Contract analysis

I. RECITALS AND PREAMBLE Plaintiff Marisol Fuentes ("Plaintiff"), individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, by and through her counsel of record, Castellano Byrne & Salas LLP (Marco Castellano, State Bar No. 198422; Diane Salas) and Veltrano Employment Law Group PC (Sandra Higuera, State Bar No. 217893), and Defendant Aurelius Media Americas Inc. ("AMA" or "Defendant"), by and through its counsel o

II. DEFINITIONS As used in this Stipulation and [Proposed] Order, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below. These definitions are provided for convenience and clarity; to the extent any term used in this Stipulation is not defined herein, it shall be given its ordinary meaning in the context of electronic discovery. A. "ESI" means electronically stored information as that term is used in Code of Ci

I. "De-duplication" (also referred to as "de-duping") means the process of identifying and removing duplicate copies of ESI within or across custodians. De-duplication is typically accomplished by comparing the hash values (e.g., MD5 or SHA-1) of files to determine whether two or more files are identical at the binary level. J. "Search terms" means keywords, phrases, Boolean operators, proximity connectors, or other

III. SCOPE OF ESI DISCOVERY A. Relevant Time Period

1. The relevant time period for ESI discovery in this action shall correspond to the class period as alleged in the operative complaint: November 1, 2018 through the present. For purposes of this Stipulation, "the present" means the date of entry of this Order, unless the parties agree in writing to extend the relevant time period to account for ongoing employment relationships or continuing violations.

2. The parties acknowledge that AMA transitioned its timekeeping and payroll functions to NovaPay Solutions Inc.'s TimeTrack Pro platform effective January 1, 2019. For the period prior to January 1, 2019, electronic timekeeping and payroll records may be limited in scope and availability. AMA shall produce such pre-TimeTrack Pro electronic records as exist and are reasonably accessible. To the extent that pre-Januar

3. In the event this action is resolved by settlement, the parties anticipate that the operative class period for settlement purposes may be modified to terminate on October 31, 2023, or such other date as agreed upon in any settlement agreement. Any such modification shall not retroactively limit ESI discovery that has already been conducted pursuant to this protocol. B. Identified Custodians — Defendant AMA

1. The parties have conferred regarding the appropriate custodians for ESI collection and review on behalf of Defendant AMA. The parties agree that ESI collection and review for AMA shall initially be limited to the following seven (7) custodians, whose relevance to the issues in this action is summarized below:

2. The parties reserve the right to identify additional custodians upon a showing of good cause, including but not limited to the identification of additional relevant custodians through deposition testimony, document review, or other discovery. Any request to add a custodian shall be subject to the meet-and-confer obligations set forth in Section XI of this Stipulation. If the parties cannot agree on the addition of

3. Marcus Yee of NovaPay Solutions Inc. is a third-party custodian. ESI from NovaPay Solutions is being obtained pursuant to a third-party subpoena duces tecum issued on February 8, 2023, and shall be produced in the format specified in Section IV below. The inclusion of Mr. Yee as a custodian in this Stipulation reflects the parties' agreement regarding the relevance of NovaPay's records and is not intended to confe

1. The following individuals are identified as custodians for ESI collection and review on behalf of Plaintiffs: (a) Plaintiff Marisol Fuentes; (b) Plaintiff Derek Halloran (upon consolidation of the Halloran Action with this action); (c) Plaintiff Yesenia Padilla (upon consolidation and/or intervention in this action, as may be ordered by the Court).

