KAREN J. PAZZANI (State Bar No. 252133) 1 kpazzani@psemploymentlaw.com 2 PUNEET K. SANDHU (State Bar No. 254726) psandhu@psemploymentlaw.com 3 JOSEPH V. MARRA III (State Bar No. 238181) 4 jmarra@psemploymentlaw.com

PAZZANI & SANDHU LLP

5 700 N. Central Avenue, Suite 460 6 Glendale, CA 91203 Telephone:(213) 362-1860 7 Facsimile: (213) 362-1861 8 9 Attorneys for Defendants

PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY,

10 SHARON BEARD AND JASON JARVIS 11

12 13

14

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

15

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

16

17 KIRA HOWELL, Case No. 2:24-CV-06332-WLH-RAO 18 19 Plaintiff,

20 v. STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER1 21 PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY, et al. 22 23 Defendant.

24

25 26

27 1 This Stipulated Protective Order is substantially based on the model protective 1 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 2 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 3 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public 4 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may 5 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to 6 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this 7 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to 8 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends 9 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment 10 under the applicable legal principles. 11 12 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 13 Discovery in this action is likely to include documents that the parties 14 consider to be confidential, proprietary, and/or private (including information 15 implicating privacy rights of third parties). Confidential documents that may be 16 produced as part of this litigation include, but are not limited to: [1] recordings of 17 lectures conducted by faculty at the Caruso School of Law, which are generally kept 18 confidential and may implicate students and faculty privacy rights; [2] documents 19 that may be considered the educational records of other students, which are subject 20 to protections Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. Section 1232g, 21 et seq., (“FERPA”); [3] Plaintiff’s educational records; [4] Plaintiff’s medical 22 records; [5] Plaintiff’s employment records; and [6] Defendant employee 23 employment records, including anonymous course evaluations, investigation 24 materials, and disciplinary actions. 25 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 26 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 27 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 1 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for 2 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and 3 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this 4 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as 5 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good 6 faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and 7 there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 8 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL 9 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 10 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 11 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed 12 and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court 13 to file material under seal. 14 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 15 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 16 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and 17 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006); Phillips v. Gen. Motors 18 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002); Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, 19 Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders 20 require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling 21 reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with 22 respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere 23 designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not— 24 without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the 25 material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or 26 otherwise protectable—constitute good cause. 27 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 1 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the 2 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. 3 See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For 4 each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced 5 under seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking 6 protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal 7 justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting 8 the application to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration. 9 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 10 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. 11 If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting 12 only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document 13 shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their 14 entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 15 16 2. DEFINITIONS 17 2.1 Action: the above-entitled proceeding, Kira Howell v. 18 Pepperdine University, et al., 2:24-CV-06332-WLH-RAO 19 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 20 designation of information or items under this Order. 21 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information 22 (regardless of how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that 23 qualify for protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified 24 above in the Good Cause Statement. 25 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as 26 well as their support staff). 27 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates 1 information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 2 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 3 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, 4 regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained 5 (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things) that are 6 produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 7 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a 8 matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to 9 serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 10 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this 11 Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other 12 outside counsel. 13 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, 14 association or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 15 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of 16 a party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action 17 and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law 18 firm that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 19 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, 20 directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record 21 (and their support staffs). 22 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure 23 or Discovery Material in this Action. 24 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 25 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 26 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 27 and their employees and subcontractors. 1 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 2 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 3 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 4 Material from a Producing Party. 5 6 3. SCOPE 7 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 8 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 9 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 10 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 11 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 12 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 13 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 14 15 4. DURATION 16 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 17 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced 18 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all 19 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by 20 specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance 21 of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” 22 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 23 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the 24 terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial. 25 26 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 27 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for 1 Protection. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for 2 protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific 3 material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must 4 designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or 5 written communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, 6 documents, items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not 7 swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 8 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. 9 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an 10 improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or 11 to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 12 Designating Party to sanctions. 13 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items 14 that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party 15 must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable 16 designation. 17 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise 18 provided in this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as 19 otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for 20 protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is 21 disclosed or produced. 22 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 23 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 24 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 25 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 26 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 27 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for 1 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) 2 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 3 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for 4 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has 5 indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the 6 inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for 7 inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has 8 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must 9 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this 10 Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must 11 affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. 12 If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing 13 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate 14 markings in the margins). 15 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party 16 identifies the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the 17 deposition all protected testimony. 