1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 3 SHANNON BULLARD AND APRIL Case No. 2:22-cv-09112-RGK-MAAx 4

BULLARD,

5 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE Plaintiffs, ORDER 6 v. 7 Judge: R. Gary Klausner

TRANSAMERICA PREMIER LIFE

8 INSURANCE COMPANY F/K/A WESTERN RESERVE LIFE Magistrate Judge: Hon. Maria A. Audero 9 ASSURANCE COMPANY OF OHIO; and DOES 1 through 50, 10 inclusive, 11 Defendants. 12

13 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 14 Discovery in this Action is likely to involve production of confidential, 15 proprietary, actuarial, business, technical, financial, or private information of 16 Plaintiffs Shannon Bullard and April Bullard and Defendant Transamerica Premier 17 Life Insurance Company n/k/a Transamerica Life Insurance Company (“TLIC”), for 18 which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other 19 than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the Parties hereby 20 stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order 21 (“Order”). The Parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket 22 protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it 23 affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or 24 items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. 25 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 26 This Action is likely to involve trade secrets, insured individuals’ medical 27 data, customer and pricing lists and other valuable research, development, 28 commercial, financial, technical, and/or proprietary information for which special 1 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than 2 prosecution of this Action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials 3 and information consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial 4 information, information regarding confidential business practices, or other 5 confidential research, development, or commercial information (including 6 information implicating privacy rights of third parties), information otherwise 7 generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise 8 protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, 9 or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the 10 prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to 11 adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure 12 that the Parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in 13 preparation for and in the conduct of discovery and trial, to address their handling 14 at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such 15 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information 16 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be 17 so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a 18 confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part 19 of the public record of this case. 20 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER 21 SEAL 22 The Parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this 23 Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Local Civil 24 Rule 79-5 and the Court’s Standing Order set forth the procedures that must be 25 followed and the standards that will be applied when a Party seeks permission from 26 the court to file material under seal. 27 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 28 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 1 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and 2 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006); Phillips v. Gen. Motors 3 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002); Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, 4 Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require 5 good cause showing). A specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with 6 proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to 7 Protected Material that a Party seeks to file under seal. The Party’s mere designation 8 of Disclosure or Discovery Material as “CONFIDENTIAL” does not—without the 9 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material 10 sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise 11 protectable—constitute good cause. 12 Further, if a Party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 13 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the 14 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. 15 See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For 16 each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced 17 under seal in connection with discovery, a dispositive motion, or trial, the Party 18 seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts 19 and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence 20 supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by 21 declaration. 22 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in 23 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. 24 If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting 25 only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, 26 shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their 27 entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 28 1 2. DEFINITIONS 2 2.1 Acknowledgement: The “Acknowledgement and Agreement to be 3 Bound” form attached as Exhibit A to this Order. 4 2.2 Action: This lawsuit captioned Shannon Bullard, et al. v. Transamerica 5 Premier Life Insurance Company, Case No. 2:22-cv-09112-RGK-MAAx, pending in 6 the United States District Court for the Central District of California. 7 2.3 Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation 8 of information or items under this Order. 9 2.4 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Confidential proprietary or 10 commercially sensitive business and financial information, trade secrets, and personal 11 information which is not generally known or publicly available and which the 12 Designating Party would not normally reveal to a third party or information that 13 otherwise meets the standard for protection set forth in Rule 26(c) of the Federal 14 Rules of Civil Procedure. It is the intent of the Parties that information will not be 15 designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated 16 without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential non-public 17 manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this 18 Action. 19 2.5 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and In-House Counsel (as well as 20 their support staff). 21 2.6 Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates information 22 or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 23 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 24 2.7 Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless 25 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, 26 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced 27 or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 28 2.8 Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 1 pertinent to the Action who has been retained by a Party or its Counsel to serve as 2 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action and who is not a past or current 3 employee of a Party and who, at the time of retention, is not anticipated to become 4 an employee of a Party. This definition includes a professional jury or trial 5 consultant retained in connection with this Action. 6 2.9 In-House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a Party, any 7 affiliate thereof, or of an entity that owns an interest in a Party and is responsible for 8 controlling, directing, or advising on the Action. In-House Counsel does not include 9 Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel. 10 2.10 Non-Party: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, 11 or other legal entity not named as a Party to this Action. 12 2.11 Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a 13 Party to this Action but who are retained to represent or advise a Party to this Action 14 and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law 15 firm that has appeared on behalf of that Party, and includes support staff. 16 2.12 Party: Any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 17 employees, consultants, retained experts, In-House Counsel, and Outside Counsel 18 of Record (and their support staffs). 19 2.13 Producing Party: Any party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 20 Discovery Material in this Action. 21 2.14 Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation 22 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 23 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 24 and their employees and subcontractors. 25 2.15 Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 26 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 27 2.16 Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery 28 Material from a Producing Party. 1 3. SCOPE 2 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 3 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 4 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 5 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 6 presentations by any Party or its Counsel or any of its Experts that might reveal 7 Protected Material. 8 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 9 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 10 4. DURATION 11 FINAL DISPOSITION of the Action is defined as the conclusion of any 12 appellate proceedings, or, if no appeal is taken, when the time for filing of an appeal 13 has run. Except as set forth below, the terms of this Order apply through FINAL 14 DISPOSITION of the Action. The Parties stipulate that they will be contractually 15 bound by the terms of this agreement beyond FINAL DISPOSITION, and that they 16 will have to file a separate action for enforcement of the agreement once FINAL 17 DISPOSITION of the Action occurs. 