JANE DOE (M.J.J.) v. WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS, INC.

1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 3 4 5 JANE DOE (M.J.J.), 6 Plaintiff, 7 v. Case No. 2:26-CV-1225-JFW-MARx 8 WYNDHAM HOTELS AND DISCOVERY MATTER: JOINT RESORTS, INC.; LQ STIPULATION FOR 9 MANAGEMENT, LLC; LA QUINTA PROTECTIVE ORDER 10 FRANCHISING, LLC; LA QUINTA HOLDINGS, INC.; SUPER 8 11 MANAGEMENT, INC.; HEER B. 12 PATEL; PRAVIN G. PATEL; HASU PATEL, Individually and as Trustee of 13 THE PATEL FAMILY TRUST; and 14 TARA PATEL, 15 16 Defendants. 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1 Pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and its inherent 2 authority, the Court hereby orders the entry of the following Protective Order in this 3 matter. 4 1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS 5 Discovery in this action is likely to involve the production of confidential, 6 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure 7 and from use for any purpose other than pursuing this litigation may be warranted. 8 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following 9 Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer 10 blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection 11 it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or 12 items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. 13 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 14 This action is likely to involve sensitive private information, valuable 15 commercial, and/or proprietary information for which special protection from public 16 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is 17 warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of, 18 among other things, confidential business or financial information, information 19 regarding confidential business practices, or other confidential commercial or personal 20 information (including information implicating privacy rights of third parties), 21 information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged 22 or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case 23 decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to 24 facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, 25 to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure 26 that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation 27 for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and 1 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this 2 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as 3 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith 4 belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is 5 good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 6 3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE 7 The parties further acknowledge, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not 8 entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 and the 9 Court’s Standing Order set forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards 10 that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under 11 seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial 12 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, 13 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and 14 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors 15 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 16 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good 17 cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with 18 proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to 19 Protected Material (as defined below) that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ 20 mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material (as defined below) does not— 21 without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the 22 material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise 23 protectable—constitute good cause. 24 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then 25 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief 26 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See 27 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item 1 or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal, 2 the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific 3 facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence 4 supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by 5 declaration. 6 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its 7 entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If 8 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only 9 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be 10 filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should 11 include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible. 12 4. DEFINITIONS 13 A. “Action” means Jane Doe (M.J.J.) v. WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS, 14 INC., et al., Case No. 2:26-cv-01225, presently pending in the Central District of 15 California, Western Division. 16 B. “Party” means any party named in this Action. 17 C. “Non-Party” means any natural person, partnership, corporation, 18 association, or other legal entity not named as a Party in this Action. 19 D. Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation 20 of information or items under this Order. 21 E. “Plaintiff’s Identity” means: (i) names and aliases used by Plaintiff at any 22 time; (ii) Plaintiff’s date of birth; (iii) Plaintiff’s social security number; (iv) Plaintiff’s 23 current and prior residential addresses; (v) Plaintiff’s current and prior phone numbers 24 and active and inactive social media or online user account names; (vi) Plaintiff’s 25 likeness; and (vii) the names of Plaintiff’s biological or adoptive parents, and biological 26 siblings. Any document containing Plaintiff’s Identity is subject to this Protective 27 Order unless the information constituting Plaintiff’s Identity is redacted from the 1 document. 