Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_13-cv-01697/USCOURTS-caed-2_13-cv-01697-10/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 375
Nature of Suit: False Claims Act
Cause of Action: 31:3729 False Claims Act

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Stipulated Protective Order 2:13-cv-1697 KJM-KJN

CLAYEO C. ARNOLD, (SBN: 65070)

GARY B. CALLAHAN, (SBN: 47543)

TATIANA FILIPPOVA, (SBN: 283305) 

ARNOLD LAW FIRM

865 Howe Avenue

Sacramento, CA 95825

Telephone: (916) 924-3100

Facsimile: (916) 924-1829

Attorneys for Plaintiffs

KATHLEEN M. RHOADS (SBN: 144466)

GORDON & REES LLP

655 University Avenue, Suite 200

Sacramento, CA 95825

Telephone: (916) 565-2900

Facsimile: (916) 920-4402

LARRY S. GONDELMAN (District of Columbia SBN: 950691)

POWERS PYLES SUTTER & VERVILLE PC

1501 M Street, NW, Seventh Floor

Washington, DC 20005

Telephone: (202) 466-6550

Facsimile: (202) 785-1756

Attorneys for Defendants

CENTER FOR EMPLOYMENT TRAINING, A California nonprofit corporation;

SHIRLEY JOHNSON; and JENNIFER CRUICKSHANK

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

CASE NO. 2:13-cv-1697 KJM-KJN

[PROPOSED] STIPULATED 

PROTECTIVE ORDER 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND STATE OF 

CALIFORNIA EX REL. REBECCA HANDAL, 

DINA DOMINGUEZ, ELICIA A. FERNANDEZ 

AND CHRISTINE STEARNS,

Plaintiffs,

vs.

CENTER FOR EMPLOYMENT TRAINING, A 

CALIFORNIA NONPROFIT CORPORATION, 

MOHAMMAD ARYANPOUR, JENNIFER 

CRUICKSHANK, MARTIN GAMEZ, TOMASITA 

GUAJARDO, EZEQUIEL GUZMAN, SHIRLEY 

JOHNSON, JENNIFER LOPEZ, MARIA ELENA 

RIDDLE, HERMELINDA SAPIEN AND RACHEL 

WICKLAND,

Defendants.

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Stipulated Protective Order 2:13-cv-1697 KJM-KJN

GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

This is an action by four former students of Center for Employment Training (“CET”), a 

non-profit educational institution, against CET and its employees Jennifer Cruickshank and 

Shirley Johnson for alleged violations of Federal and California False Claims Act (“FCA”)

statutes. The gravamen of Relators’ First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) is that in executing 

Program Participation Agreements (“PPA”), an Institutional Participation Agreement (“IPA”) 

with the State of California, and by applying for funding under the Workforce Investment Act 

(“WIA”), CET falsely represented to the government that it had been adhering to certain 

disclosure requirements. Relators also claim CET made a series of misrepresentations to its 

students. These alleged misrepresentations related to the employability of its graduates, the 

qualifications of CET instructors, the content of the medical assistant program instruction, the 

quality of CET’s facilities and equipment, the availability of job placement assistance, the scope 

of CET’s financial charges, and the nature of available financial aid. Consequently, while Parties 

reserve the right to object to and/or challenge whether certain information is confidential, 

proprietary, personal and/or private, the Parties believe that they, as well as Non-Parties, may be 

required to produce or disclose information that is confidential, proprietary, personal and/or 

private, particularly as it relates to individual students. The Parties believe that if such 

information is disclosed in this action without restriction on its use or further disclosure, it may 

cause disadvantage, harm, or invade the privacy rights and any other applicable rights of the 

disclosing Party or Non-Parties.

Therefore, believing that good cause exists, the Parties hereby stipulate and agree that, 

subject to the Court’s approval, the following procedures shall be followed in this action to 

facilitate the orderly and efficient discovery of relevant information while minimizing the 

potential for unauthorized disclosure or use of personal, private, confidential, and/or proprietary 

information.

1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

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 

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Stipulated Protective Order 2:13-cv-1697 KJM-KJN

use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to protected 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; Local Rules of Practice for the United States District Court, Eastern District of 

California 140 and 141 set 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 as “Confidential” 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), as well as confidential, proprietary, personal and/or private information 

including, but not limited to, the identity of students whose records may be deemed relevant to 

the claims implicated in this action. Confidential Information shall be used by the Parties solely 

for the purposes of the litigation and not for any other purpose.

