1 CGUarMretMt MIN. SF a&hy W (BHaIr TNEo,. L26L7P1 03) 2 E-mail: gfahy@cwlawyers.com Eric M. Khodadian (Bar No. 288146) 3 E-mail: ekhodadian@cwlawyers.com Joshua Park (Bar No. 299572) 4 E-mail: jpark@cwlawyers.com 2424 S.E. Bristol Street, Suite 300 5 Newport Beach, CA 92660-0764 Telephone: (949) 852-1800 6 Fax: (949) 852-8510

7 Attorneys for Defendant

HILLSTONE RESTAURANT

8 GROUP, INC., doing business as

BANDERA CORONA DEL MAR

9 10 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 11 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA – SOUTHERN DIVISION 12 LORRIE HERMAN, an individual and ) CASE NO.: 8:25-cv-00002-JVS-KESx 13 successor in interest, ) ) Assigned to: Judge James V. Selna 14 Plaintiff, ) Referred to: Magistrate Judge Karen E. ) Scott 15 vs. ) ) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE 16 HILLSTONE RESTAURANT GROUP, ) ORDER INC., doing business as BANDERA ) 17 CORONA DEL MAR; and DOES 1 ) Complaint Filed: November 12, 2024 through 100, inclusive, ) Trial Date: June 9, 2026 18 ) Defendants, ) 19 ) -and- ) 20 ) RITA HERMAN, an individual; and ) 21 AMY CARLSON, an individual, ) ) 22 Nominal Defendants. ) ) 23

