Hogan v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. ( 2024 )

1 TDHavEid B NA. RBRarYry L, EAsWq. (FSIBRNM 2 19230) 2 Logan Pascal, Esq. (SBN 324733) 11845 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 1270 3 Los Angeles, CA 90064 Telephone: 310.684.5859 4 Facsimile: 310.862.4539 5 Attorneys for Plaintiffs SAMANTHA HOGAN and DAMIAN HOGAN 6 7 8 SQUIRE PATTON BOGGS (US) LLP Sean P. Conboy, No. 214487 9 sean.conboy@squirepb.com Yamili F. Gonzalez, No. 327820 10 yamili.gonzalez@squirepb.com 555 South Flower Street, 31st Floor 11 Los Angeles, CA 90071 Telephone: +1 213.624.2500 12 Facsimile: +1 213.623.4581 13 Attorneys for Defendant VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA, 14 INC. 15 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 16 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 17 18 SAMANTHA HOGAN, an individual; Case No. 2:24-cv-00179-KJM-SCR DAMIAN HOGAN, an individual, 19 Plaintiffs, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 20 ORDER v. 21 VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF 22 AMERICA, INC.; and DOES 1 through 20, 23 Defendants. 24 25 26 27 28 1 1. A. Purposes and Limitations 2 Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are likely to involve production 3 of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from 4 public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation 5 may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court 6 to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this 7 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery 8 and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the 9 limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the 10 applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 11 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file 12 confidential information under seal; documents that are the subject of a protective 13 order may be filed under seal only if a sealing order is first obtained in compliance 14 with L.R. 141. 15 B. Good Cause Statement 16 This action is likely to involve trade secrets, customer and pricing lists and 17 other valuable research, development, commercial, financial, technical and/or 18 proprietary information for which special protection from public disclosure and from 19 use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such 20 confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, among other 21 things, confidential business or financial information, information regarding 22 confidential business practices, or other confidential research, development, or 23 commercial information (including information implicating privacy rights of third 24 parties), information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be 25 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court 26 rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of 27 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of 28 discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep 1 confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such 2 material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the 3 end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such 4 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information 5 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so 6 designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, 7 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public 8 record of this case. 9 C. Acknowledgement of Procedure for Filing Under Seal 10 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 11 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 12 under seal; Local Civil Rule 141 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and 13 the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to 14 file material under seal. 15 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 16 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 17 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and 18 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006); Phillips v. Gen. Motors 19 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002); Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, 20 Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require 21 good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons 22 with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to 23 Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation 24 of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the 25 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material 26 sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise 27 protectable—constitute good cause. 28 1 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 2 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the 3 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. 4 See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each 5 item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under 6 seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must 7 articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for 8 the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to 9 file documents under seal must be provided by declaration. 10 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 11 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 12 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only 13 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document shall 14 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety 15 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 16 2. DEFINITIONS 17 2.1 Action: Samantha Hogan et al. v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., 18 United States District Court, Eastern District of California, Case No. 19 24-CV-00179-KJM-DB. 20 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation 21 of information or items under this Order. 22 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 23 how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 24 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in 25 the Good Cause Statement. 26 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 27 their support staff). 28 1 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 2 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 3 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 4 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 5 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 6 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced 7 or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 8 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 9 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve 10 as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 11 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 12 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 13 counsel. 14 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, 15 or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 16 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party 17 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have 18 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which 19 has appeared on behalf of that party, including support staff. 20 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 21 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 22 support staffs). 23 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 24 Discovery Material in this Action. 25 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 26 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 27 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 28 and their employees and subcontractors. 1 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 2 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 3 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 4 Material from a Producing Party. 5 3. Scope 6 The protections conferred by this Stipulation cover not only Protected Material 7 (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected 8 Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; 9 and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that 10 might reveal Protected Material. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be 11 governed by a separate agreement or order. This Order does not govern the use of 12 Protected Material at trial. 13 4. Duration 14 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations 15 imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees 16 otherwise in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be 17 deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with 18 or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and 19 exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, 20 including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time 21 pursuant to applicable law. 22 5. Designating Protected Material 23 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 24 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this 25 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies 26 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection 27 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that 28 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications 1 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of 2 this Order. 3 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 4 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 5 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 6 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party 7 to sanctions. 8 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 9 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 10 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 11 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 12 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of Section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 13 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 14 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 15 produced. 16 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 17 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, 18 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the 19 Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter 20 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only 21 a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing 22 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate 23 markings in the margins). 24 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 25 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 26 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and 27 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 28 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the 1 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which 2 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before 3 producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the 4 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a 5 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing 6 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate 7 markings in the margins). 8 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify 9 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition 10 all protected testimony. 11 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and 12 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on 13 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the 14 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 15 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 16 portion(s). 17 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 18 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 19 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 20 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 21 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 22 Order. 23 6. Challenging Confidentiality Designations 24 6.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 25 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 26 Scheduling Order. 27 6.2. Meet and Confer. Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution 28 process by providing written notice of each designation it is challenging and 1 describing the basis for each challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to whether a challenge 2 has been made, the written notice must recite that the challenge to confidentiality is 3 being made in accordance with this specific paragraph of the Protective Order. The 4 parties shall attempt to resolve each challenge in good faith and must begin the process 5 by conferring directly (in voice to voice dialogue; other forms of communication are 6 not sufficient) within 14 days of the date of service of notice. In conferring, the 7 Challenging Party must explain the basis for its belief that the confidentiality 8 designation was not proper and must give the Designating Party an opportunity to 9 review the designated material, to reconsider the circumstances, and, if no change in 10 designation is offered, to explain the basis for the chosen designation. A Challenging 11 Party may proceed to the next stage of the challenge process only if it has engaged in 12 this meet and confer process first or establishes that the Designating Party is unwilling 13 to participate in the meet and confer process in a timely manner. 