Case Information
*1 Milord A. Keshishian, SBN 197835
milord@milordlaw.com
Shannon Skrzynski, SBN 358342
shannon@milordlaw.com
MILORD LAW GROUP P.C.
333 S. Hope St., Ste. 4025
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Tel: (310) 226-7878 Fax: (310) 226-7879
Attorneys for Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendant
ELEGANT OUTDOOR FURNITURE, LLC D/B/A OLLE GARDENS
Daniel A. Solitro (SBN: 243908) daniel.solitro@troutman.com
TROUTMAN PEPPER LOCKE LLP
350 South Grand Avenue, Suite 3400 Los Angeles, CA 90071
Tel. 213-928-9800
H. Straat Tenney
Straat.tenney@troutman.com
875 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022
Tel. 212-704-6000
Attorneys for Defendants/Counter-Plaintiffs VEGO INNOVATIONS, INC
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA ELEGANT OUTDOOR FURNITURE, LLC, an Arizona Domestic Limited Liability Company D/B/A OLLE GARDENS; Case No. 2:25-cv-02834-GW-SSC STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER Plaintiff,
v.
VEGO INNOVATIONS, INC., a Delaware Cor poration;
*2 GUANGYUAN “ROBERT” XIONG; FRANK ZHANG; KENT XIE; AND JASON ZHANG; and DOES 1-10 1
2 Defendants.
3
4
5 VEGO INNOVATIONS, INC., a Delaware Corporation, Counter-Plaintiff, vs. ELEGANT OUTDOOR FURNITURE, LLC, an Arizona Domestic Limited Liability Company d/b/a Olle Gardens; Counter-Defendants.
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Purposes and Limitations. 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 purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. Good Cause Statement.
The Parties in the above-captioned action allege they are direct competitors of *3 each other for the marketing, distribution, and sale of raised metal garden beds, and licensing of related intellectual property. The Parties have asserted cross-actions against each other for infringement of intellectual property, false advertising, and various business torts. The Parties allege this action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists and other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted.
Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial information, confidential information concerning the identity of customers and distributors and their preferences, the parties’ costs of goods sold and pricing practices, information regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, or commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third parties), contracts, non-public compilations of retail prices, supplier and vendor agreements, supplier and vendor identities, supplier pricing information and commissions or fees paid to suppliers, personnel files, non-public policies and procedures, as well as other documents and information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law.
Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential or attorneys eyes’ only for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, *4 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case, or in the case of the most competitively sensitive material, why it should be produced solely on an attorneys’ eyes only basis. Acknowledgment of Procedure for Filing Under Seal. The parties
further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial
proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions,
good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal.
See Kamakana v. City
and Cnty. of Honolulu
,
Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial,
then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and
the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be
protected.
See Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n
,
5 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. 6 If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. DEFINITIONS 2.1 Action: the above-captioned pending federal lawsuit. 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of information or items under this Order. 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and as specified above in the Good Cause Statement.
2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their support staff).
2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
*6 1 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 2 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 3 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 2.8 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”
4 Information or Items: extremely sensitive “Confidential Information or Items,” 5 disclosure of which to another Party or Non-Party would create a substantial risk of 6 serious harm that could not be avoided by less restrictive means. 7 2.9 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 8 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel. 2.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
2.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 2.12 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support staffs).
2.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery Material in this Action.
2.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation- support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors.
2.15 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
*7 from a Producing Party.
3. SCOPE
The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties, Non-Parties, or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial judge. This Stipulated Protective Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
4. DURATION
14
Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as
15
“CONFIDENTIAL,” “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES
16
ONLY,” or maintained pursuant to this Stipulated Protective Order and used or
17
introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available
18
to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons
19
supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial
judge in advance of the trial.
See Kamakana
,
Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
15 this Stipulated Protective Order ( see, e.g. , second paragraph of section 5.2(a) 16 below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that 17 qualifies for protection under this Stipulated Protective Order must be clearly so 18 designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
19 Designation in conformity with this Stipulated Protective Order requires: (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” (hereinafter “AEO CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to 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., by making appropriate markings in the margins). *9 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed CONFIDENTIAL or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”. After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Stipulated Protective Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” or “AEO CONFIDENTIAL legend” to 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., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
(b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all protected testimony and specify the level of protection being asserted. Alternatively, the Designating Party may designate information disclosed at the deposition as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” by notifying the court reporter and other parties in writing, within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the transcript, of the specific pages and lines of the transcript which are designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” The parties may agree to a reasonable extension of the 15-day period for designation. Designations of transcripts will apply to audio, video, or other recordings of the testimony. During such 15-day period, the entire transcript shall receive “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” treatment. Upon such designation, the court reporter and each party shall affix the appropriate legend (“CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY”) to the designated pages and segregate them as appropriate. Only those portions that are appropriately *10 designated for protection within the fifteen-day period shall be covered by the provisions of this Stipulated Protective Order after said designation period.
(c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any other 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, or for electronic files in the file name or accompanying correspondence, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY,” as the case may be. If only a portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s). The Receiving Party shall mark any hard-copy printouts and the storage medium of any permissible copies of such electronic material with the corresponding legend contained on the original and such copies shall become subject to the same protections as the information or items from which those copies were made.
