Mala Ashok v. Citibank N.A., et al.

United States District Court for the Eastern District of California

Mala Ashok v. Citibank N.A., et al.

Trial Court Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 g UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 MALA ASHOK, Case No. 2:25-CV-01032-TLN-CSK Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MODIFIED STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER V. 13 (ECF No. 10) 14 CITIBANK N.A., et al., 15 Defendants. 16 The Court has reviewed the parties’ stipulated protective order below (ECF No. 10) 17 |) and finds it comports with the relevant authorities and the Court’s Local Rule. See L.R. 18 || 141.1. The Court APPROVES the protective order, subject to the following clarification. 19 The Court’s Local Rules indicate that once an action is closed, it “will not retain 20 || jurisdiction over enforcement of the terms of any protective order filed in that action.” L.R. 21 141 .1(f); see Bylin Heating Sys., Inc. v. Thermal Techs., Inc.,

2012 WL 13237584

, at *2 22 (E.D. Cal. Oct. 29, 2012) (noting that courts in the district generally do not retain 23 || jurisdiction for disputes concerning protective orders after closure of the case). Thus, the 24 || Court will not retain jurisdiction over this protective order once the case is closed. 25 Dated: November 24, 2025 eV - s . 7 GHI SOO KIM UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 28 4, asho1032.25

1 Jsutrliicak Bla.n Sdt@ricsktelapntode (.ScoBmN 083013) Adam R. Hoock (SBN 340811) 2 [email protected] Chaitra G. Betageri (SBN 312760) 3 [email protected] STEPTOE LLP 4 2029 Century Park East, Suite 980 Los Angeles, CA 90067-3086 5 Telephone: 213 439 9400 Facsimile: 213 439 9599 6 Email: [email protected]

7 Attorney for Defendant CITIBANK, N.A. 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10

11 ) Case No. 2:25-cv-01032-TLN-CSK MALA ASHOK, ) 12 ) [PROPOSED] STIPULATED Plaintiff, ) PROTECTIVE ORDER 13 ) v. ) 14 ) CITIBANK, N.A.; DOES 1-25, 15 ) Defendants. ) 16 ) ) 17 ) ) 18