18 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as 19 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this Protective Order used or 20 introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available 21 to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons 22 supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial 23 judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing 24 “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from 25 “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of court 26 record). Accordingly, for such materials, the terms of this Order do not extend 27 beyond the commencement of the trial. 28 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 4 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 5 qualifies under the appropriate standards. To the extent it is practical to do so, the 6 Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material, 7 documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify so that other 8 portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for which protection 9 is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. 10 While mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited, the 11 Parties recognize that manually analyzing and designating large numbers of 12 documents one-by-one for confidentiality can be an unduly burdensome task. The 13 Parties agree that each Party may reasonably rely on metadata information and 14 good-faith searches to designate documents for production. Designations that are 15 shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose 16 (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 17 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other Parties) that are not remediated by the 18 Designating Party after notice may expose the Designating Party to sanctions. 19 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 20 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 21 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 22 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 23 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 24 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 25 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 26 produced. 27 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 28 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 1 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 2 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 3 “CONFIDENTIAL,” to each page that contains protected material. If only a portion 4 or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party 5 also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate 6 markings in the margins). 7 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 8 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 9 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and 10 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 11 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the 12 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which 13 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before 14 producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the legend 15 “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion 16 or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party 17 also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate 18 markings in the margins). 19 (b) any Party may designate as Protected Material testimony given in a 20 deposition or in other pretrial or trial proceedings by informing the reporter during 21 the deposition or by sending a letter to all Outside Counsel of Record and to the 22 deposition reporter designating by page and line any portions of the transcript to be 23 so restricted, or the entire transcript if applicable, within thirty (30) days after 24 receiving the deposition transcript and specifying the level of protection being 25 asserted. 26 During this 30-day period, a transcript will be treated as if it had been 27 designated “CONFIDENTIAL” in its entirety unless otherwise agreed. After the 28 expiration of that period, the transcript shall be treated only as actually designated. 1 When deposition testimony is designated Protected Material by informing 2 the reporter during the deposition, the transcript containing Protected Material shall 3 have an obvious legend on the title page that the transcript contains Protected 4 Material, and the title page shall be followed by a list of all pages (including line 5 numbers) that have been designated as Protected Material. The Designating Party 6 shall inform the court reporter of these requirements. 7 Parties shall give the other Parties notice if they reasonably expect a 8 deposition, hearing, or other proceeding to include Protected Material so that the 9 other Parties can ensure that only authorized individuals who have signed the 10 Acknowledgement are present at those proceedings. The use of a document as an 11 exhibit at a deposition shall not in any way affect its designation as 12 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 13 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for 14 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 15 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 16 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 17 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 18 portion(s). 19 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 20 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive 21 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 22 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 23 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 24 Order. 25 5.4 Protected Health Information. Additionally, certain Confidential 26 Information or Items may be Protected Health Information (“PHI”) as defined by 27 the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) and the 28 regulations promulgated thereunder at 45 C.F.R. § 160.103. Without limiting the 1 generality of the foregoing, “PHI” includes, but is not limited to, health information, 2 including demographic information, relating to either (a) the past, present, or future 3 physical or mental condition of an individual, (b) the provision of care to an 4 individual, or (c) the payment for care provided to an individual, which identifies 5 the individual or which reasonably could be expected to identify an individual. All 6 “covered entities” (as defined by 45 C.F.R. § 160.103) are hereby authorized to 7 disclose PHI to all attorneys now of record in this Action or who may become of 8 record in the future in this Action. Subject to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, 9 and without prejudice to any Party’s objection except as otherwise provided herein, 10 the Parties are authorized to receive, subpoena, transmit, or disclose PHI relevant to 11 the claims at issue in this Action, subject to all terms of this Order. All PHI disclosed 12 under this Order must be designated as Confidential Information pursuant to this 13 Order. A Receiving Party which receives PHI in discovery shall not use or disclose 14 such PHI for any purpose other than this Action. To the extent documents or 15 information produced in this Action have already been exchanged or will again be 16 exchanged between the Parties in the normal course of business, treatment of such 17 documents prior to or after the conclusion of this Action shall be governed by this 18 Order. 19 5.5 Specific Provisions Concerning the Disclosure of Personally 20 Identifiable Information (“PII”). When PII (e.g., names, addresses, Social Security 21 numbers, phone numbers, etc.) is disclosed between the Parties as authorized by this 22 Order, the PII of each individual whose claims are not at issue in this Action and 23 who are otherwise identified in the Discovery material may either be redacted to 24 protect the identify of such individuals, or produced without redactions. Upon 25 receipt of any PII, a Receiving Party shall take all reasonable measures necessary 26 for protecting the PII from unauthorized disclosure as required under both state and 27 federal law. 28 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. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s 5 confidentiality designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial unfairness, 6 unnecessary economic burdens, or a significant disruption or delay of the Action, a 7 Party does not waive its right to challenge a confidentiality designation by electing 8 not to mount a challenge promptly after the original designation is disclosed. 9 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 10 resolution process, which shall comply with Local Rule 37.1 et seq., and with 11 Section 4 of Judge Audero’s Procedures (“Mandatory Telephonic Conference for 12 Discovery Disputes”).1 13 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 14 the Designating Party. Frivolous designations or challenges, and those designations 15 and challenges made for an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary 16 expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party or 17 Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or 18 withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all Parties shall continue to afford the 19 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the 20 Designating Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 21 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 22 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 23 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 24 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such 25 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 26 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a 27

