1 SHANNON ERNSTER (SBN 264940) [email protected] 2 HELA VAKNIN (SBN 342083) [email protected] 3 GORDON REES SCULLY MANSUKHANI, LLP 633 West Fifth Street, 52nd Floor 4 Los Angeles, California 90071 Telephone: (213) 576-5000 5 Facsimile: (213) 680-4470 6 Attorneys for Defendants AETNA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY and DOCS GLOBAL INC. GROUP 7 HEATH PLAN 8 MINA HAKAKIAN (SBN 237666) 9 [email protected] HAKAKIAN WILLIAMS LAW GROUP PC 10 1541 Westwood Blvd., Second Floor Los Angeles, California 90024 11 Tel.: (310) 982-2733 12 Attorneys for Plaintiff BRAND TARZANA SURGICAL 13 INSTITUTE, INC. 14 15 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 16 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 17 BRAND TARZANA CASE NO. 2:25-cv-04796-SVW (BFMx) 18 SURGICAL INSTITUTE, INC., Judge: Stephen V. Wilson a California Corporation, Magistrate Judge: 19 Brianna Fuller Mircheff Plaintiff, 20 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER1 v. 21 AETNA LIFE INSURANCE 22 COMPANY, a Connecticut Corporation; DOCS GLOBAL 23 INC. GROUP HEALTH PLAN, 24 Defendants. 25 26 27 1 1. INTRODUCTION 2 1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 3 Discovery in this action will involve the production of confidential, 4 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public 5 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may 6 be warranted. Accordingly, Plaintiff Brand Tarzana Surgical Institute, Inc. 7 (“Plaintiff”) and Defendants Aetna Life Insurance Company (“Aetna”) and DOCS 8 Global Inc. Group Health Plan (“DOCS Global”) (collectively, “Defendants”) 9 (Plaintiff and Defendants are collectively referred to herein as the “Parties”) hereby 10 stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. 11 This Protective Order shall govern any record of information produced in this action 12 and designated pursuant to this Protective Order, including all designated deposition 13 testimony, all designated testimony taken at a hearing or other proceeding, all 14 designated deposition exhibits, interrogatory answers, admissions, documents and 15 other discovery materials, whether produced informally or in response to 16 interrogatories, requests for admissions, requests for production of documents or 17 other formal methods of discovery. 18 This Protective Order shall also govern any designated record of information 19 produced in this action pursuant to required disclosures under any federal procedural 20 rule or local rule of the Court and any supplementary disclosures thereto. 21 This Protective Order shall apply to the Parties and to any nonparty from 22 whom discovery may be sought who desires the protection of this Protective Order. 23 The Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 24 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 25 under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed 26 and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court 27 to file material under seal. 1 1.2 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENTThis action arises out of a dispute 2 between Plaintiff and Defendants regarding payment for facility medical services 3 rendered by Plaintiff to a single patient (“Patient”), who was enrolled in a health 4 care plan self-insured by DOCS Global and administered by Aetna. Discovery in 5 this action will involve the disclosure of private information of Plaintiff Gomez, 6 including personal health information and information regarding the medical 7 services provided, and trade secrets, and other valuable commercial, financial, 8 technical and/or proprietary information for which special protection from public 9 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is 10 warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information may include, 11 among other things, confidential business or financial information, information 12 regarding confidential business practices, information implicating privacy rights of 13 third parties, information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which 14 may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal 15 statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. 16 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 17 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 18 protect information the Parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 19 Parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for 20 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and 21 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this 22 matter. It is the intent of the Parties that information will not be designated as 23 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing will be so designated without a 24 good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, 25 and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 26 / / / 27 / / / 1 2. DEFINITIONS 2 2.1 Action: Brand Tarzana Surgical Institute, Inc. v. Aetna life Insurance 3 Company, et al., Central District of California, Case No. 2:25-cv-04796-SVW- 4 BFM. 5 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 6 designation of information or items under this Order. 7 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 8 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 9 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in 10 the Good Cause Statement. 11 The term Confidential Information shall include confidential or proprietary 12 technical, scientific, financial, business, health, or medical information designated as 13 “CONFIDENTIAL” by the producing party. 14 The term “Confidential Health Information” shall constitute a subset of 15 Confidential Information, and shall be designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” and 16 subject to all other terms and conditions governing the treatment of Confidential 17 Information. Confidential Health Information shall mean information supplied in 18 any form, or any portion thereof, that identifies an individual or subscriber in any 19 manner and relates to the past, present, or future care, services, or supplies relating 20 to the physical or mental health or condition of such individual or subscriber, the 21 provision of health care to such individual or subscriber, or the past, present, or 22 future payment for the provision of health care to such individual or subscriber. 23 Confidential Health Information shall include, but is not limited to, claim data, 24 claim forms, grievances, appeals, or other documents or records that contain any 25 patient health information required to be kept confidential under any state or federal 26 law, including 45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and 164 promulgated pursuant to the Health 27 Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (see

& 1 160.103), and the following subscriber, patient, or member identifiers: 2 a. names; 3 b. all geographic subdivisions smaller than a State, including street 4 address, city, county, precinct, and zip code; 5 c. all elements of dates (except year) for dates directly related to an 6 individual, including birth date, admission date, discharge date, age, and date 7 of death; 8 d. telephone numbers; 9 e. fax numbers; 10 f. electronic mail addresses; 11 g. social security numbers; 12 h. medical record numbers; 13 i. health plan beneficiary numbers; 14 j. account numbers; 15 k. certificate/license numbers; 16 l. vehicle identifiers and serial numbers, including license plate numbers; 17 m. device identifiers and serial numbers; 18 n. web universal resource locators (“URLs”); 19 o. internet protocol (“IP”) address numbers; 20 p. biometric identifiers, including finger and voice prints; 21 q. full face photographic images and any comparable images; and/or 22 r. any other unique identifying number, characteristic, or code. 23 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 24 their support staff). 25 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 26 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 27 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 1 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 2 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 3 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things) that are produced or 4 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 5 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 6 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 7 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 8 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a Party to this Action. 9 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 10 counsel. 11 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or 12 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 13 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a 14 Party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a Party to this Action and 15 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that Party or are affiliated with a law firm 16 that has appeared on behalf of that Party, and includes support staff. 