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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

9 CHANAAZ MANGROE p/k/s Case No. 2:24-cv-04639-SPG-PVC 10 Channii Monroe, 11 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE Plaintiff ORDER 12 v. 13

TERIUS GESTEELDE-DIAMANT

14 p/k/a “THE-DREAM”; CONTRA PARIS, LLC; and SONY MUSIC 15

ENTERTAINMENT,

16 Defendants.

17 1. INTRODUCTION 18 1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 19 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 20 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public 21 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may 22 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to 23 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this 24 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to 25 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends 26 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment 27 under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth 1 in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to 2 file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the 3 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party 4 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal. 5 1.2 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 6 This case involves highly sensitive allegations of sexual assault by a public 7 figure, and the nature of the claims and defenses will likely require the disclosure of 8 sensitive, confidential, and potentially stigmatizing information. To protect the 9 parties’ rights and to ensure the orderly administration of justice, good cause exists 10 for the entry of a protective order under Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil 11 Procedure. 12 This case will likely require the disclosure of confidential medical records, 13 mental health records and other private information about both the plaintiff and the 14 defendant. Public disclosure of such information may cause significant harm to the 15 reputations, emotional well-being, and privacy of the parties, particularly given the 16 celebrity status of the defendant and the potential for intense public and media 17 scrutiny. Public disclosure of the plaintiff’s private medical and mental health 18 records, as well as other sensitive personal information, could result in stigma, 19 harassment, and emotional distress. The defendant, as a public figure, faces 20 heightened risks of reputational harm, economic losses, and undue prejudice if 21 unrelated personal information is disclosed. 22 Furthermore, third parties involved in this case may also have their privacy 23 and reputations compromised if private and sensitive information about them is 24 made public. The threat of making such information public could discourage full 25 and candid participation in the discovery process. While there is a general 26 presumption of public access to judicial records, the nature of this case necessitates 27 the balancing of that presumption against the parties’ and witnesses’ privacy 1 and encourages the candid exchange of discovery without the chilling effect of 2 potential public exposure. 3 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 4 resolution of disputes over the confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 5 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 6 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for 7 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and 8 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this 9 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as 10 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing will be so designated without a 11 good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, 12 and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 13 2. DEFINITIONS 14 2.1 Action: “Action” refers to the case titled Chanaaz Mangroe p/k/a 15 Channii Monroe v. Terius Gesteelde-Diamant p/k/a “The-Dream”; Contra Paris, 16 LLC; and Sony Music Entertainment, Case No. 2:24-cv-04639 (SPG)(PVC), 17 pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, and 18 includes all pleadings, motions, discovery, proceedings, hearings, trial, and any 19 appeals arising from or related to this matter. 20 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 21 designation of information or items under this Order. 22 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 23 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 24 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in 25 the Good Cause Statement. 26 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as 27 their support staff). 1 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 2 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 3 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 4 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless 5 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 6 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 7 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 8 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 9 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 10 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 11 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 12 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 13 counsel. 14 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 15 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 16 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a 17 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and 18 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm 19 which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 20 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 21 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 22 support staffs). 23 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 24 Discovery Material in this Action. 25 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation 26 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 27 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 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 will 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, all of the information that was designated as 17 confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will 18 be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless 19 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are 20 made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of 21 Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (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 Protection. 1 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 2 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for 3 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written 4 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, 5 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept 6 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 7 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 8 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 9 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 10 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 11 Party to sanctions. 12 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 13 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 14 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 15 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 16 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 17 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 18 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 19 produced. 20 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 21 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, 22 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that 23 the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter 24 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a 25 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing 26 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate 27 markings in the margins). 1 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for 2 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has 3 indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the 4 inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for 5 inspection will be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has 6 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must 7 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this 8 Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must 9 affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. 10 If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the 11 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making 12 appropriate markings in the margins). 13 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies 14 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the 15 deposition all protected testimony. 16 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for 17 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 18 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 19 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 20 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, will identify the protected 21 portion(s). 22 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 23 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 24 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 25 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 26 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 27 Order. 1 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 2 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 3 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 4 Scheduling Order. 5 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party will initiate the dispute 6 resolution process (and, if necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 37.1 7 et seq. 8 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding will be on 9 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper 10 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other 11 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating 12 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties will 13 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is 14 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the 15 challenge. 16 17 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 18 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 19 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 20 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such 21 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 22 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a 23 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL 24 DISPOSITION). 25 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 26 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 27 authorized under this Order. 1 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 2 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 3 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 4 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 5 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as 6 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably 7 necessary to disclose the information for this Action; 8 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 9 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 10 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 11 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 12 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 13 (d) the Court and its personnel; 14 (e) court reporters and their staff; 15 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 16 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 17 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 18 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 19 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 20 (h) during their depositions, witnesses ,and attorneys for witnesses, in the 21 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party 22 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they 23 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 24 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 25 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 26 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may 27 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except 1 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 2 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 3 4 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED 5 IN OTHER LITIGATION 6 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 7 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 8 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 9 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 10 will include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 11 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 12 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 13 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification will include 14 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 15 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 16 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 17 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 18 the subpoena or court order will not produce any information designated in this 19 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the 20 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 21 permission. The Designating Party will bear the burden and expense of seeking 22 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions 23 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action 24 to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 25 26 27 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 will: 12 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 13 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 within 21 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 22 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery 23 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party will 24 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 25 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 26 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party will bear the burden and expense 27 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 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 2 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 3 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 4 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 5 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 6 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 7 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material 8 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 9 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 10 11 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 12 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 13 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return 14 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in 15 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 16 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected 17 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving 18 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 19 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies 20 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or 21 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, 22 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any 23 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to 24 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing 25 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert 26 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such 27 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or 1 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in 2 Section 4 (DURATION). 3 4 14. Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or criminal 5 contempt proceedings, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary 6 authorities, or other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court. 7 8 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN BY THE PARTIES’ STIPULATION, IT IS SO 9 ORDERED. 10 11 12 DATED: June 5, 2025 __________________________________

HON. PEDRO V. CASTILLO

13 United States Magistrate Judge 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 4 I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________ 5 [full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and 6 understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States 7 District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of 8 ___________ [insert case name and number]. I agree to comply with and to be 9 bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and 10 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment 11 in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner 12 any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any 13 person or entity except in strict 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 the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 16 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 17 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [full 18 name] of _______________________________________ [full address and 19 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with 20 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective 21 Order. 22 Date: ______________________________________ 23 City and State where signed: _________________________________ 24 25 Printed name: _______________________________ 26 27 Signature: __________________________________