28 1 Judge Audero’s Procedures are available at https://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/honorable-maria- 1 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL 2 DISPOSITION). 3 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 4 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 5 authorized under this Order. 6 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 7 otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 8 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 9 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 10 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well 11 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary 12 to disclose the information for this Action; 13 (b) the Receiving Party, including officers, directors, and employees 14 (including In-House Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is 15 reasonably necessary for this Action; 16 (c)the Receiving Party’s Parents and affiliates, and their respective officers, 17 directors, employees, consultants, advisors, insurers and/or reinsurers (1) to whom 18 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action, and (2) who have signed the 19 Acknowledgement; 20 (d) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 21 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 22 Acknowledgment; 23 (e) the Court and its personnel; 24 (f) court reporters and their staff; 25 (g) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 26 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 27 signed the Acknowledgement; 28 (h) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 1 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 2 (i) during a deposition, the witness and attorneys for the witness, in the 3 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing Party 4 requests that the witness sign the Acknowledgement; and (2) such witness and 5 attorneys for such witness will not be permitted to keep any confidential information 6 unless each signs the Acknowledgement, unless otherwise agreed by the 7 Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition 8 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately 9 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted 10 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 11 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 12 mutually agreed upon by the Parties engaged in settlement discussions and who have 13 signed the Acknowledgement. 14 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED 15 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 16 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 17 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 18 “CONFIDENTIAL” that Party must: 19 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification 20 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 21 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order 22 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the 23 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include 24 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and 25 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be 26 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected; and 27 (d) otherwise comply with any applicable HIPAA rules or regulations with 28 respect to any response or production in connection with a discovery request or 1 subpoena. 2 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served 3 with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in 4 this Action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which 5 the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 6 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 7 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions 8 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action 9 to disobey a lawful directive from another court. 10 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 11 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 12 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 13 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information 14 produced by any Non-Party in connection with this Action is protected by the 15 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 16 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections. 17 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 18 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 19 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 20 confidential information, then the Party shall: 21 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 22 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement 23 with a Non-Party; 24 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 25 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 26 specific description of the information requested; and 27 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 28 Non-Party, if requested. 1 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 2 21 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party 3 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery 4 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall 5 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 6 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 7 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and 8 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 9 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 10 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 11 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 12 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 13 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 14 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person 15 or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this 16 Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the Acknowledgement. 17 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 18 PROTECTED MATERIAL 19 When a Producing Party gives notice to each Receiving Party that certain 20 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection 21 (e.g., work product immunity), the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set 22 forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended 23 to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that 24 provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of 25 Evidence 502(d) and (e), the Parties agree that the inadvertent or unintentional 26 disclosure by the Producing Party of material that is privileged or subject to other 27 protection shall not be deemed a waiver in whole or in part of the claim of privilege 28 or other protection, either as to the specific information disclosed or as to any other 1 information relating thereto on the same or related subject matter. 2 Upon learning of an inadvertent or unintentional disclosure of privileged 3 information, the Producing Party shall provide written notice to each party who has 4 received such information. Within ten (10) business days of the date of that written 5 notice, the documents or materials described in that notice shall be returned to 6 counsel for the Producing Party, destroyed or sequestered by the Receiving Party, 7 and in the same time frame, any notes or other writing or recordings that copy, 8 summarize, reflect, or discuss the content of the documents or materials shall be 9 destroyed or sequestered by the Receiving Party. No use shall be made of such 10 documents or materials from such inadvertent production during deposition or at 11 trial, nor shall such documents or materials be provided to anyone who did not 12 already have access to them prior to the request by the Producing Party that they be 13 returned. 14 If the Receiving Party intends to challenge the assertion of privilege, it must 15 provide written notice within this ten-day period, explaining the grounds for its 16 challenge. The Receiving Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process under 17 Local Rule 37-1 and Section 4 of Judge Audero’s Procedures (“Mandatory 18 Telephonic Conference for Discovery Disputes”) within ten (10) business days of 19 service of the Receiving Party’s notice disputing a claim of inadvertent production. 20 If the Parties cannot resolve a challenge without court intervention, the 21 Receiving Party may contact the Court regarding the dispute as outlined in Local 22 Rule 37 and Section 4 of Judge Audero’s Procedures (“Mandatory Telephonic 23 Conference for Discovery Disputes”). Pending the Court’s determination, the party 24 challenging the assertion of privilege shall sequester the affected documents and 25 materials and shall not make any use of such information. 26 12. MISCELLANEOUS 27 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 28 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 1 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 2 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 3 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 4 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 5 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 6 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 7 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material 8 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 9 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material 10 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information 11 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court. 12 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 13 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section 4 14 (DURATION), within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each 15 Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy 16 such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all 17 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or 18 capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned 19 or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the 20 Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by 21 the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the 22 Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving 23 Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, or any other 24 format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding 25 this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, 26 motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, 27 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, 28 and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected 1 Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material 2 remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). 3 4 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD. 5 6 Dated: May 9, 2023 By: /s/ Jarrett E. Ganer Jarrett E. Ganer * 7 jarrett.ganer@mhllp.com 8 Renee T. Wilkerson* renee.wilkerson@mhllp.com 9