2. Plaintiffs' custodial ESI includes personal communications (including email, text messages, and social media communications) relating to employment at AMA, working conditions, meal and rest break practices, compensation, communications with other putative class members regarding AMA employment practices, and communications with counsel regarding this litigation (subject to applicable privileges). Plaintiffs' ESI a

3. The parties acknowledge that Plaintiffs' ESI is expected to be substantially more limited in volume than AMA's ESI, given that AMA, as the employer, controls virtually all relevant corporate records, timekeeping data, payroll data, and policy documents. D. Data Sources

1. The parties have identified the following data sources as likely to contain potentially relevant ESI in this action: (a) AMA Corporate Email (Strathmore Data Systems / Ashbury Software): AMA's corporate email system, hosted on Cobalt Ridge Data Systems as part of AMA's Ashbury Software enterprise subscription, contains email communications sent and received by AMA employees, including all identified AMA custodians

2. The parties reserve the right to identify additional data sources upon a showing of good cause, subject to the meet-and-confer obligations and proportionality principles set forth in this Stipulation.

IV. FORMAT OF PRODUCTION A. General Rules for Format of Production The parties agree that ESI shall be produced in the following formats, depending on the type of document or data:

1. Email Communications. Email messages shall be produced in single-page TIFF image format, accompanied by extracted text files (with Optical Character Recognition ("OCR") applied where extracted text is not available), metadata load files in concordance DAT format or Relativity-compatible format, and native-format attachments. Each email message shall be produced as a separate document, with its attachments produced

2. Email Attachments. Email attachments shall be produced in the format appropriate to the file type: (a) Spreadsheet files (.xlsx, .csv), database files (.accdb), and presentation files (.pptx) shall be produced in native format to preserve formulas, embedded data, pivot tables, cell-level detail, animations, speaker notes, and other features that would be lost or distorted in image-format production. (b) Word proce

3. Spreadsheets and Databases. Spreadsheets and databases, whether produced as email attachments or as standalone documents, shall be produced in native format (.xlsx, .csv, .accdb, or tab-delimited text) to preserve formulas, embedded data, pivot tables, macros, cell-level detail, and other features inherent to the native application. If a spreadsheet or database contains multiple tabs or worksheets, all tabs and wo

4. Word Processing Documents and PDFs. Word processing documents (.docx, .doc) and PDF files shall be produced in single-page TIFF image format, accompanied by extracted text files and metadata load files as specified in Section IV.B below.

5. Presentations. Presentation files (.pptx, .ppt) shall be produced in native format to preserve animations, transitions, speaker notes, embedded content, and other features inherent to the native application.

6. Structured Data (TimeTrack Pro and Payroll Data). Structured data from the NovaPay Solutions TimeTrack Pro system, including timekeeping records, payroll data, employee demographic data, and system configuration data, shall be produced in delimited text format (CSV or tab-delimited) with accompanying data dictionaries and field descriptions sufficient to enable the Receiving Party to understand the structure, cont

7. Instant Messages (Meridian Solutions and Northgate Data Systems). Instant messages from Meridian Solutions and Northgate Data Systems shall be produced in an agreed-upon format that preserves: (i) message threading and conversation context; (ii) timestamps (date and time of each message); (iii) sender and recipient identification; (iv) channel or conversation identification; (v) any embedded links, images, or file

8. Audio and Video Files. Audio and video files shall be produced in native format (e.g., .mp4, .wav, .mov, .avi, .m4a) without transcoding or format conversion unless the parties agree otherwise. If a native format is proprietary or requires specialized software to view, the Producing Party shall notify the Receiving Party and the parties shall confer regarding an appropriate alternative format. B. Image Production

1. Format: Single-page TIFF files, Group IV compression, at a minimum resolution of 300 dots per inch (DPI). Images shall be rendered in black and white by default. Where color is necessary to interpret the content of a document (e.g., color-coded spreadsheets, photographs, highlighted text, or documents where color conveys substantive meaning), color TIFF images shall be produced.