2 F. “Confidential Information” means Discovery Material (regardless of how 3 it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that contain: (i) sensitive 4 personal identifying or financial information, including but not limited to, dates of 5 birth, social security numbers, phone numbers, employment histories, or credit card 6 information; (ii) information that relates to a person’s business operations, processes, 7 trade secret or proprietary information, and/or technical and development information, 8 the disclosure of which is likely to harm that person’s competitive position; and (iii) 9 any material prohibited from disclosure by statute or Court Order but is nonetheless 10 discoverable. “Confidential Information” does not include “Plaintiff’s Identity” which 11 is separately addressed herein. 12 G. “Highly Confidential Information” means Discovery Material that a Party 13 reasonably believes in good faith constitutes, reflects, discloses, or contains any trade 14 secret or proprietary information that the Party has maintained as non-public and 15 confidential. 16 H. “Designating Party” means a Party or Non-Party that designates 17 information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery and 18 marks as “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL.” 19 I. “Discovery Material” means all items or information, regardless of the 20 medium or manner generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other things, 21 testimony, transcripts, or tangible things) that are produced, disclosed, or generated by 22 the Designating Party in response to a discovery request issued in this case. 23 J. “Outside Counsel” means attorneys who are not employees of a Party but 24 are retained to represent or advise a Party to the Action, and persons who are 25 employees, partners, or shareholders of a law firm that represents or has appeared on 26 behalf of a Party in this action. 27 K. “In-House Counsel” means Attorneys who are employees of a Party. 1 L. “Counsel” (without qualifier) means Outside Counsel and In-House 2 Counsel (as well as their support staffs). 3 M. “Final Disposition” means the later of (i) dismissal of all claims and 4 defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (ii) final judgment herein after 5 the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, re-hearings, remands, trials, or reviews 6 of this action, including the time limits for filing any motions or applications for 7 extension of time pursuant to applicable law. 8 N. “Producing Party” means any Party or non-party that discloses or 9 produces any Discovery Material in this case. 10 O. “Protected Material” means any Discovery Material that is designated 11 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” as provided for in this Order. 12 P. “Receiving Party” means any Party who receives Discovery Material from 13 a Producing Party 14 Q. “Expert” means a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a 15 matter pertinent to this lawsuit who has been retained by a Party or their Counsel to 16 serve as an expert witness or consultant in this Action. 17 R. “Professional Vendors” means persons or entities that provide litigation 18 support services (e.g., document and ESI processing, hosting, review and production, 19 photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations, and 20 organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees or 21 subcontractors. 22 5. REPRESENTATION, SCOPE AND DURATION 23 A. Plaintiff represents that she believes in good faith that the alleged 24 trafficker(s) and the traffickers’ associates present an ongoing threat to safety to 25 Plaintiff and her family members, and that the disclosure of Plaintiff’s Identity within 26 the context of this Action will increase that threat as well as the social stigma associated 27 with being a trafficking victim. Plaintiff further represents that she has taken steps to 1 prevent disclosure of Plaintiff’s Identity in conjunction with this Action, that she is 2 unaware of any public disclosure of Plaintiff’s Identity in conjunction with this Action, 3 and that she does not intend to publicly disclose her Identity in conjunction with this 4 Action, on social media or otherwise. If Defendants become aware of any public 5 disclosure of Plaintiff’s Identity in conjunction with this Action by Plaintiff or her 6 counsel, Defendants may apply to the Court for relief from the restrictions imposed in 7 this Protective Order related to nondisclosure of Plaintiff’s Identity. 8 B. The protections conferred by this Order cover not only Protected Material 9 but also (i) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Discovery Material; and 10 (ii) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that 11 might reveal Discovery Material. 12 C. This Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures during 13 discovery, or in the course of making initial or supplemental disclosures under Rule 14 26(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 15 D. This Order is without prejudice to the right of any Party to seek further or 16 additional or less restrictive protection of any Discovery Material or to modify this 17 Order in any way, including, without limitation, an order that certain matter not be 18 produced at all. 19 E. To the extent a Designating Party provides Protected Material under the 20 terms of this Protective Order to the Receiving Party, the Receiving Party shall not 21 share that material with any non-party, absent express written permission from the 22 Designating Party, unless in conformance with this Protective Order. 