17 2.11 Party: any Party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 18 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 19 support staffs). 20 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 21 Discovery Material in this Action. 22 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 23 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 24 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 25 and their employees and subcontractors. 26 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 27 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES 1 ONLY.” 2 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 3 Material from a Producing Party. 4 5 3. SCOPE 6 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 7 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 8 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 9 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 10 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 11 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 12 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 13 14 4. DURATION 15 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 16 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced 17 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all 18 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by 19 specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance 20 of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” 21 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 22 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the 23 terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial. 24 25 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 26 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 27 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection 1 under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material 2 that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must 3 designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or 4 written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, 5 documents, items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not 6 swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 7 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 8 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 9 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 10 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 11 Party to sanctions. 12 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 13 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 14 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 15 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 16 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 17 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 18 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 19 produced. 20 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 21 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 22 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 23 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 24 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 25 contains protected material, including Confidential Health Information. If only a 26 portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also 27 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings 1 in the margins). 2 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 3 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 4 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and 5 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 6 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the 7 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which 8 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, 9 before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the 10 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a 11 portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also 12 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings 13 in the margins). 14 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies 15 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the 16 deposition all protected testimony. 17 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and 18 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on 19 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the 20 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information 21 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the 22 protected portion(s). 23 (d) for information disclosed at a hearing or trial that the Designating Party 24 requests the Judge, at the time the information is proffered or adduced, to receive the 25 information only in the presence of those persons designated to receive such 26 information and Court personnel, and to designate the transcript appropriately. 27 A Party may also designate Confidential Information as “CONFIDENTIAL - 1 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Confidential Information marked as 2 “CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” may be used solely for the 3 purpose of conducting this Litigation and not for any other purpose whatsoever. 4 The parties may designate Confidential Information as “CONFIDENTIAL - 5 ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” in the same manner set forth above with an added 6 reference to “ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Information designated 7 “CONFIDENTIAL—ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” may be viewed by, copied by, 8 exhibited to, or disclosed to only the persons described in Paragraph 7.2(a), (d), (i), 9 and (j) and Retained Experts and Consultants, all subject to the requirements of 10 Paragraph 7.1. “Retained Experts and Consultants” means third party experts or 11 consultants actually retained by a party, and does not include purely percipient 12 experts or party employees. 13 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 14 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 15 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 16 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 17 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 18 Order. 19 20 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 21 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 22 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 23 Scheduling Order. 24 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 25 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. 26 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 27 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 1 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 2 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating 3 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall 4 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 5 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the 6 challenge. 7 8 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 9 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 10 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 11 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action and for no 12 other action. A Receiving Party shall hold such information received from the 13 disclosing Party in confidence, shall not use it for any business or other commercial 14 purpose, shall not use it for filing or prosecuting any patent application (of any type) 15 or patent reissue or reexamination request, and shall not disclose it to any person, 16 except as hereinafter provided. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to 17 the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When 18 the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions 19 of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 20 All documents, including attorney notes and abstracts, which contain another 21 party’s Confidential Information, shall be handled as if they were designated 22 pursuant to paragraph 5. 23 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 24 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 25 authorized under this Order. 