiality 11 under Civil Local Rules 140, 141, and 141.1 (and in compliance with Civil Local Rule 12 230, if applicable) within 21 days of the initial notice of challenge or within 14 days of the 13 parties agreeing that the meet and confer process will not resolve their dispute, whichever 14 is earlier. Each such motion must be accompanied by a competent declaration affirming 15 that the movant has complied with the meet and confer requirements imposed in the 16 preceding paragraph. Failure by the Designating Party to make such a motion including 17 the required declaration within 21 days (or 14 days, if applicable) shall automatically 18 waive the confidentiality designation for each challenged designation. In addition, the 19 Challenging Party may file a motion challenging a confidentiality designation at any time 20 if there is good cause for doing so, including a challenge to the designation of a deposition 21 transcript or any portions thereof. Any motion brought pursuant to this provision must be 22 accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the 23 meet and confer requirements imposed by the preceding paragraph. 24 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the 25 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to Goodman Neuman 26 harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Hamilton LLP 100 S uB itu es h 1 8S 0t 0re et 27 Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived the San Francisco, CA 94104 1 above, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to 2 which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the court rules on the 3 challenge. 4 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 5 7.1 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 case 7 only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this litigation. Such Protected 8 Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions 9 described in this Order. When the litigation has been terminated, a Receiving Party must 10 comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 11 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and 12 in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under this 13 Order. 14 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise 15 ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party 16 may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 17 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this action, as well as 18 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to 19 disclose the information for this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and 20 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A; 21 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the 22 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who 23 have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 24 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is 25 reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Goodman Neuman 26 Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); Hamilton LLP 100 S uB itu es h 1 8S 0t 0re et 27 (d) the court and its personnel; San Francisco, CA 94104 1 jurors, and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this 2 litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 3 (Exhibit A); 4 (f) during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is 5 reasonably necessary and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be 6 Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the 7 court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal 8 Protected Material must be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be 9 disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order. 10 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian 11 or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information. 12 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN 13 OTHER LITIGATION 14 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that 15 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as 16 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 17 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall 18 include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 19 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue 20 in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is 21 subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated 22 Protective Order; and 23 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the 24 Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 25 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the Goodman Neuman 26 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as Hamilton LLP 100 S uB itu es h 1 8S 0t 0re et 27 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or San Francisco, CA 94104 1 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of 2 its confidential material – and nothing in these provisions should be construed as 3 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this action to disobey a lawful directive 4 from another court. 5 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 6 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 7 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party 8 in this action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Non- 9 Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided 10 by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party 11 from seeking additional protections. 12 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce a 13 Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an 14 agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, 15 then the Party shall: 16 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that some or 17 all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party; 18 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective Order 19 in this litigation, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of 20 the information requested; and 21 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party. 22 (c) If the Non-Party fails to object or seek a protective order from this court within 23 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may 24 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If 25 the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any Goodman Neuman 26 information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement Hamilton LLP 100 S uB itu es h 1 8S 0t 0re et 27 with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the San Francisco, CA 94104 1 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 writing 6 the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all 7 unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom 8 unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request such 9 person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is 10 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 inadvertently 14 produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of 15 the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). 16 This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e- 17 discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to 18 Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the 19 effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client 20 privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the 21 stipulated protective order submitted to the court. 22 12. MISCELLANEOUS 23 12.1 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 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this G No eo ud mm aa nn 26 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing Hamilton LLP 100 S uB itu es h 1 8S 0t 0re et 27 or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated San Francisco, CA 94104 1 evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 2 12.3 Filing Protected Material. Without a court order a Party may not file in the 3 public record in this action any Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal 4 any Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rules 140, 141 and 141.1. 5 Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the 6 sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. If a Receiving Party’s request to file 7 Protected Material under seal pursuant to Civil Local Rules 140, 141 and 141.1 is denied 8 by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record 9 pursuant to Civil Local Rules 140, 141 and 141.1, unless otherwise instructed by the court. 10 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 11 Within 60 days after the final disposition of this action, as defined in paragraph 4, 12 each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy 13 such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, 14 abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of 15 the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the 16 Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the 17 same 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 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, attorney 24 work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain 25 Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material Goodman Neuman 26 remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). Hamilton LLP 100 S uB itu es h 1 8S 0t 0re et 27 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. San Francisco, CA 94104 1 ECF CERTIFICATION 2 I, Edward Hovannisian, certify that the content of this document (Stipulated 3 || Protective Order) is acceptable to the undersigned counsel of record to affix my 4 || electronic signature hereto. DATED: March 8, 2024 CARPENTER & ZUCKERMAN

7 By: 8 EDWARD HOVANNISIAN SARK OHANIAN 9 Attorneys for Plaintiff ANNE ARTINO 10 11 12 ECF CERTIFICATION B I, Angelique Hernandez, certify that the content of this document (Stipulated 14 Protective Order) is acceptable to the undersigned counsel of record to affix my 15 electronic signature hereto. 16|| DATED: February 26, 2024 GOODMAN NEUMAN HAMILTON LLP 17 18 : By: or 19 JOSHUA S$. GOODMAN ZACHARY S. TOLSON 20 ANGELIQUE HERNANDEZ Attorneys for Defendants 21 HOME DEPOT U.S.A., INC. 22 23 24 25 26 LLP

705-0400 28 472,

ORDER 2 The court has reviewed the parties’ stipulated protective order. (See ECF No. 23). The 3 stipulation comports with the relevant authorities and the court’s applicable local rule. See L.R. || 141.1. The court APPROVES the protective order, subject to the following clarification. The 5 || Local Rules state that once an action is closed, “unless otherwise ordered, the court will not 6 Il retain jurisdiction over enforcement of the terms of any protective order filed in that action.” L.R. 141.1(f); see also, e.g., MD Helicopters, Inc. v. Aerometals, Inc.,

8 (E.D. Cal., Feb. 03, 2017) (noting that courts in the district generally do not agree to retain 9 jurisdiction for disputes concerning protective orders after closure of the case). Thus, the court 10 || will not retain jurisdiction over this protective order once the case is closed. 1 ge □□ oe Dated: March 8, 2024 Carp ft lz — CAROLYN K. DELANEY 13 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

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