2. Bates Stamping: Each page of each produced document shall bear a unique, sequential production number ("Bates number") applied as an endorsement to the TIFF image. The Bates numbering conventions shall be as follows: (a) Defendant AMA's productions: AMA-0000001 through AMA-9999999 (prefix "AMA-" followed by seven digits, zero-padded). (b) Plaintiffs' productions: PL-0000001 through PL-9999999 (prefix "PL-" followe

3. Accompanying Files: Each image production shall be accompanied by the following files: (a) A document-level metadata load file in DAT format, using standard concordance delimiters (ASCII 020 as the field delimiter and ASCII 254 as the text qualifier), or in a Relativity-compatible format as agreed upon by the parties. (b) A document-level extracted text file containing the full text of each document, suitable for

4. Metadata Fields. The metadata load file shall include, at a minimum, the following fields for each produced document: C. Native Format Production Requirements

1. Native files produced pursuant to this Stipulation shall be produced with all metadata intact and unaltered, except that metadata may be modified to the extent necessary to apply Bates numbering or confidentiality designations as specified herein.

2. Each native file shall be assigned a unique Bates number or document identifier for tracking and reference purposes. The Bates number assigned to a native file shall correspond to a placeholder image (slip sheet) included in the image production set. The slip sheet shall indicate that the corresponding document has been produced in native format and shall include a cross-reference to the native file's name and loc

3. Native files shall be organized in a folder structure on the production media that corresponds to the custodian and data source from which the file was collected, or in such other organization as the parties may agree. D. E-discovery Vendor

1. AMA has retained Marlowe Asset Management Litigation Technology Inc. ("Marlowe Asset Management"), located at 600 Anton Boulevard, Suite 900, Costa Mesa, California 92626, as its e-discovery vendor for the collection, processing, hosting, and production of ESI in this action. Marlowe Asset Management shall be responsible for processing collected ESI, applying search terms, generating image and native productions,

2. Plaintiffs' counsel may identify and retain their own e-discovery vendor for the processing, hosting, and review of ESI produced to them in this action. Plaintiffs shall notify AMA's counsel of the identity and contact information of any e-discovery vendor retained by Plaintiffs.

3. Cost Allocation for E-discovery Vendors. Unless otherwise agreed or ordered, the costs of collection and processing of ESI shall be borne by the Producing Party. The costs of hosting and review of produced ESI shall be borne by the Receiving Party. This allocation of costs is without prejudice to either party's right to seek a different allocation of costs by agreement or by motion to the Court, consistent with th

V. SEARCH METHODOLOGY A. Keyword Search Terms

1. The parties shall negotiate and agree upon a set of keyword search terms to be applied to email and document collections from the identified custodians. The parties recognize that the selection of appropriate search terms is critical to ensuring that responsive ESI is identified efficiently and comprehensively, while minimizing the review burden associated with non-responsive documents.

2. Defendant AMA shall circulate a proposed search term list to Plaintiffs' counsel within fourteen (14) calendar days of the entry of this Order. The proposed search term list shall identify, for each proposed search term, the custodian(s) to which the term is to be applied and any proposed limitations (e.g., date restrictions, specific data sources).

3. Plaintiffs shall provide comments, counter-proposals, or supplemental search terms within fourteen (14) calendar days of receipt of AMA's proposed search term list. The parties shall thereafter meet and confer in good faith to finalize an agreed-upon search term list.

4. If the parties are unable to reach agreement on search terms after good-faith meet-and-confer efforts, either party may seek Court intervention pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2031.310 or by informal discovery conference with the Court, as provided in the Court's Standing Order.

5. The parties agree that search terms may include individual keywords, multi-word phrases, Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), proximity connectors (e.g., w/5, w/10), wildcard characters (e.g., * and ?), and stemming operators, as supported by the Producing Party's review platform. B. Date Restrictions

1. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, search terms shall be applied to ESI dated within the class period — that is, from November 1, 2018 through the date of the entry of this Order, or such later date as may be established by subsequent agreement of the parties or order of the Court.

