Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_19-cv-01788/USCOURTS-caed-2_19-cv-01788-3/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Ahern Rentals, Inc.
Plaintiff
Matthew Allen
Defendant
Equipmentshare.com, Inc.
Defendant
Derrick Torres
Defendant

Document Text:

Case No: 2:19-cv-01788-MCE-KJN

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

SACRAMENTO

Michael E. Brewer (State Bar No. 177912)

 michael.brewer@bakermckenzie.com

Christopher Im (State Bar No. 312838)

 christopher.im@bakermckenzie.com

BAKER & McKENZIE LLP

Two Embarcadero Center, 11th Floor

San Francisco, California 94111

Telephone: + 1 415 576 3000

Facsimile: + 1 415 576 3099

Attorneys for Defendant

EQUIPMENTSHARE.COM INC

Christopher J. Banks (State Bar No. 218779)

 christopher.banks@morganlewis.com

Jason P. Brown (State Bar No. 266472)

 jason.brown@morganlewis.com

MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP

One Market, Spear Street Tower

San Francisco, California 94105-1596

Telephone: + 1 415 442 1000

Facsimile: + 1 415 442 1001

Attorneys for Plaintiff

AHERN RENTALS, INC.

Michelle R. Ferber (State Bar No. 149929)

mferber@ferberlaw.com

Stephen L. Moses (State Bar No. 196030)

smoses@ferberlaw.com

Connor M. Day (State Bar No. 233245)

cday@ferberlaw.com

FERBER LAW, A Professional Corporation

2603 Camino Ramon, Suite 385

San Ramon, California 94583

Telephone: + 1 925 355 9800

Facsimile: + 1 925 263 1676

Attorneys for Defendants

MATTHEW ALLEN and DERRICK TORRES

AHERN RENTALS, INC., a Nevada Corporation

Plaintiff,

vs.

EQUIPMENTSHARE.COM, INC., a Delaware 

corporation, MATTHEW ALLEN, an individual, 

DERRICK TORRES, an individual, and DOES 1-

100

Defendant.

Case No. 2:19-cv-01788-MCE-KJN

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

FOR LITIGATION INVOLVING 

PATENTS, HIGHLY SENSITIVE 

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 

AND/OR TRADE SECRETS

Place: 7

Judge: Hon. Morrison C. England, Jr.

Case 2:19-cv-01788-MCE-KJN Document 27 Filed 01/03/20 Page 1 of 18
Case No: 2:19-cv-01788-MCE-KJN

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1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are likely to involve production of confidential, proprietary, 

or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose 

other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and 

petition the court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this 

Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the 

protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are 

entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as 

set forth in Section 14.4, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file 

confidential information under seal; Eastern District 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 Designated House Counsel: House Counsel who seek access to “HIGHLY 

CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” information in this matter.

2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items that it produces 

in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –

ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”

2.6 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, 

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transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in 

this matter.

2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter pertinent to the 

litigation who (1) has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant 

in this action, (2) is not a past or current employee of a Party or of a Party’s competitor, and (3) at the time 

of retention, is not anticipated to become an employee of a Party or of a Party’s competitor.

2.8 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items: 

extremely sensitive “Confidential Information or Items,” disclosure of which to another Party or Non-Party 

would create a substantial risk of serious harm that could not be avoided by less restrictive means.

2.9 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.

2.10 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity not 

named as a Party to this action.

2.11 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this action but are 

retained to represent or advise a party to this action and have appeared in this action on behalf of that party 

or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party.

2.12 Party: any party to this action, including all of its officers, directors, employees, consultants, 

retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support staffs).

2.13 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery Material in 

this action.

2.14 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support services (e.g., 

photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or 

retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and subcontractors.

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

“CONFIDENTIAL,” or as “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 

2.17 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from a Producing 

Party.

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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 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 NonParty 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. To the extent it is practical to 

do so, 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 unjustifiably within the ambit of this 

Order.

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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 at all or do not qualify for the level of protection initially asserted, 

that Designating Party must promptly notify all other parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken 

designation.

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” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ 

EYES ONLY” 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) and must 

specify, for each portion, the level of protection being asserted.

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 “HIGHLY 

CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” After the inspecting Party has 

identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine 

which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before 

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producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the appropriate legend 

(“CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 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) and must specify, for each 

portion, the level of protection being asserted.