19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 2 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any 3 purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby 4 stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties 5 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to 6 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the 7 limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal 8 principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated 9 Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Local Rule 141 10 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party 11 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 12 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 13 Plaintiff Mala Ashok (“Plaintiff”) has filed this action against Defendant Citibank, N.A. 14 (“Citibank”, together with Plaintiff, the “Parties”) asserting claims for alleged violation of the 15 Unruh Civil Rights Act – Civ. Code § 51 et seq. (Count I), intentional misrepresentation (Count II), 16 negligent misrepresentation (Count III), breach of contract (Count IV), negligence (Count V), and 17 infliction of emotional distress (Count VI). In connection with this action, the Parties anticipate that 18 documents produced in discovery and witness testimony will include sensitive and confidential 19 personal information about Plaintiff, such as her personal identifying information and financial 20 information. It is extremely important that this information remain protected and not be readily available due to the dangers of identity theft. 21 Furthermore, this action is likely to involve trade secrets and other valuable research, 22 development, commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary information for which special 23 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this 24 action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among 25 other things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding confidential 26 business practices, or other confidential research, development, or commercial information 27 (including information implicating privacy rights of third parties), personal identifying information 1 about a consumer, information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be 2 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. 3 Additionally, the documents to be produced by Citibank may contain critical information 4 regarding Citibank’s computer systems involved in account management. Citibank likewise uses its 5 computer systems in conjunction with its proprietary policies and procedures to investigate 6 consumer disputes of wire fraud. 7 The sophistication of Citibank’s computer systems is a major advantage in the marketplace. 8 Were information about its computer system to get into the hands of competitors, it would enable 9 the competitors to enhance their own systems and, in so doing, remove the competitive edge it 10 currently enjoys. Similarly, were information about the design and workings of those systems, 11 including internal documents, policies or procedures, to get into the hands of a would-be 12 competitor, it would greatly facilitate that would-be competitor’s efforts to develop its own 13 sophisticated computer system. Such action would have a serious financial impact on Citibank. 14 Were this same type of information to get into criminal hands, it would facilitate the efforts of 15 those who seek to improperly access Citibank’s files on consumers or perpetrate identity fraud. 16 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of 17 disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties 18 are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses 19 of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of 20 the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in 21 this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for 22 tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been 23 maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part 24 of the public record of this case. 25 Moreover, the Parties respectfully request that the Court issue a protective order because the 26 nature of the information being exchanged is such that reliance on a private agreement alone may 27 not provide adequate enforcement mechanisms. A court order is necessary to ensure that sensitive 1 information disclosed during the course of this litigation is properly protected, particularly where 2 such information may be shared with third parties, including experts and consultants. By issuing a 3 protective order, the Court can ensure that these non-parties are bound by its terms and subject to 4 the Court's jurisdiction in the event of any misuse of the disclosed information. Furthermore, a 5 court-supervised protective order provides the additional safeguard that its provisions have been 6 reviewed and approved as consistent with applicable legal standards, giving the Parties greater 7 assurance that their sensitive information will be appropriately handled throughout the litigation. 8 2. DEFINITIONS 9 2.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit, captioned Mala Ashok v. Citibank, N.A., et al., Case No. 2:25-cv-01032-TLN-CSK. 10 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of 11 information or items under this Order. 12 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is 13 generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for confidential treatment under 14 applicable law. 15 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their support 16 staff). 17 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items that it 18 produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 19 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the 20 medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things, 21 testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or 22 responses to discovery in this matter. 23 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter pertinent to 24 the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a 25 consultant in this Action. 26 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. House 27 Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel. 1 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal 2 entity not named as a Party to this Action. 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this 3 Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have appeared in this 4 Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that 5 party, and includes support staff. 6 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, employees, 7 consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support staffs). 8 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery 9 Material in this Action. 10 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support services 11 (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, 12 storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors. 13 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as 14 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 15 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from a 16 Producing Party. 17 3. SCOPE 18 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected Material 19 (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all 20 copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 21 Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the orders of the trial judge. This 22 Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 23 4. DURATION 24 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by this 25 Order will remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order 26 otherwise directs. Final disposition will be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and 27 defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the 1 completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, 2 including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law. 3 Prior to final disposition of this litigation, the provisions of this Stipulated Protective Order 4 may be modified (including, without limitation, with respect to particular information) at any time 5 by stipulation of the parties and approval by order of the Court, or upon motion by a party for good 6 cause shown. 7 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 8 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each Party or 9 Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order must take care to 10 limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The 11 Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or 12 oral or written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, 13 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within 14 the ambit of this Order. 15 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are shown 16 to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily 17 encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 18 parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions. 19 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it designated for 20 protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 21 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this Order 22 (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, 23 Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so 24 designated before the material is disclosed or produced. 25 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 26 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but 27 excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party 1 affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to 2 each page that contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., 3 by making appropriate markings in the margins). 4 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection need not 5 designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which documents it 6 would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the 7 material made available for inspection will be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting 8 Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must 9 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, 10 before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL 11 legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material 12 on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected 13 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 14 (b) For testimony given in depositions, the Parties can designate portions of such 15 testimony as Confidential Information by providing written notice of such designation to the 16 opposing Parties within thirty (30) days of receipt of the transcribed testimony by counsel. Until 17 thirty (30) days after receipt of the transcribed testimony, such testimony shall be treated by the 18 Parties as Confidential Information. 19 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any other 20 tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or 21 portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, will 22 identify the protected portion(s). 23 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to 24 designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s 25 right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a 26 designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated 27 in accordance with the provisions of this Order. 1 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 2 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order. 3 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party will initiate the dispute resolution process 4 (and, if necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 251 et seq. 5 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding will be on the 6 Designating Party. Frivolous designations and challenges unless a Party acted with substantial 7 justification or there are other circumstances that would make the imposition of the sanction unjust, 8 and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and 9 burdens on other parties) may expose the Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has 10 waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties will continue to afford the material 11 in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation 12 until the Court rules on the challenge. 13 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 14 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or 15 produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action only for prosecuting, 16 defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the 17 categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been 18 terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL 19 DISPOSITION). 20 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons authorized under this Order. 21 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered 22 by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any 23 information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 24 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well as 25 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the 26 information for this Action; 27 1 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the Receiving 2 Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is 3 reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to 4 Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 5 (d) the Court and its personnel; 6 (e) court reporters and their staff; 7 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional Vendors to 8 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 9 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 10 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or 11 other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 12 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the Action to 13 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party requests that the witness 14 sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will not be permitted to keep any 15 confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 16 (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of 17 transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be 18 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted 19 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 20 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 21 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN OTHER 22 LITIGATION 23 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels 24 disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party 25 must: 26 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification will include a 27 copy of the subpoena or court order; 1 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue in the 2 other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification will include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 3 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the 4 Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 5 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena 6 or court order will not produce any information designated in this Action as “CONFIDENTIAL” 7 before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has 8 obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party will bear the burden and 9 expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these 10 provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to 11 disobey a lawful directive from another court. 12 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED IN THIS 13 LITIGATION 14 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in 15 this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in 16 connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. 17 Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional 18 protections. 19 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce a Non- 20 Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then the Party will: 21 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that some 22 or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement 23 with a Non-Party; 24 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective 25 Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 26 specific description of the information requested; and 27 1 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party, if 2 requested. (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within 14 days of 3 receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce the Non- 4 Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks 5 a protective order, the Receiving Party will not produce any information in its possession or control 6 that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the 7 Court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party will bear the burden and expense of 8 seeking protection in this Court of its Protected Material. 9 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 10 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected 11 Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated Protective 12 Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the 13 unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected 14 Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the 15 terms of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 16 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 17 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE PROTECTED 18 MATERIAL 19 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently 20 produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision 21 is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that 22 provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 23 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a 24 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, 25 the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the 26 Court. 27 1 12. MISCELLANEOUS 2 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 3 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective Order 4 no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any 5 information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no 6 Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by 7 this Protective Order. 8 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected 9 Material must comply with Local Rule 141. Protected Material may only be filed under seal 10 pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. If a 11 Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the Court, then the Receiving 12 Party may file the information in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the Court. 13 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 14 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 days of a 15 written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to 16 the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” 17 includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or 18 capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, 19 the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 20 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the 21 Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other 22 format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, 23 Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and 24 hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, 25 attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain 26 Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain 27 subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). 1 14. Any violation of this Order may be by civil or criminal contempt proceedings, financial or 2 evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary authorities, or other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court. 3 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 4