23 F. Not later than ninety (90) days after the Final Disposition of this case, 24 each Party shall return all Protected Material to the Designating Party’s Counsel or 25 destroy such Protected Material, at the option of the Designating Party. 26 G. All Parties that have received any such Protected Material shall, upon 27 request by the Designating Party, certify in writing that all Protected Material has been 1 returned to the Designating Party’s Outside Counsel or destroyed. Notwithstanding the 2 provisions for return or destruction of Protected Material, Counsel may retain 3 pleadings, correspondence, and attorney or consultant work product containing or 4 appending Protected Material (but not document productions) for archival purposes. 5 Counsel may also retain any deposition of an expert witness or corporate witness for 6 the limited purpose of assisting in the recollection of past testimony and/or 7 impeachment of said witness. 8 H. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of 9 the trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of 10 Protected Material at trial. 11 I. Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated or 12 maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced as an exhibit at trial 13 becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the public, 14 including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings 15 to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 16 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents 17 produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related 18 documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do 19 not extend beyond the commencement of the trial. 20 6. USE AND DISCLOSURE 21 A. All information designated “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY 22 CONFIDENTIAL” shall be used solely for the purposes of the above-captioned 23 litigation between the Parties. Nothing herein shall restrict the use of Protected Material 24 of the Producing Party by the Producing Party. 25 B. Access to a Designating Party’s information marked “CONFIDENTIAL” 26 shall be limited to, and only to, the following persons: 27 i. The Parties including the current employees, officers, and 1 representatives of the Parties as needed to litigate any claims or defenses. 2 ii. Former employees, officers, and representatives of the Parties who 3 execute the Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound attached to this 4 Protective Order as Exhibit A; 5 iii. Current and former contractors of the Parties who execute the 6 Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound attached to this Protective Order 7 as Exhibit A; 8 iv. Counsel for the Parties and employees, agents, and representatives 9 of counsel as needed to litigate any claims or defenses; 10 v. Adjusters and claims professionals of an insurer of a Party and 11 counsel for such insurer of a Party as needed to litigate any claims or defenses 12 who execute the Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound attached to this 13 Protective Order as Exhibit A ; 14 vi. The Court and Court personnel; 15 vii. Court reporters, recorders, and videographers engaged for 16 depositions; 17 viii. Any mediator appointed by the Court or jointly selected by the 18 Parties who executes the Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound attached 19 to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 20 ix. Any Expert, outside consultant, or investigator retained by Outside 21 Counsel of Record specifically in connection with this Action and who execute 22 the Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached to this Protective 23 Order attached to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 24 x. A person identified in the document marked “CONFIDENTIAL” 25 as an author, source, addressee, or recipient of the communication or document, 26 or who already has a copy of the document marked “CONFIDENTIAL”; 27 xi. Professional Vendors who execute the Acknowledgment & 1 Agreement to Be Bound attached to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 2 xii. Government agencies and agency personnel, but only to the extent 3 that the disclosure of Confidential Information is necessary to litigate any claims 4 or defenses or to comply with any obligations or requirements; 5 xiii. In the course of a deposition, any Non-Party deponent and such 6 Non-Party deponent’s counsel may be shown Confidential Information if the 7 Non-Party deponent and the Non-Party deponent’s counsel first execute the 8 Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached to this Protective Order 9 as Exhibit A, provided that any such Non-Party deponent and his or her counsel 10 may not retain any documents containing Confidential Information following the 11 deposition; and 12 xiv. Such other persons as hereafter may be designated by written 13 agreement in this Action or by order of the Court and who execute the 14 Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached as Exhibit A. 15 C. Access to a Designating Party’s information marked “HIGHLY 16 CONFIDENTIAL” shall be limited to, and only to, the following persons: 17 i. Employees, officers, and representatives of the Designating Party; 18 ii. Former employees, officers, and representatives of the Designating 19 Party who execute the Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached to 20 this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 21 iii. Contractors and former contractors of the Designating Party who 22 execute the Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached to this 23 Protective Order as Exhibit A; 24 iv. Employees and former employees of a Party operating with the 25 brand of a Designating