2. For certain custodians whose ESI may contain relevant information predating the class period — for example, policy drafts created before November 1, 2018, or system configuration decisions made in connection with AMA's transition to the TimeTrack Pro platform — the parties may agree to extend the date range for specific search terms on a custodian-by-custodian basis. Any such extension shall be documented in writi

3. The date restriction shall be applied based on the "Date Sent" field for email communications and the "Date Modified" or "Date Created" field for electronic documents, as appropriate. Where a document has both a "Date Created" and a "Date Modified" value, the document shall be deemed within the date range if either date falls within the applicable period. C. Targeted Custodial Review

1. In addition to keyword searches, the parties agree that targeted custodial review — that is, manual review of specific file folders, email mailboxes, sub-folders, or data repositories — may be conducted for specific custodians where keyword searching alone is insufficient to identify all responsive materials. Targeted custodial review may be appropriate, for example, where relevant documents are organized in known

2. The parties have identified the following as illustrative examples of targeted custodial review that may be undertaken in this action: (a) Review of Lorraine Okafor's email folders labeled "Policies," "Compliance," "Employee Handbook," and "Training Materials," and any sub-folders thereof, for documents relating to AMA's meal and rest break policies, timekeeping policies, and employee training programs. (b) Review

3. The Producing Party shall document the scope of any targeted custodial review conducted pursuant to this Section and shall make information regarding the scope of such review available to the Receiving Party upon reasonable request. D. Iterative Process

1. The parties acknowledge and agree that search methodology in ESI discovery is inherently iterative. Initial search terms and strategies may need to be refined, expanded, or narrowed based on the results of initial searches, the review of produced documents, deposition testimony, and the development of the issues in the case.

2. Accordingly, the parties agree that the agreed-upon search terms may be modified from time to time, by mutual agreement, to add new search terms, remove search terms that generate an unacceptable volume of non-responsive results, or refine existing search terms. Any modifications to the agreed-upon search terms shall be documented in writing, and email between the parties' ESI liaisons (as identified in Section XI

3. Either party may propose modifications to the search methodology at any time during the course of discovery, subject to the meet-and-confer obligations set forth in Section XI of this Stipulation.

VI. DE-DUPLICATION A. Global De-Duplication

1. Defendant AMA shall de-duplicate ESI globally across all custodians using MD5 or SHA-1 hash values prior to production. Global de-duplication means that if an identical copy of a document or email is collected from more than one custodian, only one copy of the document shall be produced, with the metadata load file reflecting all custodians from whom the document was collected.

2. De-duplication shall be applied at the document family level. For purposes of this provision, an email and all of its attachments constitute a "family unit." An email family shall be treated as a single unit for de-duplication purposes, meaning that an email with attachments shall be de-duplicated against other instances of the same email with the same attachments. If an email is identical but its attachments diff

3. Where a document is de-duplicated across custodians, the Producing Party shall identify in the metadata load file (in the "All Custodians" field) each custodian from whom the document was collected. This information is necessary to enable the Receiving Party to assess the distribution and provenance of documents across the custodian population.

4. De-duplication shall not be applied to documents that have been designated with different confidentiality levels under the Protective Order. If the same document would bear different confidentiality designations depending on the custodian, the document shall be produced once, bearing the highest applicable confidentiality designation. B. Near-Duplicate Identification

1. Near-duplicate identification — that is, the use of textual similarity analysis algorithms to identify documents that are substantially but not exactly similar — is not required under this protocol. Either party may, however, use near-duplicate identification technology as part of its internal review workflow for purposes of review efficiency.

2. Near-duplicates shall not be withheld from production on the basis of near-duplication alone. Only exact duplicates — that is, documents with identical MD5 or SHA-1 hash values — may be de-duplicated and excluded from production pursuant to Section VI.A above.

VII. PRIVILEGE REVIEW AND LOGGING A. Privilege Review

1. The Producing Party shall conduct a reasonable review of ESI collected from the identified custodians and data sources for documents and communications protected by the attorney-client privilege, the work product doctrine (Code Civ. Proc. § 2018.030), or any other applicable privilege or protection, prior to production.

2. The Producing Party shall withhold from production all documents and communications for which a good-faith claim of privilege is asserted. Withheld documents shall be logged on a privilege log as set forth in Section VII.B below.

3. Nothing in this Stipulation shall be construed to require the Producing Party to waive any applicable privilege or protection, or to limit the Producing Party's right to assert privilege over any document or communication. B. Privilege Log Requirements