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 designates 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 electronically or in any other manner, or 

maintained (including, among other things, deposition testimony, transcripts, and tangible 

things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery requests 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, the Parties, or their respective counsel to serve 

as an expert witness or as a consultant in this action.

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

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Stipulated Protective Order 2:13-cv-1697 KJM-KJN

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 Privileged Information: all items or information that are protected by the attorneyclient privilege or the attorney-work product doctrine.

2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery 

Material in this action.

2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support services 

(e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and 

organizing, storing, or retrieving electronic and other data in any form or medium) and their 

employees and subcontractors.

2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as 

“Confidential” or “Privileged.”

2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from a 

Producing Party.

3. SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

While the First Amended Complaint and Amended Answers frame the issues, the parties 

identify and summarize the following substantive issues. The parties understand and agree that 

the issues set forth below are not exhaustive and that additional issues may arise as the case 

progresses.

3.1 Plaintiffs:

Relators allege in their First Amended Complaint (FAC) that Defendants CET, Jennifer 

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Stipulated Protective Order 2:13-cv-1697 KJM-KJN

Cruickshank (“Cruickshank”) and Shirley Johnson (“Johnson”), had, and continue to have actual 

knowledge that they are not adhering to the Title IV disclosure requirements (as of July 1, 2011 

to the present) and misrepresentation prohibition, that their representations of adherence were 

and are false, and that they therefore were and are submitting false or fraudulent representations 

of compliance to the Department of Education and in turn caused and continue to cause enrolled 

students to submit false funding applications to the DOE. Alternatively, Relators allege that 

Defendants act and acted with deliberate indifference or reckless disregard as to the truth or 

falsity of the false claims. In requesting and receiving at least one million dollars annually for its 

medical assistant program, Defendants falsely represent every year they are in compliance with 

Title IV of the Higher Education Act’s (“HEA”) disclosure requirements and prohibition against 

misrepresentations by recruitment, financial aid and management staff, which are core 

prerequisites to eligibility for Title IV funds. Relators assert causes of action for submission of 

knowingly false or fraudulent claims for payment or approval, and knowingly false records or 

statements to get false or fraudulent claims paid or approved, in violation of 31 U.S.C. 

§3729(a)(1)(A)-(B) and Cal. Gov. Code §12651(a)(1)-(2). Relators Rebecca Handal (“Handal”),

Dina Dominguez (“Dominguez”), Elicia A. Fernandez (“Fernandez”) and Christina Stearns 

(“Stearns”) assert individual state causes of action for fraud pursuant to Cal. Civ. Code §§1709-

1710 against Defendants CET and Johnson.

Plaintiffs seek damages in the form of civil penalties, economic, non-economic and 

punitive damages and injunctive relief.

3.2 Defendants:

Defendants assert that CET, Cruickshank and Johnson did not violate any of the 

provisions upon which the FAC is based, that the provisions at issue in this case are not material 

to the governmental entities’ decisions to pay the claims, and therefore would not constitute 

violations of the FCA; that CET did not have knowledge of the alleged violation; that Johnson 

and Cruickshank did not have knowledge of the alleged violations or did not have a role in 

submitting false claims or statements to the governmental entities, and that none of the 

Defendants engaged in any act of fraud of deceit.

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Stipulated Protective Order 2:13-cv-1697 KJM-KJN

4. 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 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.

5. 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 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, re-hearings, 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.

6. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

6.1 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 under 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 

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Stipulated Protective Order 2:13-cv-1697 KJM-KJN

within the ambit of this Order.

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 notify all other Parties 

that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation within ten (10) days after the mistake comes to 

the attention of the Designating Party.

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

Order (see, e.g., section 8, 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 produced in electronic form (excluding transcripts of depositions 

or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party ensure that the electronic 

documents or information contain designations of “CONFIDENTIAL” pursuant to subparagraph 

2.2 so that if any electronic information is printed, the designation will appear on the printed 

copy.

(b) for information produced in hard-copy form (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).

(c) 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.

(d) 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).

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6.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, that is, within ten (10)

days of discovery, but in no event later than one (1) year after the Parties’ initial designations, 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. If the 

designation is timely corrected, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that 

the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.

7. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

7.1 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. Where a prompt challenge is 

necessary, as defined immediately above, the Party or Non-Party must challenge a designation of 

Confidentiality within two (2) months of the designation. Where a prompt challenge is not 

necessary, the Party or Non-Party does not waive its right to challenge a Confidentiality 

designation by electing not to mount a challenge within two (2) months after the original 

designation is disclosed.

7.2 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 

Paragraph 7.2 of the Protective Order. The parties shall attempt to resolve each challenge in good 

faith and must begin the process by conferring directly (telephonically or face to face) within 10 

calendar 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 challenge process after it has engaged in a 

meet and confer process, or if it establishes that the Designating Party is unwilling to participate 

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in a timely meet and confer process.

7.3 Judicial Intervention. If the Parties are unable to resolve a challenge without 

court intervention, the Designating Party shall file and serve a motion to retain Confidentiality

under LR 141.1 within 21 days of the initial notice of challenge or within 14 days of the Parties’

agreement that the meet and confer process will not resolve their dispute, whichever is later. 

Each such motion must be accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the movant 

has complied with the meet and confer requirements. 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, 

following meet and confer, if there is good cause for doing so, including a challenge to the 

designation of a deposition transcript or any portions thereof. The burden of persuasion in any 

such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating Party.

8. ACCESS TO, AND USE OF, PROTECTED MATERIAL

8.1 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.

8.2 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 and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be 

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Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A;

(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) 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); with the exception articulated at 

Paragraph 8.2(c), immediately below;

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

reasonably necessary for this litigation provided that each such expert shall execute a copy of the 

“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A) (which shall be retained by counsel 

for the Party disclosing the Confidential Information and made available for inspection by 

opposing counsel during the pendency or after the termination of the action only upon good 

cause shown and upon order of the Court) before being shown or given any Confidential 

Information; 

(d) the court and its personnel;

(e) mediator(s) and their personnel;

(f) court reporters and their staff, professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, 

and Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation and who 

have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);

(g) during their depositions, witnesses in the action to whom disclosure is reasonably 

necessary and who have signed 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 must be 

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

under this Stipulated Protective Order; and

(h) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or 

other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.

9. 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

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disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that 

Party must:

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

copy of the subpoena or court order;

(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena 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 Information –

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.

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

PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION

The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in this 

action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 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.

11. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

If a Receiving Party learns that, through 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 

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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” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

12. MISCELLANOUS

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, including the right to seek a modified protective 

order that contains an “attorneys’ eyes only” provision.

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. No document will be sealed, nor shall a redacted 

document be filed, without the prior approval of the court. If a document for which sealing or 

redaction is sought relates to the record on a motion to be decided by Judge Mueller, the request 

to seal or redact should be directed to her and not the assigned Magistrate Judge. All requests to 

seal or redact shall be governed by Local Rules 141 (sealing) and 140 (redaction); protective 

orders covering the discovery phase of litigation shall not govern the filing of sealed or redacted 

documents on the public docket. The court will only consider requests to seal or redact filed by 

the proponent of sealing or redaction. If a party plans to make a filing that includes material an 

opposing party has identified as confidential and potentially subject to sealing, the filing party 

shall provide the opposing party with sufficient notice in advance of filing to allow for the 

seeking of an order of sealing or redaction from the court.

13. FINAL DISPOSITION

Within 60 days after the final disposition of this action, as defined in Paragraph 5, 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, 

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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 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 5 (DURATION).

14. ELECTRONICALLY STORED INFORMATION (ESI)

14.1 Cooperation

The Parties are aware of the importance the Court places on cooperation and commit to 

cooperate in good faith throughout this matter.

14.2 Liaison

The Parties will identify liaisons to each other who are and will be knowledgeable about 

and responsible for discussing their respective ESI. Each e-discovery liaison will be, or have 

access to those who are, knowledgeable about the technical aspects of e-discovery, including the 

location, nature, accessibility, format, collection, search methodologies, and production of ESI in 

this matter. The Parties will rely on the liaisons, as needed, to confer about ESI and to help 

resolve disputes without court intervention.

14.3 Preservation

The Parties have discussed their preservation obligations and needs and agree that 

preservation of potentially relevant ESI will be reasonable and proportionate. 