26 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 27 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 1 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 2 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 3 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 4 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record (excluding experts and 5 investigators) to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this 6 Action; 7 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 8 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 9 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 10 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 11 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 12 (d) the Court and its personnel; 13 (e) court reporters and their staff; 14 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 15 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 16 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 17 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 18 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 19 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the 20 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party 21 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they 22 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 23 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 24 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 25 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may 26 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except 27 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; 1 (i) Stenographers and videographers engaged to transcribe or record 2 depositions conducted in this action provided that such individuals agree in writing, 3 in the form attached at Appendix A, to be bound by the terms of this Order; and 4 (j) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 5 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions, 6 provided that such individuals agree in writing, in the form attached at Appendix A, 7 to be bound by the terms of this Order. 8 9 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 10 IN OTHER LITIGATION 11 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 12 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 13 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 14 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 15 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 16 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 17 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 18 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include 19 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 20 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 21 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 22 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 23 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 24 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the 25 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 26 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 27 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions 1 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action 2 to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 3 4 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 5 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 6 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 7 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information 8 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 9 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 10 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 11 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 12 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 13 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 14 confidential information, then the Party will: 15 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 16 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 17 agreement with a Non-Party;(2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the 18 Stipulated Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a 19 reasonably specific description of the information requested; and 20 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 21 Non-Party, if requested. 22 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 23 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 24 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery 25 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall 26 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 27 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 1 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and 2 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 3 4 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 5 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 6 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 7 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 8 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 9 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 10 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 11 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 12 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 13 14 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 15 PROTECTED MATERIAL 16 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 17 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 18 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 19 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever 20 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production 21 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and 22 (e), insofar as the Parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a 23 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work 24 product protection, the Parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated 25 protective order submitted to the court. 26 / / / 27 / / / 1 12. MISCELLANEOUS 2 12.1 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 12.2 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 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 10 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material 11 may 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 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 17 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 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 and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, 27 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any 1 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to 2 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing 3 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert 4 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such 5 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or 6 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in 7 Section 4 (DURATION). 8 9 14. VIOLATION 10 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures 11 including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions, 12 at the discretion of the Court. 13 14 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 15 Dated: November 10, 2025 GORDON REES SCULLY 16 MANSUKHANI, LLP 17 18 By: /s/ Shannon L. Ernster Shannon L. Ernster 19 Hela Vaknin Attorneys for Defendants 20 AETNA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY and DOCS GLOBAL INC. 21 GROUP HEATH PLAN 22 23 Dated: November 10__, 2025 HAKAKIAN WILLIAMS LAW GROUP PC 24 25 By: /s/ Mina Hakakian 26 Mina Hakakian Attorneys for Plaintiff 27 BRAND TARZANA SURGICAL FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, the Stipulated Protective Order (ECF 27) is approve: 2 || IT IS SO ORDERED.

4 DATED: November 13, 2025 eH ; Magistrate Judge 6 7 8 9 10 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 18

1 2 EXHIBIT A 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 4 5 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of 6 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury 7 that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that 8 was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California 9 on [date] in the case: Brand Tarzana Surgical Institute, Inc. v. Aetna life Insurance 10 Company, et al., Central District of California, Case No. 2:25-cv-04796-SVW- 11 BFM. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated 12 Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could 13 expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly 14 promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject 15 to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance 16 with the provisions of this Order. 17 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 18 for the Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated 19 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of 20 this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full 21 name] of _______________________________________ [print or type full address 22 and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection 23 with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated 24 Protective Order. 25 Date: ______________________________________ 26 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 27 1 Printed name: _______________________________ 2 3 Signature: __________________________________ 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27