(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 and specify the level of protection being asserted. When 

it is impractical to identify separately each portion of testimony that is entitled to protection 

and it appears that substantial portions of the testimony may qualify for protection, the 

Designating Party may invoke on the record (before the deposition, hearing, or other 

proceeding is concluded) a right to have up to 21 days to identify the specific portions of the 

testimony as to which protection is sought and to specify the level of protection being 

asserted. Only those portions of the testimony that are appropriately designated for 

protection within the 21 days shall be covered by the provisions of this Stipulated Protective 

Order. Alternatively, a Designating Party may specify, at the deposition or up to 21 days 

afterwards if that period is properly invoked, that the entire transcript shall be treated as 

“CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”

Parties shall give the other parties notice if they reasonably expect a deposition, hearing or 

other proceeding to include Protected Material so that the other parties can ensure that only 

authorized individuals who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be 

Bound” (Exhibit A) are present at those proceedings. The use of a document as an exhibit at 

a deposition shall not in any way affect its designation as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 

CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Transcripts containing Protected 

Material shall have an obvious legend on the title page that the transcript contains Protected 

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Material, and the title page shall be followed by a list of all pages (including line numbers as 

appropriate) that have been designated as Protected Material and the level of protection 

being asserted by the Designating Party. The Designating Party shall inform the court 

reporter of these requirements. Any transcript that is prepared before the expiration of a 21-

day period for designation shall be treated during that period as if it had been designated 

“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” in its entirety unless 

otherwise agreed. After the expiration of that period, the transcript shall be treated only as 

actually designated.

(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” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” 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) and specify the level 

of protection being asserted.

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 waive its right to challenge a confidentiality 

designation by electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the original designation is disclosed.

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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 (no less than 14 days) 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 Challenging Party shall file and serve a motion to de-designate any chosen designation by the 

Designating Party within 14 days of the parties agreeing that the meet and confer process will not resolve 

their dispute. 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 Challenging Party to timely make such a motion including the required declaration shall 

automatically waive the Challenging parties’ opportunity to challenge the confidentiality designation for 

each challenged designation. 

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 Court 

has ordered a change to any designation affixed pursuant to this Order, all parties shall continue to afford 

the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled as designated until the court rules on 

the challenge.

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7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or 

produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this case only for prosecuting, defending, 

or attempting to settle litigation between the Parties. 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 15 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.

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 and who have signed the 

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

(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) and as to whom the procedures set forth in paragraph 

7.4(a)(2), below, have been followed;

(d) the court and its personnel;

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

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(f) 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.

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

person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.

7.3 Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or 

Items. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving 

Party may disclose any information or item designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ 

EYES ONLY” only to:

(a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record 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) Designated House Counsel of the Receiving Party (1) to whom disclosure is reasonably 

necessary for this litigation, (2) who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to 

Be Bound” (Exhibit A), and (3) as to whom the procedures set forth in paragraph 7.4(a)(1), 

below, have been followed;

(c) Experts of the Receiving Party (1) to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this 

litigation, (2) and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” 

(Exhibit A), and (3) as to whom the procedures set forth in paragraph 7.4(a)(2), below, have 

been followed;

(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 and who 

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

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

person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.

7.4 Procedures for Approving or Objecting to Disclosure of “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –

ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” Information or Items to Designated House Counsel or Experts.

(a)(1) Unless otherwise ordered by the court or agreed to in writing by the Designating 

Party, a Party that seeks to disclose to Designated House Counsel any information or item 

that has been designated “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 

pursuant to paragraph 7.3(b) first must make a written request to the Designating Party that 

(1) identifies (by Bates number) the “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES 

ONLY” information or items the Party seeks to disclose to Designated House Counsel; (2) 

sets forth the full name of the Designated House Counsel and the city and state of his or her 

residence, and (3) describes the Designated House Counsel’s current and reasonably 

foreseeable future primary job duties and responsibilities in sufficient detail to determine if 

House Counsel is involved, or may become involved, in any competitive decision-making

requiring direct access to the “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL-ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” 

information or items.”

(a)(2) “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES 

ONLY” information or items may be disclosed to an Expert as set forth in section 7.3(c) 

hereinabove without disclosure of the identity of the Expert as long as the Expert is not a 

current officer, director, or employee of a competitor of a Party or anticipated to become 

one. 

(b) A Party that makes a request and provides the information specified in the preceding 

respective paragraphs may disclose the subject Protected Material to the identified 

Designated House Counsel or Expert unless, within 14 days of delivering the request, the 

Party receives a written objection from the Designating Party. Any such objection must set 

forth in detail the grounds on which it is based.