14 6.3. If the Parties cannot resolve a challenge without court intervention, the 15 Designating Party shall file and serve a motion to retain confidentiality in accordance 16 with L.R. 230 and 251, within 21 days of the initial notice of challenge or within 14 17 days of the parties agreeing that the meet and confer process will not resolve their 18 dispute, whichever is earlier. Each such motion must be accompanied by a competent 19 declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the meet and confer 20 requirements imposed in the preceding paragraph. Failure by the Designating Party to 21 make such a motion including the required declaration within 21 days (or 14 days, if 22 applicable) shall automatically waive the confidentiality designation for each 23 challenged designation. In addition, the Challenging Party may file a motion 24 challenging a confidentiality designation at any time if there is good cause for doing 25 so, including a challenge to the designation of a deposition transcript or any portions 26 thereof. Any motion brought pursuant to this provision must be accompanied by a 27 competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the meet and 28 confer requirements imposed by the preceding paragraph. The burden of persuasion 1 in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous 2 challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose 3 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party 4 to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived the confidentiality designation 5 by failing to file a motion to retain confidentiality as described above, all parties shall 6 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled 7 under the Producing Party’s designation until the court rules on the challenge. 8 7. Access To and Use of Protected Material 9 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 10 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 11 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such 12 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 13 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a 14 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL 15 DISPOSITION). 16 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 17 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 18 authorized under this Order. 19 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 20 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 21 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 22 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 23 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well 24 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary 25 to disclose the information for this Action; 26 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the 27 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 28 1 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 2 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 3 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 4 (d) the court and its personnel; 5 (e) court reporters and their staff; 6 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 7 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 8 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 9 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 10 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 11 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the 12 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party 13 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will 14 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 15 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 16 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 17 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 19 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 20 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 21 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 22 8. Protected Material Subpoenaed or Ordered Produced in Other Litigation 23 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 24 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 25 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 26 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 27 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 28 1 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 2 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena 3 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of 4 this Stipulated Protective Order; and 5 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 6 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 7 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 8 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 9 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the 10 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 11 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 12 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions 13 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action 14 to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 15 9. A Non-Party’s Protected Material Sought to Be Produced In This Litigation 16 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 17 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information 18 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 19 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 20 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 21 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 22 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 23 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 24 confidential information, then the Party shall: 25 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 26 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement 27 with a Non-Party; 28 1 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 2 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 3 specific description of the information requested; and 4 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non- 5 Party, if requested. 6 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 7 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 8 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery 9 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall 10 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 11 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 12 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense 13 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 14 10. Unauthorized Disclosure of Protected Material 15 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 16 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 17 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 18 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 19 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 20 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 21 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 22 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 23 11. Inadvertent Production of Privileged Or Otherwise Protected Material 24 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 25 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 26 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 27 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure 28 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior 1 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the 2 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or 3 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the 4 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted 5 to the court. 6 12. Miscellaneous 7 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 8 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 9 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 10 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 11 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in 12 this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on 13 any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective 14 Order. 15 12.3 Filing Protected Material. Without written permission from the 16 Designating Party or a court order secured after appropriate notice to all interested 17 persons, a Party may not file in the public record in this action any Protected Material. 18 A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must comply with L.R. 19 141. Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order 20 authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. Pursuant to L.R. 21 141, a sealing order will issue only upon a request establishing that the Protected 22 Material at issue is privileged, protectable as a trade secret, or otherwise entitled to 23 protection under the law. If a Receiving Party's request to file Protected Material 24 under seal pursuant to L.R. 141 is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may 25 file the information in the public record pursuant to L.R. 141 unless otherwise 26 instructed by the court. 27 28 1 13. Final Disposition 2 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 3 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return 4 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in 5 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 6 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected 7 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving 8 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 9 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies 10 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or 11 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, 12 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any 13 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to 14 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing 15 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert 16 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such 17 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or 18 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in 19 Section 4 (DURATION). 20 /// 21 /// 22 /// 23 /// 24 /// 25 /// 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// 1 || 14. Violation 2 || Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including, 3 || without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 4 5 || ITIS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 6 7 || Dated: September 13, 2024 The Barry Law Firm 8 9 By: 10 SS I Attorneys for Plaintiffs - 2 Samantha Hogan and Damian Hogan 13 || Dated: September 13, 2024 Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP : 14 15 By: _/s Yamili F. Gonzalez 16 Yamilt F. Gonzalez 17 Attorneys for Defendant 18 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 145. STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER l ORDER 2 Pursuant to the parties’ stipulation, IT IS SO ORDERED. 3 4 Dated: September 22, 2024 6 SEAN C. RIORDAN 7 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 8 9 10 11 5 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 _-16- STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 1 2 EXHIBIT A 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 4 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of 5 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury 6 that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was 7 issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California on 8 [date] in the case of ___________ [Samantha Hogan et al. v. Volkswagen Group of 9 America, Inc., Case No. 24-CV-00179-KJM-DB]. I agree to comply with and to be 10 bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and 11 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment 12 in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner 13 any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any 14 person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 16 for the Eastern District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated 17 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of 18 this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full 19 name] of _______________________________________ [print or type full address 20 and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection 21 with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated 22 Protective Order. 23 Date: ______________________________________ 24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________ 25 Printed name: _______________________________ 26 27 Signature: __________________________________ 28