Party who execute the Acknowledgment and Agreement 26 to Be Bound attached to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 27 v. Outside Counsel for the Parties and employees, agents, and 1 representatives of Outside Counsel as needed to litigate any claims or defenses; 2 vi. The Court and Court personnel; 3 vii. Court reporters, recorders, and videographers engaged for 4 depositions; 5 viii. Any mediator appointed by the Court or jointly selected by the 6 Parties; 7 ix. Any Expert, outside consultant, or investigator retained by Outside 8 Counsel of Record specifically in connection with this Action and who have 9 signed the Acknowledgment & Agreement to be Bound attached to this 10 Protective Order as Exhibit A; 11 x. A person identified in the document marked “HIGHLY 12 CONFIDENTIAL” as an author, source, addressee, or recipient of the 13 communication or document, or who already has a copy of the document marked 14 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL”; 15 xi. Professional Vendors who have signed the Acknowledgment & 16 Agreement to Be Bound attached to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; and 17 xii. Such other persons as hereafter may be designated by written 18 agreement in this Action or by order of the Court and who execute the 19 Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached as Exhibit A. 20 D. Access to “PLAINTIFF’S IDENTITY” information shall be treated as 21 “Confidential Information” and limited to, and only to, the following: 22 i. The Parties including the current employees, officers, and 23 representatives of the Parties as a Party in good faith believes may be helpful or 24 informative in investigating or litigating any claims or defenses. 25 ii. Law enforcement agencies and agency personnel, but only to the 26 extent that a Party in good faith believes that the disclosure of Plaintiff’s Identity 27 may be helpful or informative in investigating or litigating any claims or 1 defenses or to comply with any Party’s discovery obligations or requirements. 2 To the extent that Discovery Materials are obtained, a copy shall be provided to 3 all Parties upon receipt so long as the Discovery Materials are responsive to a 4 proper and non-objectionable discovery request. Nothing herein shall be 5 construed as a waiver of any objections that a Party may have to discovery 6 requests or the production of Discovery Materials pursuant to this provision; 7 iii. Former employees, officers, and representatives of the Parties, who 8 counsel for a Party in good faith believes may have relevant information or may 9 be called to testify at trial or deposition in this action and who execute the 10 Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound attached to this Protective Order 11 as Exhibit A; 12 iv. Current and former contractors of the Parties, who counsel for a 13 Party in good faith believes may have relevant information or may be called to 14 testify at trial or deposition in this action and who execute the Acknowledgment 15 and Agreement to Be Bound attached to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 16 v. Any potential, anticipated, or actual fact witness and their counsel, 17 who Counsel for a Party in good faith believes may possess discoverable 18 information (i.e., information which may lead to the discovery of admissible 19 information) related to Plaintiff’s claims and/or the Defendants’ defenses 20 thereto, provided that any such person may not retain any documents containing 21 Plaintiff’s Identity, and that Plaintiff’s family’s physical locations will never be 22 disclosed to any such person, Counsel for the Party presenting such information 23 to a fact witness and/or counsel must present and request such person to execute 24 the Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound attached to this Protective 25 Order as Exhibit A, and if such person refuses to execute it, Counsel for the Party 26 presenting such information shall: (a) deliver a copy of this Order to such person; 27 (b) advise any such person that Plaintiff’s Identity is to be held confidential 1 pursuant to the Order; (c) advise such person that such person may not record or 2 reveal Plaintiff’s Identity to any other person without obtaining prior 3 authorization from this Court, with prior notice to all Parties herein and subject 4 to other provisions of this Order; and (d) keep a record of any persons to whom 5 counsel discloses Plaintiff’s Identity, with such record not being subject to 6 discovery, in whole or in part, without a further order of the Court; 7 vi. Counsel for the Parties, retained specifically for this action and 8 employees, agents, and representatives of counsel as needed to litigate any 9 claims or defenses; 10 vii. Adjusters and claims professionals of an insurer of a Party and 11 counsel for such insurer of a Party as needed to litigate any claims or defenses 12 and who execute the Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound attached to 13 this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 14 viii. The Court and Court personnel; 15 ix. Court reporters, recorders, and videographers engaged for 16 depositions; 17 x. Any custodian of records. 