Star Fabrics, Inc. v. HNLTPF, Inc., et al.

Summary

This document is a stipulated protective order entered in Star Fabrics, Inc. v. HNLTPF, Inc., a federal civil action in the Central District of California. It governs the designation, use, disclosure, challenge, filing, and disposition of confidential discovery materials, including procedures for inadvertent production and unauthorized disclosure. The order was stipulated to by counsel on January 6, 2026, and entered by Magistrate Judge Maria A. Audero on January 7, 2026.

Holdings

1. For good cause shown, the court entered the parties' stipulated protective order governing confidential discovery material in the action.
2. Protected material may be used only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle the action and may be disclosed only to the persons and under the conditions specified in the protective order.
3. A party or nonparty may challenge a confidentiality designation subject to the scheduling order and applicable meet-and-confer procedures, and the designating party bears the burden of persuasion unless the designation is withdrawn or waived.
4. The protective order does not itself authorize filing confidential material under seal; a party must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5 and obtain a court order authorizing sealing of the specific material.
5. After final disposition, upon written request, receiving parties must return or destroy protected material within sixty days and provide written certification, subject to the order's archival-copy exception for counsel.

Questions Presented

1. Whether good cause existed to enter the parties' stipulated protective order governing confidential discovery material.
2. What procedures and restrictions should govern the designation, use, disclosure, challenge, filing, and final disposition of protected discovery material.

Disposition

other