Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
K.L. sued Beverly Lodge, Manish Patel, and Roe defendants in the Eastern District of California. The order refers to her alleged traffickers and to survivor witnesses but makes no findings on those allegations. The parties told the court that discovery would likely involve confidential, proprietary, or private information and jointly asked it to enter a protective order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) and Local Rule 141.1. They acknowledged that the order gives no blanket protection and does not presumptively allow sealing.
The stipulation sets three tiers. Plaintiff's Identity covers her names and aliases, birth date, addresses, phone numbers and online accounts, physical description, images, and relatives' names. Confidential Information covers sensitive personal or financial details of non-party survivor witnesses, trade secrets, and defendants' financial records. Highly Confidential Information covers defendants' trade secrets needing protection from competitor defendants and detailed financial data such as tax returns and net worth.
Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney approved the stipulation on October 23, 2026, adding one clarification: once the action is closed, the court will not retain jurisdiction to enforce the order.
The Court’s Holding
In public filings and statements, the parties must redact the plaintiff's identity, seal it, or use the pseudonym K.L. or Jane Doe. Within three days of entry she must give defense counsel her full name, aliases, birth date, and photographs, including any from 2012 through 2015, and initial disclosures are due within seven days. Defendants may still seek other information linkable to her identity in discovery. Access is limited to fourteen listed categories, such as parties, counsel, experts, mediators, insurers, and the court. Parties receive only names, aliases, birth date, and photographs, while former employees and witnesses receive only names, aliases, and photographs. Experts, witnesses, vendors, mediators, insurers, and others must sign Exhibit A.
Defendants may not use her identity to contact alleged traffickers without leave. They must file an ex parte application, with notice to the plaintiff, explaining what information they seek, why it must come from the alleged trafficker, less risky alternatives, prior attempts, and why disclosure is necessary given the danger to her. The court will weigh relevance and proportionality. Only her identifying name may be disclosed, and only if necessary and ordered. If the court grants the request, defendants must give fourteen days' advance notice of whom they will contact, where, and what will be disclosed. Defendants' own employees and agents are excluded from the traffickers definition, and records about an alleged trafficker may be obtained from courts, law enforcement, or other custodians without revealing her identity.
Protected Material may be used only to prosecute, defend, or settle this action. Mass or routinized designations are prohibited and may draw sanctions. If a written challenge is not resolved, the designating party bears the burden and must move under Local Rule 251 within thirty days, or the designation is removed. Material stays protected until withdrawal, lapse, or ruling. Filing protected material requires redaction or sealing under Local Rule 141. Under Rule 502(d), production, inadvertent or otherwise, waives no privilege in this or any other federal or state proceeding, and Rule 502(b) does not apply. Confidentiality obligations survive final disposition unless the designating party agrees otherwise in writing or a court orders otherwise.
Key Takeaways
- This is a stipulated discovery order approved by a magistrate judge; it resolves no merits issue and makes no findings on the trafficking allegations.
- Contact with alleged traffickers using the plaintiff's identity requires prior court approval on an ex parte showing, with notice to the plaintiff and fourteen days' advance notice of any contact.
- A party challenging a confidentiality designation can force the issue, but the designating party carries the burden and loses protection if it misses the thirty-day motion deadline.
- The Rule 502(d) provision protects against privilege waiver across federal and state proceedings, though parties keep the right to review documents before production.
- Exhibit A recites submission to this court's enforcement jurisdiction after termination, yet the court said it will not retain jurisdiction once the case closes, so post-closure enforcement is unsettled even though confidentiality duties continue.
Why It Matters
The order shows how courts in civil trafficking cases manage survivor privacy: pseudonyms, narrow access tiers, and judicial gatekeeping before a defendant can reveal a plaintiff's identity to an alleged perpetrator. The ex parte step with notice to the plaintiff goes beyond many routine protective orders.
Because it is a stipulated, unpublished district court order, it carries no precedential weight and binds only these parties and signatories. Open questions include any later sealing motions under Local Rule 141, any application to contact alleged traffickers, and how enforcement will work after closure given the court's jurisdiction clarification.