Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_16-cv-00557/USCOURTS-caed-1_16-cv-00557-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Ariel Elia
Plaintiff
John Roberts
Defendant
Texas Environmental Products
Defendant
Texas Environmental Products, Inc.
Defendant

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STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

MCCORMICK, BARSTOW,

SHEPPARD, WAYTE &

CARRUTH LLP

7647 NORTH FRESNO STREET

FRESNO, CA 93720

McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard,

Wayte & Carruth LLP

Marshall C. Whitney, #82952

 marshall.whitney@mccormickbarstow.com

Kristi D. Marshall, #274625

 kristi.marshall@mccormickbarstow.com

7647 North Fresno Street

Fresno, California 93720

Telephone: (559) 433-1300

Facsimile: (559) 433-2300

Attorneys for JOHN ROBERTS and TEXAS 

ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS, INC.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, FRESNO DIVISION

ARIEL ELIA, individually and as Successor 

Trustee to the Alan Elia Declaration of Trust 

Dated March 18, 2002,

Plaintiff,

v.

JOHN ROBERTS, an individual; TEXAS 

ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS, INC., a 

Texas corporation; and TEXAS 

ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS, a 

partnership, joint venture or other form of 

business organization unknown, and DOES 1 

through 20, inclusive,

Defendant.

Case No. 1:16-CV-00557-AWI-EPG

STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

Trial Date: October 31, 2017

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 and defending this litigation may be warranted. Specifically, 

Defendant Texas Environmental Products, Inc. was formerly owned by Defendant John Roberts, but 

has since been sold. As part of the sale, substantial trade secrets and customer lists were included, 

which may become relevant to this litigation, but still warrant privacy protection. Accordingly, the 

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MCCORMICK, BARSTOW,

SHEPPARD, WAYTE &

CARRUTH LLP

7647 NORTH FRESNO STREET

FRESNO, CA 93720

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, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle 

them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rules 140-141 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: Counsel of Record for Ariel Elia, individually and as Successor Trustee to 

the Alan Elia Declaration of Trust Dated March 18. 2002 (as well as their support staff) an Counsel of 

Record for Defendants.

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” or “HIGHLY 

CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”

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 (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 

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MCCORMICK, BARSTOW,

SHEPPARD, WAYTE &

CARRUTH LLP

7647 NORTH FRESNO STREET

FRESNO, CA 93720

competitor.

2.7 “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.

2.8 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 (and their support staffs) 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 customer list, personal or company financial record, or trade 

secret infomration produced in disclosures/discovery that is designated as “CONFIDENTIAL,” or as 

“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY.”

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.

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MCCORMICK, BARSTOW,

SHEPPARD, WAYTE &

CARRUTH LLP

7647 NORTH FRESNO STREET

FRESNO, CA 93720

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 or other legal obligation, 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; or (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.

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 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.

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) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.

If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it designated for 

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MCCORMICK, BARSTOW,

SHEPPARD, WAYTE &

CARRUTH LLP

7647 NORTH FRESNO STREET

FRESNO, CA 93720

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 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” (1) 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 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 

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MCCORMICK, BARSTOW,

SHEPPARD, WAYTE &

CARRUTH LLP

7647 NORTH FRESNO STREET

FRESNO, CA 93720

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 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, (including, without limitation, data produced in electronic form on a disk, hard drive, 

or other storage medium) that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of the 

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MCCORMICK, BARSTOW,

SHEPPARD, WAYTE &

CARRUTH LLP

7647 NORTH FRESNO STREET

FRESNO, CA 93720

storage devices(s), 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.

5.4 Inadvertent Production of Material which is Privileged or Subject to Work-Product 

Protection. Pursuant to Rule 502 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the inadvertent production 

of information or material which is subject to attorney-client privilege, any other applicable privilege, 

or work-product protection shall not constitute a waiver of such privilege or work-product protection 

either in this or any other proceeding or context. If a Party becomes aware that it has received 

information or material which such receiving Party reasonably should understand is subject to a claim 

of privilege or work-product protection by another Party or Non-Party, then such receiving Party shall 

promptly notify the Party or Non-Party who may have such a claim of privilege or work-product 

protection. If the other Party or Non-Party then asserts a claim of privilege or work-product protection 

for such information or material, the receiving Party shall comply fully with the requirements of Rule 

26(b)(5)(B) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

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.

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

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SHEPPARD, WAYTE &

CARRUTH LLP

7647 NORTH FRESNO STREET

FRESNO, CA 93720

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 Challenging Party shall first seek leave of court to file a motion to remove the

confidentiality designation. If leave is granted, the Challenging Party shall file and serve a motion to 

remove the confidentiality designation within 21 days of the 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 Challenging Party to make such a motion including the required declaration 

within 21 days (or 14 days, if applicable) shall automatically waive the right to challenge the 

confidentiality designation at issue. 