MCDOWELL HETHERINGTON LLP

10 1001 Fannin Street, Ste 2400 Houston, TX 77002 11 Telephone: 713-337-5580 12 Facsimile: 713-337-8850

13 * Admitted pro hac vice 14 Vivian I. Orlando (SBN 213833) 15 VOrlando@maynardnexsen.com 16 MAYNARD NEXSEN LLP 10100 Santa Monica Boulevard, Ste 550 17 Los Angeles, CA 90067 18 Telephone: 310-596-4500 19 Facsimile: 205-254-1999

20 ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANT

TRANSAMERICA LIFE INSURANCE

21 COMPANY

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 Dated: May 9, 2023 By: /s/ Daniel Eli Jason P. Fowler, Esq. (SBN: 239426) 2 jason@parris.com Daniel Eli, Esq. (SBN: 192019) 3 deli@parris.com

PARRIS LAW FIRM

4 43364 10th Street West Lancaster, California 93534 5 Telephone: (661) 949-2595 Facsimile: (661) 949-7524 6

ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFFS

7

SHANNON BULLARD AND APRIL

8 BULLARD 9 10 11 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED. 12 May 12, 2023 13 Dated:_____________________ _________________________ 14 Honorable Maria A. Audero United States Magistrate Judge 15 16 17 18 19 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 ___________________ 4 [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its 5 entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the 6 United States District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the 7 case of ______________________________ [insert formal name of the case 8 and the number and initials assigned to it by the court]. I agree to comply with 9 and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I 10 understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to 11 sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will 12 not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated 13 Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the 14 provisions of this Order. 15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for 16 the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this 17 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after 18 termination of this Action. I hereby appoint ________________________ [print 19 or type full name] of ___________________ [print or type full address and 20 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with 21 this Action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective 22 Order. 23 24 Signature: __________________________ 25 Printed Name: __________________________ 26 Date: __________________________ 27 City and State Where Sworn and Signed: __________________________ 28