CMI Integrated Technologies, Inc. v. XZERES Corporation
Filing
44
PROTECTIVE ORDER by Magistrate Judge Frederick F. Mumm re Stipulation for Protective Order 43 (see attached) (jm)
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Mark A. Neubauer (73728)
Email: mneubauer@cfjblaw.com
CARLTON FIELDS JORDEN BURT, LLP
2000 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 530 North Tower
Los Angeles, California 90067-4707
Telephone: (310) 843-6300
Facsimile: (310) 843-6301
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Attorneys for Defendant and
Counterclaimant Xzeres Corporation
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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CMI INTEGRATED
TECHNOLOGIES, INC., a California
Corporation,
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Plaintiff,
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Case No.: 2:15-cv-00805-RGK-FFMx
Assigned to Hon. R. Gary Klausner
DISCOVERY MATTER
Magistrate Judge Frederick F. Mumm
vs.
XZERES CORPORATION, a Nevada
Corporation, and DOES 1 to 25,
inclusive,
JOINT STIPULATION AND
[PROPOSED] PROTECTIVE
ORDER RE: DISCOVERY
MATTERS
Defendants.
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AND RELATED CROSS-ACTION.
Complaint filed: February 4, 2015
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101901605.3
IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED, subject to Court order, by
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and between Plaintiff CMI Integrated Technologies, Inc. and Defendant Xzeres
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Corporation, by and through their respective counsel, as follows:
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1.
A.
PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
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proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
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disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may
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be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to
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enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this
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Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
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discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends
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only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
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under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth
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in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them
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to file confidential information under seal; Pilot Program – Instructions to
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Attorneys Procedures For Filing Under Seal Documents (found at
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http://court.cacd.uscourts.gov/CACD/JudgeReq.nsf/0/20a99d8eb7044b3f882579f5
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006b081b?OpenDocument) sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the
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standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file
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material under seal.
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B.
GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
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This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists and
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other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or
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proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure and
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from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such
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confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other
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things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding
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confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, or
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commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third
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parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may
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be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes,
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court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of
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information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of
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discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to
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keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses
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of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their
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handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order
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for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that
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information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that
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nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in
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a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be
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part of the public record of this case.
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2.
DEFINITIONS
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2.1
Action: The above referenced, pending federal law suit].
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2.2
Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
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designation of information or items under this Order.
2.3
“CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
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how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
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protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
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the Good Cause Statement.
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2.4
Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
their support staff).
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2.5
Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
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items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
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“CONFIDENTIAL.”
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2.6
Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
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of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
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among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced
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or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
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2.7
Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve
as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
2.8
House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
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House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
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counsel.
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2.9
Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association,
or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
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2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
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party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action
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and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law
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firm which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
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2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
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employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
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support staffs).
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2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
Discovery Material in this Action.
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2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
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support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
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demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
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and their employees and subcontractors.
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2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
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designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
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Material from a Producing Party.
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3.
SCOPE
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The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
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Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
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extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
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compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
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presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. Any
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use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial judge.
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This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
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4.
DURATION
Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations
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imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees
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otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be
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deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action,
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with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and
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exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action,
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including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of
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time pursuant to applicable law.
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5.
DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
5.1
Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
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Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
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this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
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qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
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protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
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communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,
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items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
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unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
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Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
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that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
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purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to
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impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the
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Designating Party to sanctions.
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If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
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designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
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promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
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5.2
Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
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this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
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stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
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under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
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produced. Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
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(a)
for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
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documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
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proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
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“CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
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contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
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qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the
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protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). A Party
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or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection need not
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designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which
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documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the
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designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed
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“CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it
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wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents,
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or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing
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the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL
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legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions
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of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must
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clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in
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the margins).
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(b)
for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party
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identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the
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deposition all protected testimony.
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(c)
for information produced in some form other than documentary
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and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent
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place on the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is
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stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the
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information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable,
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shall identify the protected portion(s).