18 xi. Any mediator appointed by the Court or jointly selected by the 19 Parties who executes the Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound attached 20 to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 21 xii. Any Expert, outside consultant, or investigator retained by Outside 22 Counsel of Record specifically in connection with this Action and who have 23 signed the Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached to this 24 Protective Order attached to this Protective Order as Exhibit A; 25 xiii. Professional Vendors and other independent providers of 26 documents production, electronic discovery, and other litigation services, 27 including focus groups, mock jurors, and jury consultants, who are retained or 1 employed by Outside Counsel of Record in connection with this Action and who 2 have signed the Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached to this 3 Protective Order as Exhibit A; 4 xiv. Government agencies and agency personnel, but only to the extent 5 that a Party in good faith believes the disclosure of Plaintiff’s Identity is 6 necessary to litigate any claims or defenses or to comply with any obligations or 7 requirements. To the extent that Discovery Materials are obtained, a copy shall 8 be provided to all Parties upon receipt so long as the Discovery Materials are 9 responsive to a proper and non-objectionable discovery request. Nothing herein 10 shall be construed as a waiver of any objections that a Party may have to 11 discovery requests or the production of Discovery Materials pursuant to this 12 provision; 13 xv. The Plaintiff’s street-level trafficker and/or the street-level 14 trafficker’s associates (as disclosed by Plaintiff pursuant to Section 9.B of this 15 Order or as otherwise known to the Defendants), but only after providing 7-day 16 notice to the Plaintiff of the intention to contact the trafficker or trafficker’s 17 associate to permit Plaintiff to seek further protection from the Court should it 18 be necessary. The Plaintiff’s Identity will be revealed to the trafficker and/or 19 associates (as disclosed by Plaintiff pursuant to Section 9.B of this Order or as 20 otherwise known to the Defendants) only to the extent a Party believes such 21 disclosure is likely to be helpful or informative in investigating or litigating 22 Plaintiff’s claims or defenses, and any such person may not retain any 23 documents, images or information containing Plaintiff’s Identity. Plaintiff’s and 24 Plaintiff’s family’s physical location will never be disclosed to Plaintiff’s 25 trafficker and/or the trafficker’s associates (as disclosed by Plaintiff pursuant to 26 Section 9.B of this Order or as otherwise known to the Defendants); and 27 xvi. Such other persons as hereafter may be designated by written 1 agreement in this Action or by order of the Court and who execute the 2 Acknowledgment & Agreement to Be Bound attached as Exhibit A. 3 E. Plaintiff represents that, consistent with her privacy concerns, it is her 4 intent not to disclose her identity or image in relation to the status of this matter or the 5 underlying allegations on social media or with any media outlet while the case is 6 pending. The identity and image protections provided to Plaintiff in this Protective 7 Order will become inapplicable if Plaintiff does disclose her identity or image in 8 relation to the underlying allegations on social media or with any media outlet while 9 the case is pending; 10 F. Prior to any disclosure of “Plaintiff’s Identity” or any Discovery Material 11 marked “Confidential” or “Highly Confidential” to any person required by this Order 12 to execute the Acknowledgement & Agreement to Be Bound attached as Exhibit A, 13 such person shall be provided a copy of this Protective Order and shall sign the 14 Acknowledgement & Agreement to Be Bound, in the form annexed as Exhibit A hereto 15 stating that that person has read this Protective Order and agrees to be bound by its 16 terms. Counsel shall retain each signed Acknowledgement & Agreement to Be Bound, 17 and produce it to opposing counsel prior to such person being permitted to testify at 18 deposition or trial. 19 G. In the event that an attorney of record for a Party desires that Protected 20 Material be disclosed to anyone beyond that which is allowed in this Order, the Parties 21 shall confer in good faith and attempt to resolve the matter; if no agreement can be 22 reached, the matter shall be referred to the Court for resolution. If an agreement is 23 reached, or the Court decides that the document(s) or information shall be disclosed, 24 the person to whom disclosure is to be made shall execute an Acknowledgement. 25 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 26 A. Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for 27 protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific 1 material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must 2 designate for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written 3 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items or 4 communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably 5 within the ambit of this Order. 6 B. Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. 7 Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an 8 improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to 9 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the 10 Designating Party to sanctions. 11 C. If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that 12 it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 13 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 14 D. When producing Protected Material, the Producing Party shall clearly 15 mark every page of any such document prior to production as “CONFIDENTIAL,” 16 “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL,” as appropriate, or give other comparable notice. For 17 digital files being produced, the Producing Party may mark each viewable page or 18 image with the appropriate designation, and mark the medium, container, and/or 19 communication in which the digital files were contained. 