The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating Party. 

During the pendency of any dispute over a designation, the 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 

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SHEPPARD, WAYTE &

CARRUTH LLP

7647 NORTH FRESNO STREET

FRESNO, CA 93720

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 10 below.

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 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) House Counsel;

(d) 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);

(e) the court and its personnel;

(f) 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);

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

necessary and who acknowledge on the record that they understand the confidentiality designation and 

agree to be bound by it. 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.

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SHEPPARD, WAYTE &

CARRUTH LLP

7647 NORTH FRESNO STREET

FRESNO, CA 93720

(h) 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) Experts 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),;

(c) the court and its personnel;

(d) 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); and

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

person who otherwise possessed or knew the information.

(f) Where this designation is used, such documents or information should not be provided 

by Counsel to the Party they represent or any other third party witness.

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

necessary and who acknowledge on the record that they understand the confidentiality designation and 

agree to be bound by it. 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.

7.4 PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN 

OTHER LITIGATION

(a)(1) 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 

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“HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL – ATTORNEYS’ EYES ONLY” that Party must:

(a)(2) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall include a 

copy of the subpoena or court order;

(a)(3) 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

(a)(4) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the 

Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.

(a)(5) 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.

8. 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;

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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

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.

9. 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.

10. MISCELLANEOUS

10.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek 

its modification by the court in the future.

10.2 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.

10.3 Filing Protected Material. Without written permission from the Designating Party or a 

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SHEPPARD, WAYTE &

CARRUTH LLP

7647 NORTH FRESNO STREET

FRESNO, CA 93720

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 the appropriate Local Rule. 

10.4 Right to Render Advice. Nothing in this Protective Order shall prevent or otherwise 

restrict counsel from rendering advice to their clients who are Parties, or otherwise restrict the Parties 

from relying generally on counsel’s examination of the Protected Material; provided, however, that in 

rendering advice and otherwise communicating with the Parties, counsel shall not make specific 

disclosure of the specific contents of any items so designated, except as specifically provided and 

authorized in this Order.

10.5 Jointly Drafted. This Order has been jointly drafted, reviewed, and agreed to by the 

Parties, and shall not be interpreted in favor of or against any individual Party.

11. 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 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.

/ / /

/ / /

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7647 NORTH FRESNO STREET

FRESNO, CA 93720

IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

Dated: August 30, 2016 McCORMICK, BARSTOW, SHEPPARD,

WAYTE & CARRUTH LLP

By: /s/ Marshall Whitney

Marshall C. Whitney

Kristi D. Marshall

Attorneys for JOHN ROBERTS and TEXAS 

ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS, INC.

Dated: August 30, 2016 COSTANZO & ASSOCIATES, PC

By: /s/ Neal Costanzo

Neal Costanzo

Attorney for ARIEL ELIA, individually and as 

Successor Trustee to the Alan Elia Declaration of 

Trust Dated March 18, 2002

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SHEPPARD, WAYTE &

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7647 NORTH FRESNO STREET

FRESNO, CA 93720

EXHIBIT A

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

I, ____________________ (full name), residing at _____________________________ 

(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 Northern District of 

California in the case of CASE NAME Case No. CASE NUMBER. 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 Northern 

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 ________________________ (full name) of _____________________ 

(address and phone) 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: ______________________________

75030-00000 4018660.1

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SHEPPARD, WAYTE &

CARRUTH LLP

7647 NORTH FRESNO STREET

FRESNO, CA 93720

ORDER

The Court has reviewed the above stipulation and adopts it except that paragraph 5.4 is 

amended to refer to Rule 502 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, rather than the Federal Rules of 

Civil Procedure. The Court also clarifies paragraph 6.3 to describe the procedure for seeking 

leave of court to file a motion challenging a confidentiality designation: Counsel must receive 

permission from the Court following an informal telephone conference. A party wishing to 

schedule such a conference should contact chambers at (559) 499-5962 to receive available dates. 

The Court will schedule the conference as soon as possible, taking into consideration the urgency 

of the issue. Prior to the conference, the Court will require the parties to submit letter briefs of no 

more than 3 pages in length to chambers for review. Telephonic conferences will not be on the 

record and the Court will not issue a formal ruling at that time. Nevertheless, the Court will 

attempt to provide guidance to the parties to narrow or dispose of the dispute. If no resolution is 

reached, the Court will consider whether the filing of a formal motion is appropriate.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: August 31, 2016 /s/

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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