24 25 26

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28 1 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 2 Disclosure and discovery activity in this Action is likely to involve production 3 of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from 4 public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation 5 may be warranted. Accordingly, the Parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court 6 to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order (hereafter the “Order”). The Parties 7 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or 8 responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and 9 use extends only to the limited information, documents, or items that are entitled to 10 confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. 11 The Parties further acknowledge that this Stipulated Protective Order does not 12 entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets 13 forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when 14 a party seeks permission from the Court to file material under seal. 15 The entry of this Order does not preclude any Party from seeking a further order 16 of this Court as appropriate. Nothing herein shall be construed to affect in any manner 17 the admissibility at trial or any other court proceeding of any document, testimony, or 18 other evidence. 19 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 20 Good cause exists for entry of this Stipulated Protective Order because this 21 action is likely to involve private or proprietary information, such as Defendants’ 22 confidential policies and procedures, competitively sensitive business information, 23 customer records, and financial information, for which special protection from public 24 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is 25 warranted. 26 Based on information requested and the nature of the case, the Parties 27 anticipate that they will disclose, produce, or exchange information, documents, and 28 tangible things that reflect sensitive personal, financial, and/or proprietary 1 information, such as trade secrets (confidential business or financial information, 2 information regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential research, 3 development or commercial information, as well as estate planning documents of 4 third parties). Private information of third parties may also be disclosed by the Parties. 5 It is important that this information remain protected and not be readily available due 6 to the dangers of identity theft, the constitutional privacy rights of third parties, and 7 protection of business competition interests. The unrestricted or unprotected 8 disclosure of such private, financial, and/or business information would result in 9 prejudice or harm to the Producing Party and/or third parties by revealing their 10 information, which could result in identity theft, loss of business, and/or violation of 11 federal, state, and other privacy laws. 12 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 13 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 14 protect information the Parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 15 Parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for 16 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and 17 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this 18 matter. It is the intent of the Parties that information will not be designated as 19 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith 20 belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is 21 good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 22 2. DEFINITIONS 23 2.1 Action: Lorrie Herman v. Hillstone Restaurant Group, Inc., Case No. 8:25-cv-00002. 24 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the 25 designation of information or items under this Order. 26 /// 27 /// 28 1 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: 2 1. information, recorded, stored, or maintained for any reason 3 in any medium, including but not limited to print, electronic, or digital, that the party 4 designating the information as confidential (the “Designating Party”) reasonably 5 believes to fall within the following definition: 6 a) Trade secret,” as set forth in the Uniform Trade 7 Secrets Act, meaning information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, 8 device, method, technique, or process that: 9 i. Derives independent economic value, actual or 10 potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by 11 proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or 12 use; and 13 ii. Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable 14 under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy. 15 b ) Research, development, or commercial 16 information that is of a highly competitively sensitive nature and that a reasonably 17 prudent businessperson in the applicable field would not release to or share with the 18 public in the ordinary course of business, and the release of which would likely cause 19 proprietary, competitive, or economic harm. 20 c) Personal information protected from disclosure 21 under federal law, or where disclosure of that information would be highly offensive 22 to a reasonable person and is not of legitimate public concern. 23 2. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Protective 24 Order, the Order shall not apply to information that is publicly available, including: 25 a ) information or material that, prior to disclosure, 26 was public information or knowledge, including information obtained online by 27 Plaintiff and her counsel’s investigation which includes ingredients for menu items and 28 also past menus used by Hillstone at its various restaurants to the extent the information 1 is publicly available or otherwise independently obtained without violation of this 2 Order; 3 b) information and material that were, or after 4 designation became, public information or knowledge (other than by an act or omission 5 of a Party or others subject to this Protective Order); 6 c) information that is legitimately and 7 independently acquired from a source not subject to this Protective Order, including 8 information obtained online by Plaintiff and her counsel’s investigation which includes 9 ingredients for menu items and also past menus used by Hillstone at its various 10 restaurants to the extent the information is publicly available or otherwise 11 independently obtained without violation of this Order; 12 d) information that has been widely disseminated 13 (whether outside or within an organization or corporation), including information 14 obtained online by Plaintiff and her counsel’s investigation which includes ingredients 15 for menu items and also past menus used by Hillstone at its various restaurants to the 16 extent the information is publicly available or otherwise independently obtained 17 without violation of this Order; 18 e) Information that is publicly available or that has 19 lost its commercial sensitivity, regardless of age; 20 f) Non-party personal records, including but not 21 limited to cell phone records and text messages, and information introduced as an 22 exhibit at trial, shall not be subject to the restrictions of this Protective Order. 23 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and In-House Counsel (as well 24 as their support staff), including OC Trial Group, APC, 29122 Rancho Viejo Road, 25 Suite 211, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675, Counsel for Plaintiff Lorrie Herman 26 (“Plaintiff”); Cummins & White, LLP, 2424 S.E. Bristol Street, Suite 300, Newport 27 Beach, CA 92660, Counsel for Defendant Hillstone Restaurant Group, Inc. dba 28 Bandera Corona Del Mar (“Defendant”). 1 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information 2 or 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, 5 regardless of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained 6 (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are 7 produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 8 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a 9 matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to 10 serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 11 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this 12 Action. House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other 13 outside counsel. 14 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, 15 association, or 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 current officers, 21 directors, employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record 22 (and their 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) 28 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 3. SCOPE 6 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 7 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted 8 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of 9 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties 10 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 11 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 12 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 13 4. DURATION 14 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 15 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced 16 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members 17 of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific 18 factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. 19 See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing 20 documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits- 21 related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective 22 order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial. 23 5. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING 24 PROCEDURE 25 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 13.3, below, that this 26 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information 27 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and 28 the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file 1 material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access 2 to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive 3 motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. 4 City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. 5 Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony 6 Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective 7 orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or 8 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be 9 made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The 10 parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL 11 does not— without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing 12 that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or 13 otherwise protectable—constitute good cause. 14 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 15 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief 16 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See 17 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each 18 item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under 19 seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by 20 specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent 21 evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by 22 declaration. 23 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its 24 entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 25 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only 26 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall 27 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety 28 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 1 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 2 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 3 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this 4 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies 5 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection 6 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that 7 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications 8 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of 9 this Order. 10 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 11 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 12 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 13 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party 14 to sanctions. 15 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 16 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 17 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 18 6.2. Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 19 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 20 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 21 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 22 produced. 23 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 24 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 25 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 26 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 27 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 28 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 1 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected 2 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 3 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 4 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 5 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and 6 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 7 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents 8 it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, 9 or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing 10 the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL 11 legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of 12 the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly 13 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the 14 margins). 