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5.3
Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an
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inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing
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alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for
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such material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must
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make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the
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provisions of this Order.
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6.
CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
6.1
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Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
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designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
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Scheduling Order.
6.2
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Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
6.3
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The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be
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on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
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purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
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parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
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Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
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continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
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entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
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challenge.
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7.
ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
7.1
Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
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disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
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Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
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Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under
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the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
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Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
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DISPOSITION).
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Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
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location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
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authorized under this Order.
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7.2
Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
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Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
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“CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
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(a)
the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action,
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as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
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necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
(b)
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the officers, directors, and employees (including House
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Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for
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this Action;
(c)
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Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to
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whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
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“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
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(d)
the court and its personnel;
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(e)
court reporters and their staff;
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(f)
professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
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Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action
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and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit
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A);
(g)
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the author or recipient of a document containing the
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information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the
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information;
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(h)
during their depositions, witnesses ,and attorneys for witnesses,
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in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the
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deposing party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto;
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and (2) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they
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sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless
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otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of
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transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected
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Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed
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to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
(i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
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mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
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8.
PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
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IN OTHER LITIGATION
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If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
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that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
“CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
(a)
promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such
notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
(b)
promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena
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or order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by
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the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall
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include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
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(c)
cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party
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served with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information
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designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the
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court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the
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Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and
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expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing
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in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving
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Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
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9.
A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
(a)
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The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced
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by a Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such
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information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected
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by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions
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should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional
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protections.
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(b)
In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery
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request, to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and
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the Party is subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-
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Party’s confidential information, then the Party shall:
(1)
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promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the
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Non-Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a
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confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
(2)
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promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the
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Stipulated Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a
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reasonably specific description of the information requested; and
(3) make the information requested available for inspection by
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the Non-Party, if requested.
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(c)
If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court
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within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the
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Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive
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to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the
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Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that
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is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a
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determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party
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shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its
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Protected Material.
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10.
UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
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If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has
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disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized
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under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a)
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notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its
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best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform
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the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms
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of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the
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“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit
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A.
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11.
INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
PROTECTED MATERIAL
When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
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inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
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protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal
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Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify
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whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for
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production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence
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502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure
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of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or
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work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the
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stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
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12.
12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
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MISCELLANEOUS
person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
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Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
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disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in
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this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on
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any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective
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Order.
12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
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Protected Material must comply with the Pilot Program – Instructions to Attorneys
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Procedures For Filing Under Seal Documents, found at: http://court.cacd.uscourts.
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gov/CACD/JudgeReq.nsf/0/20a99d8eb7044b3f882579f5006b081b?OpenDocumen
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t. Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order
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authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's
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request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the court, then the
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Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless otherwise
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instructed by the court.
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13.
FINAL DISPOSITION
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After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within
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60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must
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return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As
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used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts,
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compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
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Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the
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Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if
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not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that
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(1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was
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returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any
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copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or
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capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel
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are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial,
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deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition
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and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert
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work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival
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copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this
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Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).
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14.
Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all
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appropriate measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or
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monetary sanctions.
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IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: October 8, 2015
/S/ FREDERICK F. MUMM
The Honorable Frederick F. Mumm
United States Magistrate Judge
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EXHIBIT A
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
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I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of
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_________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury
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that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that
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was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California
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on _____ [date] in the case of ___________ CMI Integrated Technologies, Inc. v.
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Xzeres Corporation, Case No. 2:15-cv-00805-RGK-FFM. I agree to comply with
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and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I
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understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to
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sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will
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not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated
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Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the
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provisions of this Order.
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I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States
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District Court for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the
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terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings
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occur after termination of this action. I hereby appoint
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__________________________ [print or type full name] of ________________
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[print or type full address and telephone number] as my California agent for
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service of process in connection with this action or any proceedings related to
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enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
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Date: ______________________________________
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City and State where sworn and signed:
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_________________________________
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Printed name: _______________________________
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Signature: __________________________________
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