Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_23-cv-02737/USCOURTS-caed-2_23-cv-02737-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 790
Nature of Suit: Other Labor Litigation
Cause of Action: 28:1441 Petition for Removal- Labor/Mgmnt. Relations

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Joint Stipulation for Protective Order Case No. 2:23-cv-02737-CSK

TOWER LEGAL GROUP, P.C.

RENEE P. ORTEGA (SBN 283441)

JAMES A. CLARK (SBN 278372)

ARIEL A. PYTEL (SBN 328917)

11335 Gold Express Drive, Suite 105

Gold River, California 95670

Telephone: (916) 361.6009

Facsimile: (916) 361.6019

Email: Renee.Ortega@TowerLegalGroup.com

James.Clark@TowerLegalGroup.com

Ariel.Pytel@TowerLegalGroup.com

Attorneys for Plaintiff

GULSHAN MADAN

JACKSON LEWIS P.C.

WENDY A. WALKER (SBN 295877)

BENJAMIN A. HUNTER (SBN 344098)

400 Capitol Mall, Suite 1600

Sacramento, California 95814

Telephone: (916) 341-0404

Facsimile: (916) 341-0141

Email: Wendy.Walker@JacksonLewis.com

Benjamin.Hunter@JacksonLewis.com

Attorneys for Defendant

AFFINITIV, INC.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

GULSHAN MADAN,

Plaintiff,

v.

AFFINITIV, INC.,

Defendant.

CASE NO. 2:23-cv-02737-CSK

JOINT STIPULATION FOR 

PROTECTIVE ORDER

Complaint Filed: 10/20/2023

Removal Filed: 11/22/2023

1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

Disclosure and discovery activity in this action will involve production of confidential, 

proprietary, or private information, including but not limited to, confidential documents related to 

employment and personnel records, customer lists, proprietary, trade secret, or business 

information or documents, or other commercially or competitively sensitive information, or 

Case 2:23-cv-02737-CSK Document 17 Filed 04/29/24 Page 1 of 13
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Joint Stipulation for Protective Order Case No. 2:23-cv-02737-CSK

medical records, for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose 

other than 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 141 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.

2. DEFINITIONS

2.1 Challenging Party. A Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of 

information or items under this Order.

2.2 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Information (regardless of how it 

is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal Rule 

of Civil Procedure 26(c).

2.3 Counsel (without qualifier). Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel 

(as well as their support staff).

2.4 Designating Party. A Party or Non-Party that designated information or 

items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

2.5 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.

2.6 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.

Case 2:23-cv-02737-CSK Document 17 Filed 04/29/24 Page 2 of 13
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Joint Stipulation for Protective Order Case No. 2:23-cv-02737-CSK

2.7 House Counsel. Attorneys who are employees of a party to this action. 

House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel.

2.8 Non-Party. Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 

other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.

2.9 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.

2.10 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).

2.11 Producing Party. A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 

Discovery Material in this action.

2.12 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.

2.13 Protected Material. Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated 

as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

2.14 Receiving Party. A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 

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 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 

However, the protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order do not cover the following 

information: (a) any information that is in the public domain at the time of disclosure to a Receiving 

Party or becomes part of the public domain after its disclosure to a Receiving Party as a result of 

Case 2:23-cv-02737-CSK Document 17 Filed 04/29/24 Page 3 of 13
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Joint Stipulation for Protective Order Case No. 2:23-cv-02737-CSK

publication not involving a violation of this Order, including becoming part of the public record 

through trial or otherwise; and (b) any information known to the Receiving Party prior to the 

disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the disclosure from a source who obtained the 

information lawfully and under no obligation of confidentiality to the Designating Party. Any use 

of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by a separate agreement or order.

4. DURATION

Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations imposed by this 

Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise in writing or a court order 

otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims 

and defenses in this action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the 

completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this action, 

including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to 

applicable law.