5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 15 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 16 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 17 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 18 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 19 Stipulated Protective Order. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
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. 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process (and, if necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on *11 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the court rules on the challenge. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
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 Stipulated Protective Order. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only:
(a) to the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
(b) to the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
(c) to Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom *12 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
(d) to the court and its personnel;
(e) to court reporters and their staff;
(f) to professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
(g) to the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
(h) during their depositions, to witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary, provided: (1) the deposing party requests that the witness sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); and (2) the witness will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
(i) to any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” only to:
(a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record, and employees of the Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
*13 (b) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A) prior to receiving “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” materials; provided, however, that before a Receiving Party may disclose, directly or indirectly, any information designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY,” the Receiving Party must email written notice to the Designating Party’s outside counsel of record the following information regarding such expert or consultant: (i) an Executed Exhibit A; (ii) confirmation that the expert or consultant has been advised in writing that his or her disclosure of information designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” to the Receiving Party is prohibited; and (iii) the outside consultant’s current curriculum vitae or other description setting forth the person’s name and office address, his or her present employer with job title and job description, any business or personal relationship to any of the Parties (aside from being retained to consult and/or provide testimony in the Action), and a brief job history for the past five years;
(c) the Court and its personnel;
(d) court reporters and their staff;
(e) professional jury or trial consultants and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
(f) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
(g) the Designating Party’s own employees, officers, and directors, solely as to the Designating Party’s own “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” material;
(h) during their depositions, third-party witnesses, and attorneys for third- party witnesses, in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) no party or nonparty objects to the proposed disclosure to the third- *14 party witness or attorney for the third-party witness; (2) the deposing party requests that the third-party witness sign the form attached hereto as Exhibit A; (3) prior to any disclosure, the deposing party consults with the Designating Party and counsel participating in the deposition in order to determine whether a party or nonparty objects to the disclosure; and (4) the third-party witness and his or her attorney may not keep any confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
(i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, mutually agreed upon by the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
7.4 Data Security. The Parties agree to provide adequate security to protect data produced by the other Party(ies) or by Non-Parties. At a minimum, any Receiving Party subject to the terms of this Protective Order, will provide reasonable measures to protect non-client data consistent with the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Formal Opinion 477R. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY 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 or order *15 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
(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 served with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
16 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 17 9.1 Application. The terms of this Stipulated Protective Order are 18 applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in this Action and designated as 19 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. Notification. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce a Non-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 shall: (a) 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 agreement with a Non-Party; (b) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the information requested; and (c) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non- Party, if requested. Conditions of Production. If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non- Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A).
Protected Material shall only be used for the purpose of litigating the Action and shall not be used in other actions or proceedings.
Persons having knowledge of Protected Material and information due to their *17 participation in the conduct of this Action shall use such knowledge and information only as permitted herein, and shall not disclose such Protected Material, their contents or any portion or summary thereof to any person(s) not involved in the conduct of the Action. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
PROTECTED MATERIAL The inadvertent production of privileged or work-product protected documents, electronically stored information (ESI) or information is not a waiver of the privilege or protection from discovery in this case or in any other federal or state proceeding. When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Rule 26(b)(5)(B) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Rules 502(d) and (e) of the Federal Rules of Evidence, insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
This Order shall be interpreted to provide the maximum protection allowed by Federal Rule of Evidence (FRE) 502(d) and shall be enforceable and granted full faith and credit in all other state and federal proceedings by 28 U.S. Code § 1738. In the event of any subsequent conflict of law, the law that is most protective of privilege and work product shall apply.
Nothing contained in this Order is intended to or shall serve to limit a Party’s right to conduct a review of documents, ESI or information (including metadata) for relevance, responsiveness and/or segregation of privileged and/or protected information before production.
*18 If a Receiving Party has reason to believe that a produced document or other information may reasonably be subject to a claim of privilege, then the Receiving Party shall immediately sequester the document or information, cease using the document or information and cease using any work product containing the information, and shall inform the Producing Party of the beginning BATES number of the document or, if no BATES number is available, shall otherwise inform the Producing Party of the information.
A Producing Party must give written notice to any Receiving Party asserting a claim of privilege, work-product protection, or other ground for reclaiming documents or information (a “clawback request”). After a clawback request is received, the Receiving Party shall immediately sequester the document (if not already sequestered) and shall not review or use that document, or any work product containing information taken from that document, for any purpose. The Parties shall meet and confer regarding any clawback request. MISCELLANEOUS
16 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Stipulated Protective Order 17 abridges the right of any person to seek its modification by the court in the future. 18 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 19 Stipulated Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Stipulated Protective Order. Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must comply with Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information *19 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
13. FINAL DISPOSITION
After the Final Disposition of this Action, within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 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 Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel is entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). VIOLATION
Any violation of this Stipulated Protective Order may be punished by by civil or criminal contempt proceedings, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary authorities, or other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court. / / /
*20 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
DATED: August 25, 2025 MILORD LAW GROUP, P.C. /s/ Milord A. Keshishian Milord A. Keshishian Attorney(s) for Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant, ELEGANT OUTDOOR FURNITURE, LLC D/B/A OLLE GARDENS DATED: August 25, 2025 TROUTMAN PEPPER LOCKE
/s/ H. Street Tenney H. Street Tenney Attorney(s) for Defendant(s)/Counter-Plaintiffs VEGO INNOVATIONS, INC., GUANGYUAN “ROBERT” XIONG, FRANK ZHANG, KENT XIE, AND JASON ZHANG Pursuant to L.R. 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), the e-filer of this document hereby attests that all other signatories listed, on whose behalf this stipulation is submitted, concur in the filing’s content and have authorized the filing.
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: August 25, 2025 _________________________________
S TEPHANIE S. C HRISTENSEN United States Magistrate Judge *21 EXHIBIT A ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
I,________________________ [print or type full name] , of _________________ [print or type full address] , declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on _________________ [date] in the case of Olle Gardens v Vego Innovation, Inc. et al. ; Case No. 2:25-cv-02834-GW-SSC . I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I hereby appoint ________________________ [print or type full name] of _________ [print or type full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
Date: ___________________________ City and State where sworn and signed:
___________________________ Printed name: ___________________________ Signature: ___________________________