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(c) A Party that receives a timely written objection must meet and confer with the 

Designating Party (through direct voice-to-voice dialogue) to try to resolve the matter by 

agreement within seven days of the written objection. If no agreement is reached, the Party 

seeking to make the disclosure to Designated House Counsel or the Expert may file a 

motion seeking permission from the court to do so. Any such motion must describe the 

circumstances with specificity, set forth in detail the reasons why the disclosure to 

Designated House Counsel or the Expert is reasonably necessary, assess the risk of harm 

that the disclosure would entail, and suggest any additional means that could be used to 

reduce that risk. In addition, any such motion must be accompanied by a competent 

declaration describing the parties’ efforts to resolve the matter by agreement (i.e., the extent 

and the content of the meet and confer discussions) and setting forth the reasons advanced 

by the Designating Party for its refusal to approve the disclosure.

In any such proceeding, the Party opposing disclosure to Designated House Counsel or the 

Expert shall bear the burden of proving that the risk of harm that the disclosure would entail 

(under the safeguards proposed) outweighs the Receiving Party’s need to disclose the 

Protected Material to its Designated House Counsel or Expert.

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” or “HIGHLY 

CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” that Party must: 

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

of the subpoena or court order; 

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

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(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the 

Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.

If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena or court 

order shall not produce any information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 

CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” before a determination by the court from which the 

subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 

Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential 

material – and nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving 

Party in this action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.

 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 Non-Party in 

this action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL –

ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in connection 

with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in 

these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional 

protections. 

(b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to produce a NonParty’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 Non-Party;

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 

description of the information requested; and 

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3. make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party. 

(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 

Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any 

information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with 

the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the 

Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its 

Protected Material.

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 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. 

11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

PROTECTED MATERIAL

When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently 

produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the Receiving 

Parties are those set forth in 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 attorneyclient privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated 

protective order submitted to the court.

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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 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order 

authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 79-5, 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 79-5(e) is denied by the court, then the 

Receiving Party may file the Protected Material in the public record pursuant to Civil Local Rule 79-

5(e)(2) 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 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 

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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 

paragraph 4 (DURATION).

SO STIPULATED

Date: 12/18/2019 MORGAN, LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP

___/s/ Jason P. Brown ___________________

Christopher J. Banks

Jason P. Brown

Attorneys for Plaintiff

Date: 12/18/2019 BAKER & McKENZIE LLP

_/s/ Michael E. Brewer ___________________

Michael E. Brewer

Christopher Im

Attorneys for Equipmentshare.com Inc

Date: 12/18/2019 FERBER LAW, A Professional Corporation

_/s/ Michelle R. Ferber ___________________

Michelle R. Ferber 

Stephen L. Moses

Connor M. Day

Attorneys for Matthew Allen and Derrick Torres

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ATTESTATION:

I, Jason P. Brown am the ECF user whose ID and password are being used to file this 

Stipulation. In compliance with the rules for ECF and the Eastern District of California I hereby 

attest that all of the above signatories have concurred in this filing. 

ORDER

PURSUANT TO STIPULATION, IT IS SO ORDERED, with the following amendments and 

clarifications:

1. The parties shall comply with the provisions and procedures of Local Rules 140 and 141 with 

respect to sealing or redaction requests. To the extent that the parties’ stipulation conflicts with the Local 

Rules, the Local Rules shall govern. 

2. Prior to filing any motion related to this stipulated protective order or other discovery motion, 

the parties shall first exhaust informal meet-and-confer efforts and otherwise comply with Local Rule 251. 

3. Nothing in this order limits the testimony of parties or non-parties, or the use of certain 

documents, at any court hearing or trial—such determinations will only be made by the court at the hearing 

or trial, or upon an appropriate motion. 

4. Pursuant to Local Rule 141.1(f), the court will not retain jurisdiction over enforcement of the 

terms of this stipulated protective order after the action is terminated. 

Dated: January 3, 2020

1788.aher

Date: 12/18/2019

___/s/ Jason P. Brown ___________________

Jason P. Brown

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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 in the case of Ahern Rentals, Inc. v. EquipmentShare.com, Inc., et al, Case No. 2:19-cv-01788-

MCE-KJN. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order 

and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment 

in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or 

item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance 

with the provisions of this Order.

I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the 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: ______________________________

[printed name]

Signature: __________________________________

[signature]

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