15 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party 16 identify 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 19 and for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place 20 on 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 warrants 22 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 23 portion(s). 24 6.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 25 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the 26 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 27 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 28 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 1 Order. 2 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 3 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 4 designation of confidentiality at any time. In the absence of a Court-issued Scheduling 5 Order to the contrary, there shall be no presumptive deadline to raise such challenges. 6 A party’s failure to raise a designation challenge promptly shall not be construed as 7 acquiescence to the designation. 8 6.2 Meet and Confer. Before seeking Court intervention, the 9 Challenging Party shall engage in the meet and confer process in good faith pursuant 10 to Local Rule 37-1 et seq. The Designating Party must respond promptly and with 11 specificity regarding the basis for the confidentiality designation. 12 6.3 Joint Stipulation or Motion. If the parties are unable to resolve the 13 dispute informally, the challenge may be submitted to the Court via joint stipulation 14 or, where appropriate, a noticed motion under Local Rule 37-2. The Court retains 15 discretion to permit resolution by alternative means, particularly where the challenged 16 material bears on public safety, health, or the core issues in dispute. 17 6.4 Burden of Proof. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge 18 proceeding shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those 19 made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses 20 and burdens on other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. 21 Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality 22 designation, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the 23 level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s 24 designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 25 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 26 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that 27 is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 28 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such 1 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 2 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving 3 Party must comply with the provisions of section 14 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 4 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 5 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 6 authorized under this Order. 7 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 8 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 9 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” 10 only to: 11 (a) the Receiving Party’s Counsel in this Action, as well as employees 12 of said Counsel to whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this 13 Action 14 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of 15 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 16 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 17 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 18 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 19 (d) the court and its personnel; 20 (e) court reporters and their staff; 21 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 22 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 23 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 24 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or 25 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 26 (h) during their depositions, witnesses ,and attorneys for witnesses, in 27 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing 28 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they 1 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 2 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed 3 by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition 4 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately 5 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted 6 under this Stipulated Protective Order; 7 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 8 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions; and 9 (j) any Party. 10 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED 11 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 12 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 13 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 14 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 15 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such 16 notification shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 17 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or 18 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 19 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include 20 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 21 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 22 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the 23 Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the subpoena 24 or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as 25 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or 26 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The 27 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that 28 court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed 1 as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful 2 directive from another court. 3 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 4 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 5 (a) The terms of this Order apply to information produced by Non- 6 Parties that is designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information is subject to the 7 protections of this Order. Nothing in this Order shall prevent a Party from obtaining 8 discovery from a Non-Party pursuant to lawful process, nor shall it be interpreted as 9 granting any automatic right to delay such discovery. 10 (b) If a Party receives a discovery request that calls for the production 11 of information obtained from a Non-Party and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL,” and 12 the Party is subject to an existing confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party, the 13 Party shall: 14 1. Promptly (within 5 calendar days) notify the Non-Party and 15 the Requesting Party in writing that some or all of the information may be subject to 16 a confidentiality agreement; 17 2. Provide the Non-Party with: (i) a copy of the discovery 18 request(s), (ii) a copy of this Protective Order, and (iii) a description of the information 19 at issue; 20 3. Inform the Non-Party that, unless it obtains a protective 21 order from the court within 7 days, the information may be produced in accordance 22 with this Protective Order. 23 (c) If the Non-Party does not file a motion for a protective order 24 within 7 days of receiving notice, the Producing Party shall promptly produce the 25 information responsive to the discovery request. 26 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Producing Party shall not 27 produce the information until the court resolves the motion. However, any such 28 motion must be supported by specific facts showing that disclosure would cause undue 1 harm or violate a legally recognized privilege. The burden of seeking and justifying 2 the protective order shall rest entirely with the Non-Party. 3 Nothing in this provision shall prevent the Requesting Party from seeking an 4 order compelling production, nor shall it preclude the court from awarding reasonable 5 fees and costs incurred due to any unjustified withholding of discovery. 6 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED 7 MATERIAL 8 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 9 material designated as Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not 10 authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party shall: 11 (a) Promptly notify the Designating Party in writing of the general 12 circumstances of the disclosure; 13 (b) Take reasonable steps, proportionate to the nature and sensitivity 14 of the information, to retrieve or restrict further dissemination of the disclosed 15 material; 16 (c) Inform the person or persons to whom the information was 17 inadvertently disclosed of the existence of this Protective Order; and 18 (d) Where appropriate, request that such person or persons sign the 19 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” attached as Exhibit A, unless doing 20 so would interfere with counsel’s duty to their client or with ongoing litigation 21 activity. 22 Nothing in this section shall require the Receiving Party to take steps that are 23 unreasonable or unduly burdensome, nor shall it preclude the Receiving Party from 24 challenging the designation of the disclosed material as “CONFIDENTIAL” if the 25 designation appears to have been made for strategic or improper purposes. In the event 26 of a dispute over confidentiality, the material may be temporarily treated as protected 27 until resolved by the court. 28 /// 1 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR 2 OTHERWISE PROTECTED MATERIAL 3 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 4 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 5 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 6 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure 7 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior 8 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the 9 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or 10 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the 11 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to 12 the court. 13 12. MISCELLANEOUS 14 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of 15 any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 16 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 17 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 18 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 19 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 20 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 21 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 22 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 23 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific 24 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is 25 denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public 26 record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 27 /// 28 /// 1 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 2 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 3 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return 4 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this 5 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 6 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected 7 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving 8 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 9 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies 10 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or 11 destroyed and (2)affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, 12 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any 13 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to 14 retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing 15 transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert 16 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such 17 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or 18 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in 19 Section 4 (DURATION). 20 14. VIOLATION 21 Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate 22 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary 23 sanctions. 24 /// 25 /// 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// 1 Respectfully submitted, 2 3 || Date: August 22, 2025 OC TRIAL GROUP, APC 4 By: 5 Blaine M. Brown, Esq. 6 Attorney for Plaintiff

LORRIE HERMAN

7 Date: August 22, 2025 CUMMINS & WHITE, LLP 8 9 By: Garrett M. Fahy, Esq. 10 Eric M. Khodadian, Esq. 11 Joshua Park, Esq. Attorney for Defendant 12 HILLSTONE RESTAURANT GROUP, 13 INC., doing business as BANDERA

CORONA DEL MAR

14 | FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 15 6 DATED: August 28, 2025

TrounsE. Spot On VU, 18 | HONORABLE KAREN E. SCOTT 19 || UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, [print or type full name], of [print or type full 4 address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand 5 the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for 6 the Central District of California on [date] in the case of [Lorrie Herman v. 7 Hillstone Restaurant Group, Inc., Case No. 8:25-cv-00002 ]. I agree to comply with 8 and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand 9 and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and 10 punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in 11 any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order 12 to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. 13 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court 14 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 15 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 16 termination of this action. I hereby appoint [print or type full 17 name] of [print or type full address and telephone number] as my California agent 18 for service of process in connection with this action or any proceedings related to 19 enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order. 20 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States of America 21 that the foregoing is true and correct. 22 23 Date: 24 City and State where sworn and signed: 25 Printed name: 26 Signature:

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