20 E. All Protected Material not reduced to documentary, tangible or physical 21 form, or which cannot be conveniently designated pursuant to the preceding Paragraph, 22 shall be designated by the Producing Party in writing to the Receiving Party and the 23 designated information shall thereafter be treated in accordance with the terms of this 24 Order, by, for example, affixing a legend to the exterior of a container or in a file name. 25 F. In the event that a Producing Party fails to stamp or otherwise designate a 26 document or other information as confidential at the time of its production, that 27 Producing Party may do so thereafter on notice to all of the Receiving Parties; provided 1 however, that the Receiving Party shall not be liable for any disclosure or use of such 2 information that may have occurred prior to receiving notice of the confidential 3 designation. Upon receiving the Protected Material with the correct confidentiality 4 designation, the Receiving Party shall return or securely destroy, at the Designating 5 Party’s option, all Discovery Material that was not designated properly. 6 G. If at any time during the deposition of a Party’s or Non-Party's employee, 7 agent, or representative, information is sought that the Party or non-party considers to 8 be Protected Material, Counsel for the Party or Non- Party may interrupt the deposition 9 so as to ask persons to whom disclosure of Protected Material is not authorized pursuant 10 to this Order to leave the room. Aside from deponents, only persons to whom Protected 11 Material is authorized to be shown shall be permitted to attend confidential portions of 12 depositions involving Protected Material. 13 H. For testimony given in deposition or in a pre-trial hearing, the Parties may 14 agree on the record during the deposition or pre-trial hearing that testimony in that 15 proceeding will or will not be treated as Confidential Information or Highly 16 Confidential Information. If a Party requests on the record during a deposition or pre- 17 trial hearing that said testimony be provisionally treated as Confidential Information, 18 then said deposition or hearing testimony shall be treated as Confidential Information 19 until 30 days after the transcript is delivered by the court reporter to each Party’s 20 Outside Counsel of Record. Within the 30-day period following the court reporter’s 21 delivery of the transcript, any Party may serve a Notice of Designation to all other 22 Parties as to specific portions of the testimony that shall be designated as Confidential 23 Information or Highly Confidential Information. After the 30-day period, only those 24 portions identified in any Notice of Designation shall be protected by the terms of this 25 Protective Order. The Parties may agree to a reasonable extension of the 30-day period 26 for designation. Parties shall endeavor to give the other Parties notice if they reasonably 27 expect a deposition, hearing, or other proceeding to implicate Protected Material. 1 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 2 A. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of confidentiality at 3 any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order. 4 B. A Receiving Party shall not be obligated to challenge the propriety of any 5 “CONFIDENTIAL” or “HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL” designation by the Designating 6 Party of Discovery Material under this Order at the time the designation is made, and 7 a failure to do so shall not preclude a subsequent challenge thereto. 8 C. Any challenge to a designation of the Designating Party's Discovery 9 Material under this Order shall be written, shall be served on Counsel for the 10 Designating Party, shall particularly identify the documents or information that the 11 Receiving Party contends should be differently designated, and shall state the grounds 12 for the objection. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process 13 under Local Rule 37-1 et seq. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a joint 14 stipulation pursuant to Local Rul 37-2. Notwithstanding any challenge to a designation, 15 the Protected Material in question shall continue to be treated as designated under this 16 Order until one of the following occurs: (a) the Designating Party withdraws such 17 designation in writing; or (b) the Court rules that the Discovery Material in question is 18 not entitled to the designation. In the event that a Designating Party withdraws a 19 confidentiality designation or the Court rules that the Discovery Material in question is 20 not entitled to the designation, the Designating Party shall promptly reproduce the 21 information in question with the appropriate confidentiality designation, if any, as 22 applicable. 23 9. REDACTION AND USE OF PLAINITFF’S IDENTITY 24 A. During the pre-trial proceedings in this litigation and in any public filing, 25 the Parties will either redact Plaintiff’s Identity or use the pseudonym “M.J.J.” in place 26 of Plaintiff’s Identity without prejudice as to Defendants seeking relief from such 27 protection. The Parties dispute whether the use of a pseudonym is appropriate at trial 1 (in documents or otherwise) and agree to revisit the issue at the time of trial. 2 B. Within three days upon the filing of this Order with the Court, Plaintiff 3 shall provide Defendants, through their Counsel, with (1) Plaintiff’s full name, maiden 4 name, alias names used at any time, including those used in connection with social 5 media, (2) date of birth, (3) the full name(s) of Plaintiff’s alleged trafficker(s), and 6 aliases used at any time, (“Trafficker’s Identity”) and any known associates of 7 Plaintiff’s trafficker(s). Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of 8 confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order. 