5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each 

Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order must take 

care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies the appropriate standards. The 

Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or 

oral or written communications that qualify – so that other portions of the material, documents, 

items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiable within 

the ambit of this Order.

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 or retard the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses 

and burdens on other parties) 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 mistaken designation.

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Joint Stipulation for Protective Order Case No. 2:23-cv-02737-CSK

5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this 

Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, 

Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so 

designated before the material is disclosed or produced.

Designation in conformity with this 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 the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” 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.)

A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or materials available for inspection 

need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which material 

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.” 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 Order. Then, 

before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “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 deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings, that the 

Designating Party identify on the record, before the close of the deposition, hearing, or other 

proceeding, all protected testimony.

(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 or item is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a 

portion or portions of the information or item warrant protection, the Producing Party, to the extent 

practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).

Case 2:23-cv-02737-CSK Document 17 Filed 04/29/24 Page 5 of 13
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Joint Stipulation for Protective Order Case No. 2:23-cv-02737-CSK

5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure 

to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s 

right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a 

designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated 

in accordance with the provisions of this Order.

6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation 

of confidentiality at any time. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s confidentiality 

designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial unfairness, unnecessary economic 

burdens, or a significant disruption or delay of the litigation, a Party does not waiver its right to 

challenge a confidentiality designation by electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the 

original designation is disclosed.

6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution 

process by providing written notice of each designation it is challenging and describing the basis 

for each challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to whether a challenge has been made, the written notice 

must recite that the challenge to confidentiality is being made in accordance with this specific 

paragraph of the Protective Order. The parties shall attempt to resolve each challenge in good faith 

and must begin the process by conferring directly (in voice-to-voice dialogue; other forms of

communication are not sufficient) within 14 days of the date of service of notice. In conferring, 

the Challenging Party must explain the basis for its belief that the confidentiality designation was 

not proper and must give the Designating Party an opportunity to review the designated material, 

to reconsider the circumstances, and, if no change in designation is offered, to explain the basis for 

the chosen designation. A Challenging Party may proceed to the next stage of the challenge process 

only if it has engaged in this meet and confer process first or establishes that the Designating Party 

is unwilling to participate in the meet and confer process in a timely manner.

6.3 Judicial Intervention. If the Parties cannot resolve a challenge without court 

intervention, the Designating Party shall file and serve a motion to retain confidentiality under Civil 

Local Rule 230 (and in compliance with Civil Local Rule 141, if applicable) within 21 days of the 

Case 2:23-cv-02737-CSK Document 17 Filed 04/29/24 Page 6 of 13
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Joint Stipulation for Protective Order Case No. 2:23-cv-02737-CSK

initial notice of challenge or within 14 days of the parties agreeing that the meet and confer process 

will not resolve their dispute, whichever is earlier. Each such motion must be accompanied by a 

competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the meet and confer 

requirements imposed in the preceding paragraph. Failure by the Designating Party to make such 

a motion including the required declaration within 21 days (or 14 days, if applicable) shall 

automatically waive the confidentiality designation for each challenged designation. In addition, 

the Challenging Party may file a motion challenging a confidentiality designation at any time if 

there is good cause for doing so, including a challenge to the designation of a deposition transcript 

or any portions thereof. Any motion brought pursuant to this provision must be accompanied by a 

competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the meet and confer 

requirements imposed by the preceding paragraph.

The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 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 the confidentiality designation by failing to file a motion 

to retain confidentiality as described above, 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.

7. 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 case only for 

prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this litigation. Such Protected Material may be 

disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When 

the litigation 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 Order.

///

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Joint Stipulation for Protective Order Case No. 2:23-cv-02737-CSK

7.2 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 to:

(a) 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 litigation;

(b) The officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 

the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation;

(c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 

disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who have signed the “Acknowledgment 

and Agreement to Be Bound: (Exhibit A);

(d) The court and its personnel;

(e) Court reporters and their staff, professional jury or trial consultants, 

mock jurors, and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this 

litigation;

(f) During their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure 

is reasonably necessary, unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party ordered by the court. 

Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material 

must be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as 

permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order.

(g) The author or recipient of a document containing the information or 

a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.

8. 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,” that Party 

must:

(a) Promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall 

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Joint Stipulation for Protective Order Case No. 2:23-cv-02737-CSK

include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

(b) Promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 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” 

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.

9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 

PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION

(a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a NonParty in this action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by NonParties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this 

Order;

(b) 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:

1. Promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 

that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a NonParty;

2. Promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 

Protective Order in this litigation, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific 

Case 2:23-cv-02737-CSK Document 17 Filed 04/29/24 Page 9 of 13
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Joint Stipulation for Protective Order Case No. 2:23-cv-02737-CSK

description of the information requested; and

3. Make the information requested available for inspection by the NonParty.

(c) If the Non-Party fails to object or 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 NonParty 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.

10. 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 authorized 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” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 

PROTECTED MATERIAL

When a Producing Party give 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 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). 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 Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), 

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.

Case 2:23-cv-02737-CSK Document 17 Filed 04/29/24 Page 10 of 13
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Joint Stipulation for Protective Order Case No. 2:23-cv-02737-CSK

12. MISCELLANEOUS

12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 

person to seek its modification by the court in the future.

12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 

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 Protective Order.

12.3 Filing Protected Material. Without written permission from the Designating 

Party or a court order secured after appropriate notice to all interested persons, a Party may not file 

in the public record in this action any Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 

Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 141. Protected Material may only be filed 

under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at 

issue. Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 141, a sealing order will issue only upon a request establishing 

that the Protected Material at issue is privileged, protectable as a trade secret, or otherwise entitled 

to protection under the law. If a Receiving Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal 

pursuant to Civil Local Rule 141 is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the 

information in the public record pursuant to Civil Local Rule 141.1 unless otherwise instructed by 

the court.

13. FINAL DISPOSITION

Within 60 days after the final disposition of this action, as defined in paragraph 4, 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 Protective 

Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained 

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Joint Stipulation for Protective Order Case No. 2:23-cv-02737-CSK

any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, or any other format reproducing or capturing any 

of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are 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).

IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

DATED: April 25, 2024 /s/ Renee Ortega (with permission)

Renee Ortega

Attorneys for Plaintiff, Gulshan Madan

DATED: April 25, 2024 /s/ Wendy A. Walker

Wendy A. Walker

Attorneys for Defendant, Affinitiv, Inc.

ORDER

The Court has reviewed the parties’ stipulated protective order. (ECF No. 15.) The 

stipulation comports with the relevant authorities and the court’s applicable local rule. See L.R. 

141.1. The Court APPROVES the protective order, subject to the following clarification. The 

Court’s Local Rules indicate that once an action is closed, it “will not retain jurisdiction over 

enforcement of the terms of any protective order filed in that action.” L.R. 141.1(f); see also, e.g., 

MD Helicopters, Inc. v. Aerometals, Inc., 2017 WL 495778 (E.D. Cal., Feb. 03, 2017) (noting that 

courts in the district generally do not retain jurisdiction for disputes concerning protective orders 

after closure of the case). Thus, the Court will not retain jurisdiction over this protective order once 

the case is closed. Additionally, the parties shall consider resolving any dispute arising under the 

stipulated protective order according to the Court’s informal discovery dispute procedure.

Dated: April 29, 2024

3, mada.2737

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EXHIBIT A

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

I, , of , 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 Eastern District of California on [DATE] in the case of 

Madan v. Affinitiv, Inc., Case No. 2:23-cv-02737-CSK. I agree to comply with and to be bound by 

all 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 Eastern 

District of California for the purposes of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, 

even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action.

I hereby appoint of 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: 

4889-8880-2725, v. 7

Case 2:23-cv-02737-CSK Document 17 Filed 04/29/24 Page 13 of 13