14.4 Search

The Parties agree that in responding to an initial Fed. R. Civ. P. 34 request, or earlier if 

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appropriate, they will meet and confer about methods to search ESI in order to identify ESI that 

is subject to production in discovery and filter out ESI that is not subject to discovery.

14.5 Production Formats

The Parties agree that they will produce ESI according to the following protocol:

a) All ESI will be produced with all metadata, if it exists, on CD-ROM disks, through a 

cloud service, or through other mutually agreeable methods. The parties will provide the 

following information, if it exists, about the documents:

(1) file name;

(2) file format;

(3) number of bytes;

(4) operating system and version; and

(5) translation tables for encoded fields.

b) For ESI that exists only in proprietary software or in a format that is not readable 

by a personal computer using commercially available software, the Parties will identify the 

specific information, the software at issue and possible alternative electronic formats in which 

the information could be produced such that the Parties can meet and confer respecting how best 

to produce the specific information at issue with its metadata intact.

c) In producing responsive emails, the Parties will produce the emails without 

alteration of any kind; in particular, threads, attachments, and metadata associated with the 

emails and attachments should not be modified, deleted, or altered in any respect.

d) In producing responsive ESI, the Parties agree that all ESI available to, or easily 

retrievable by, the producing party shall be produced regardless of whether such ESI are 

possessed directly by the producing party or its attorneys, agents, representatives or 

investigators.

e) If any requested ESI cannot be produced in full with its metadata intact, the 

Parties agree to produce the ESI to the extent possible, specifying the reason that the producing 

party is unable to produce the remainder and will offer whatever information, knowledge or 

belief the producing party has concerning the portions that could not be produced.

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f) If the producing party becomes aware that any of the requested ESI have been 

destroyed or custody of the document has been transferred to any person or entity that is not 

under the producing party’s control, the producing party will provide a statement setting forth as 

to each such ESI:

(1) name(s), job title(s), employer and date(s) of transfer, of the creator of the 

transferred, destructed or destroyed ESI;

(2) name(s), job title(s), and employer of the person who transferred or 

destroyed the ESI, or its metadata, and date(s) of said transfer/destruction;

(3) name(s), job title(s), and employer of the recipient of the transferred ESI;

(4) date of the transferred or destroyed ESI; 

(5) date of destruction or transfer of the ESI; and

(6) the last known person(s) having custody or control of the document.

g) If any electronic document requested has been deleted or removed, in part or in 

whole, the Parties will provide a legible recovered version of that ESI with its metadata intact. 

All backup electronic documents (including electronic file fragments and slack) provided 

pursuant to these requests must be in an uncompressed format.

h) The Parties agree to produce each ESI in its entirety and with all of its 

attachments. If the producing party has redacted any portion of a document, the producing party 

agrees to type the word “redacted” on each page of the document from which information has 

been redacted.

The above is subject to each party designating their ESI experts who shall read the 

protective order as to how and in what form and format the ESI will be produced.

14.6 Phasing

When a Party propounds discovery requests pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 34, the Parties 

agree to phase the production of ESI as required or necessary.

/ / /

/ / /

/ / /

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IT IS SO STIPULATED THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

DATED: ARNOLD LAW FIRM

/s/ Gary B. Callahan

By: _____________________________________

GARY B. CALLAHAN

Attorney for Plaintiffs

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND 

STATE OF CALIFORNIA EX REL. 

REBECCA HANDAL, DINA 

DOMINGUEZ, ELICIA A. FERNANDEZ 

AND CHRISTINE STEARNS

DATED: GORDON & REES LLP 

/s/ Kathleen M. Rhoads

By: _____________________________________

Kathleen M. Rhoads 

Attorney for Defendants

CENTER FOR EMPLOYMENT 

TRAINING, A California nonprofit 

corporation; SHIRLEY JOHNSON; and 

JENNIFER CRUICKSHANK 

ORDER

Good cause appearing, the Court hereby approves this Order in its entirety. The Parties in

this matter shall be bound by the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order.

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: October 11, 2016

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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 Eastern District of California on in the case of United 

States of America and State of California Ex Rel. Rebecca Handal, Dina Dominguez, Elicia A. 

Fernandez And Christine Stearns v. Center for Employment Training, a California Nonprofit 

Corporation, et al., Case No. 2:13-cv-1697 KJM-KJN, 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 

Eastern 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:

1113367/29722187v.1

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