9 C. Nothing in this Order shall prevent any party from seeking further 10 protections or modification of this Order for the trial or litigation of this action. Nothing 11 in this Order shall prevent a Party from requesting from Plaintiff during the course of 12 discovery any other information that is linked or linkable to the true identity of Plaintiff 13 or her trafficker(s) or her/their associates, such as, but not limited to, any medical, 14 educational, financial, employment, or other information. Relatedly, nothing in this 15 Order relieves Plaintiff of the obligation to produce any discoverable documents or 16 information that Plaintiff would otherwise be required to produce in the normal course 17 of discovery. The protections conferred by this Order do not cover information that is 18 in the public domain or becomes part of the public domain through trial or otherwise. 19 10. SUBPOENAS OR COURT RECORDS 20 A. If a Receiving Party receives a subpoena or other compulsory process 21 (e.g., court order) from any court or other arbitral, administrative, or legislative body 22 commanding the production of another Party’s Protected Material, the Party to whom 23 the subpoena or other request is directed shall promptly give written notice thereof (and 24 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order) to the Designating Party and its 25 Counsel within seven (7) days to allow the Designating Party an opportunity to move 26 for a protective order regarding the production of Protected Materials implicated by the 27 subpoena or other compulsory process. Nothing in this Order authorizes any person to 1 disobey or ignore lawful process or a order from another court. 2 11. FILING PROTECTED MATERIAL AND MATERIAL CONTAINING 3 PLAINTIFF’S IDENTITY 4 A. The parties have agreed not to file or disclose in the public record any 5 Protected Material designated by another party without written permission from the 6 Designating Party or a court order secured after appropriate notice to all interested 7 persons. 8 B. Any Party is authorized to seek leave to file under seal with the Court any 9 brief, document, or materials that are designated as Protected Material or containing 10 Plaintiff’s Identity under this Order in accordance with the Local Rules. 11 12. INADVERTENT DISCLOSURE NOT AUTHORIZED BY ORDER 12 A. In the event of a disclosure of any Discovery Material pursuant to this 13 Order to any person or persons not authorized to receive such disclosure under this 14 Protective Order, the Party responsible for having made such disclosure, and each Party 15 with knowledge thereof, shall immediately notify Counsel for the Designating Party 16 and provide to such Counsel all known relevant information concerning the nature and 17 circumstances of the disclosure. The responsible Disclosing Party shall also promptly 18 take all reasonable measures to retrieve the improperly disclosed Discovery Material 19 and to ensure that no further or greater unauthorized disclosure and/or use thereof is 20 made. 21 B. Unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure does not change the status of 22 Protected Material or waive the right to hold the disclosed document or information as 23 Confidential Information or Highly Confidential Information. 24 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF SUBSEQUENTLY-CLAIMED 25 PRIVILEGED INFORMATION 26 A. The production of privileged or work-product protected Discovery 27 Material (“Disclosed Protected Information”) in this case, whether inadvertent or 1 otherwise, is not a waiver of the privilege or protection from discovery in this case or 2 in any other federal or state proceeding. This Protective Order shall be interpreted to 3 provide the maximum protection allowed by Fed. R. Evid. 502(d). Nothing contained 4 herein is intended to, or shall serve to limit a Party’s right to conduct a review of any 5 Discovery Material for relevance, responsiveness, or segregation of privileged or 6 protected information before production. Additionally, the inadvertent production of 7 Discovery Material without an appropriate designation of Confidential Information 8 shall not be deemed a waiver or acknowledgment as to the confidentiality of any 9 inadvertently produced document and any related material. 10 B. Upon discovery that a document has been produced that the Producing 11 Party believes to contain privileged and/or work product material, the Producing Party 12 must notify the Receiving Party within thirty (30) days of that discovery, in writing, 13 asserting the attorney-client privilege, work product protection, or other applicable 14 privilege or protection with respect to Disclosed Protected Information. 15 C. The Receiving Party must—unless it contests the claim of privilege or 16 protection in accordance with this Protective Order—within fourteen (14) days of 17 receipt of that writing and, to the extent applicable: (i) return, delete, or destroy all 18 copies of the Disclosed Protected Information; and (ii) provide a certification from 19 Outside Counsel of Record that all of the Disclosed Protected Information has been 20 returned or destroyed. 21 D. Disclosed Protected Information that is sought to be reclaimed by the 22 Parties to this case pursuant to this Protective Order shall not be used as grounds by 23 any third party to argue that any waiver of privilege or protection has occurred by virtue 24 of any production in this case. 25 14. MISCELLANEOUS 26 A. Modification. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any Party to seek 27 its modification by the Court in the future. By stipulating to or complying with this 1 Order, the Designating Party does not waive the right to argue that certain Protected 2 Material may require additional or different confidentiality protections than those set 3 forth herein. Furthermore, this Order is subject to modification sua sponte by Court 4 order. 