5

6 Respectfully submitted,

7 Dated: November 14, 2025 STEPTOE LLP 8 JULIA B. STRICKLAND ADAM R. HOOCK 9 CHAITRA G. BETAGERI 10 By: /s/ Chaitra G. Betageri 11 Chaitra G. Betageri

12 Attorneys for Defendant 13 CITIBANK, N.A.

14

15 Dated: November 14, 2025 EMPLOYEE & CONSUMER ADVOCATES OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PC 16 CONNOR W. OLSON BRITTANY V. ERZIN 17

18 By: /s/ Connor W. Olson Connor W. Olson 19 Attorneys for Plaintiff 20 MALA ASHOK

21

22

23

24

25

26

27 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 4 I, ____________________ [print or type full name], of _________________ [print or type 5 full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the 6 Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern 7 District of California in the case of Ashok v. Citibank, N.A., et al., Case No. 2:25-cv-01032-TLN- 8 CSK. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order 9 and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and 10 punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner 11 any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity 12 except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 13 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the 14 Eastern District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective 15 Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I hereby 16 appoint ____________________ [print or type full name] of 17 _____________________________________________________ [print or type full address and 18 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or 19 any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. 20 Date: _________________________ 21 City and State where sworn and signed: ___________________________________ 22 Printed name: _____________________________ 23 Signature: ________________________________

24

25

26 27

Reference

Status
Unknown