18 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and 19 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on 20 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the 21 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information 22 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the 23 protected portion(s). 24 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an 25 inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing 26 alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for 27 such material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must 1 make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the 2 provisions of this Order. 3 4 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 5 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 6 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 7 Scheduling Order. 8 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the 9 dispute resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. 10 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall 11 be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 12 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 13 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating 14 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall 15 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 16 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the 17 challenge. 18 19 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 20 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material 21 that is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with 22 this Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such 23 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 24 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a 25 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL 26 DISPOSITION). 27 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party 1 at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 2 authorized under this Order. 3 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 4 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 5 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 6 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 7 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 8 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 9 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 10 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 11 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 12 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 13 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 14 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 15 (d) the court and its personnel; 16 (e) court reporters and their staff; 17 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 18 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 19 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 20 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or 21 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 22 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in 23 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing 24 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) 25 they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 26 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 27 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 1 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may 2 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except 3 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 4 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 5 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 6 7 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 8 IN OTHER LITIGATION 9 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 10 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 11 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 12 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 13 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 14 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or 15 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 16 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include 17 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 18 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 19 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 20 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 21 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 22 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the 23 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 24 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 25 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions 26 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action 27 to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 1 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 2 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 3 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 4 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information 5 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 6 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 7 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 8 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 9 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 10 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 11 confidential information, then the Party shall: 12 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non- 13 Party that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality 14 agreement with a Non-Party; 15 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 16 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 17 specific description of the information requested; and 18 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 19 Non-Party, if requested. 20 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court 21 within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving 22 Party may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the 23 discovery request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving 24 Party shall not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to 25 the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the 26 court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and 27 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 1 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 2 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 3 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 4 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 5 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 6 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 7 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 8 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 9 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 10 11 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 12 PROTECTED MATERIAL 13 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 14 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 15 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 16 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever 17 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production 18 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and 19 (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a 20 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work 21 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated 22 protective order submitted to the court. 23 24 12. MISCELLANEOUS 25 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 26 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 27 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 1 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 2 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 3 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 4 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 5 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 6 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material 7 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 8 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material 9 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 10 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 11 12 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 13 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 14 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return 15 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in 16 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 17 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected 18 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving 19 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 20 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies 21 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or 22 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, 23 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any 24 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to 25 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing 26 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert 27 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such 1 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or 2 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in 3 Section 4 (DURATION). 4 5 14. VIOLATION 6 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures 7 including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions. 8 9 10 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

11 DATED April 8, 2025 12 /s/ Kira Howell 13 Plaintiff Kira Howell 14

15 DATED: April 8, 2025 KAREN J. PAZZANI 16 PAZZANI & SANDHU LLP

17

18 By: /s/ Karen J. Pazzani 19 KAREN J. PAZZANI Attorneys for Defendant 20 PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 1 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 2 3 || DATED: 4/8/2025 4 . Rayetln OC

HON. ROZELLA A. OLIVER

6 || United States Magistrate Judge 7 8

22 10 11 12

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1h

1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of 4 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury 5 that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that 6 was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California 7 on [date] in the case of Kira Howell v. Pepperdine University, et al., 2:24-CV- 8 06332-WLH-RAO. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this 9 Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so 10 comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I 11 solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that 12 is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict 13 compliance with the provisions of this Order. 14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 15 for the Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated 16 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of 17 this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full 18 name] of _______________________________________ [print or type full address 19 and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection 20 with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated 21 Protective Order. 22 Date: ______________________________________ 23 City and State where sworn and signed: 24 _________________________________ 25 Printed name: _______________________________ 26

27 Signature: __________________________________