5 B. Termination of Matter and Retention of Jurisdiction. The Parties agree 6 that the terms of this Protective Order shall survive and remain in effect after the Final 7 Determination of the above-captioned matter. The Court shall retain jurisdiction after 8 Final Determination of this matter to hear and resolve any disputes arising out of this 9 Protective Order. 10 C. Successors. This Order shall be binding upon the Parties, their Outside 11 Counsel, and their successors, executors, personal representatives, administrators, 12 heirs, legal representatives, assigns, subsidiaries, divisions, employees, agents, retained 13 consultants and experts, and any persons or organizations over which they have direct 14 control. 15 D. Right to Assert Other Objections. Designating Party does not waive any 16 right it otherwise would have in this action to claim that any Discovery Material, or 17 any portion thereof, is privileged or otherwise non-discoverable, or is not admissible 18 in evidence in this action or any other proceeding. Similarly, neither Party waives any 19 right to object on any grounds to the use in evidence of any Protected Material covered 20 by this Order. 21 E. Burdens of Proof. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, 22 nothing in this Protective Order shall be construed to change the burdens of proof or 23 legal standards applicable in disputes regarding whether particular Discovery Material 24 is confidential, whether disclosure should be restricted, and if so, what restrictions 25 should apply. 26 F. Discovery Rules Remain Unchanged. Nothing herein shall alter or change 27 in any way the discovery provisions of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Local 1 | Rules, or the Court's own orders. Identification of any individual pursuant to this 2 || Protective Order does not make that individual available for deposition or any other 3 || form of discovery outside of the restrictions and procedures of the Federal Rules of 4 | Civil Procedure, the Local Rules or the Court's own orders. 5 6 || Dated: 9/11/2026 , 7 Honorable Margo A. Rocconi United States Magistrate Judge 8 9 10 1 Dated: September 2, 2026 By: /s/_ Christopher T. Kirchmer Christopher T. Kirchmer, pro hac vice PROVOST UMPHREY LAW FIRM 13 LLP 350 Pine Street Suite 1100 14 Beaumont, Texas 77701 T: (409) 835-6000 Id CKirchmer@provostumphrey.com 16 C. Moze Cowper 17 Paige Catherine Miller COWPER LAW LLP 18 12301 Wilshire Blvd Suite 303 19 Los Angeles, CA 90025 T: (877) 529-3707 20 mcowper@cowperlaw.com 5 pmiller@cowperlaw.com Attorneys for Plaintiff 23 4 || Dated: September 2, 2026 DLA PIPER LLP (US) 25 By:___/s/ Melissa A. Reinckens 26 Melissa A. Reinckens (SBN 314657) 27 Susan N. Acquista (SBN 253969) 38 4365 Executive Drive, Suite 1100 PROTECTIVE ORDER CASE No. 2:26-CV-01225-JEW-MARX 1 San Diego, California 92121-2133 T. 619.699.2798 / F. 619.764.6624 2 melissa.reinckens@dlapiper.com 3 susan.acquista@us.dlapiper.com 4 Oscar M. Orozco-Botello (SBN 31304) 5 2000 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 400 North Tower 6 Los Angeles, California 94106 7 T: 310.595.3000 / F: 310.595.3300 8 David S. Sager (Pro Hac Vice) 9 51 John F. Kennedy Pkwy, Suite 120 Short Hills, New Jersey 07078 10 T. 973.520.2570 / F. 973.215.2604 11 david.sager@us.dlapiper.com 12 Attorneys for Defendants 13 Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc.; LQ Management LLC; La Quinta 14 Franchising, LLC; and La Quinta 15 Holdings, Inc. 16 Dated: September 2, 2026 HAWKINS PARNELL & YOUNG LLP 17 18 By: /s/ Mikhail Mdinaradze 19 Mikhail Mdinaradze 20 Jerry C. Popovich 445 South Figueroa Street, Suite 3200 21 Los Angeles, CA 90071 T: (213) 486-8000 22 mmdinaradze@hpylaw.com 23 jpopovich@hpylaw.com 24 Attorneys for Defendants Heer B. 25 Patel; Pravin/Parvin G. Patel; Hasu 26 Patel, individually and as Trustee of the Patel Family Trust; and Tara Patel 27 1 ATTESTATION 2 In accordance with Civ. L.R. 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), I attest that concurrence in the 3 filing of this document has been obtained from the other Signatories, which shall serve 4 in lieu of their signatures on the document. 5 6 Dated: September 2, 2026 7 /s/ Melissa A. Reinckens 8 Melissa A. Reinckens 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 2 3 JANE DOE (M.J.J.), 4 Case No. 2:26-CV-01225-JFW-MARx 5 Plaintiff, Hon. John F. Walter 6 7 vs. 8 9 WYNDHAM HOTELS AND EXHIBIT A TO PROTECTIVE RESORTS, INC.; LQ ORDER - ACKNOWLEDGMENT & 10 MANAGEMENT, LLC; LA QUINTA AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 11 FRANCHISING, LLC; LA QUINTA HOLDINGS, INC.; SUPER 8 12 MANAGEMENT, INC.; HEER B. 13 PATEL; PRAVIN G. PATEL; HASU PATEL, Individually and as Trustee of 14 THE PATEL FAMILY TRUST; and 15 TARA PATEL, 16 Defendants. 17 18 I, , declare that: 19 1. My title is , and the name and address of my present employer is 20 . 21 2. I have received a copy of the Protective Order in the above-captioned 22 lawsuit. 23 3. I have carefully read and understand the provisions of the Protective 24 Order, agree to be bound by them, and specifically agree I will not use or disclose to 25 anyone any of the contents of any Confidential Information or Highly Confidential 26 Information received under the protection of the Protective Order in violation thereof. 27 1 4. I consent to the exercise of personal jurisdiction by this Court, the United 2 States District Court for the Central District of California, in connection with this 3 Acknowledgment & Agreement to be Bound, and my obligations under the Protective 4 Order. 5 I declare under penalty of perjury that the facts stated above are true and correct. 6 Executed this ___day of ____20___in the State of . 7 8 By: (SIGNATURE) 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27