Dexter Hubert White v. City of Los Angeles

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13 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

14 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DEXTER HUBERT WHITE, )

16 Plaintiff, ) Case No: 2:19-cv-00243-DDP-RAO

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V.

) )

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P[ rA es gs eig rsn oe nd ] t o the Hon. Judge Dean D.

18 )

CITY OF LOS ANGELES, LOS ANGELES )

) PROTECTIVE ORDER

19 POLICE DEPARTMENT, COUNTY OF LOS )

ANGELES, OFFICER CORY MCMICHAEL, )

20 OFFICER JAVIER TAFOYA, AND DOES 1 )

TO 10, INCLUSIVE, )

21 )

Defendants. )

22 ) Complaint Filed: 01/10/2019

) Trial Date: 6/9/2020

23 )

)

24 )

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1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

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Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,

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proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure

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and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted.

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Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the

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following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does

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not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the

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protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited

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information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable

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10 legal principles.

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12 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

13 This action is likely to involve third party privacy, HIPPA information, peace

14 officer personnel and official information for which special protection from public

15 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is

16 warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information consist of,

17 among other things, (including information implicating privacy rights of third parties),

18 information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged

19 or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case

20 decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to

21 facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials,

22 to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure

23 that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation

24 for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and

25 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this

26 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as

27 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith

belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is

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good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case.

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4 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL

5 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this

6 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under

7 seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the

8 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file

9 material under seal.

10 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial

11 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions,

12 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and

13 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors

14 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc.,

15 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good

16 cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with

17 proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to

18 Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation

19 of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the

20 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought

21 to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—

22 constitute good cause.

23 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then

24 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief

25 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See

26 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item

27 or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal

1 in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must

2 articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the

3 requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file

4 documents under seal must be provided by declaration.

5 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its

6 entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If

7 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only

8 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be

9 filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should

10 include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.

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12 2. DEFINITIONS

13 2.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit.

14 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation

15 of information or items under this Order.

16 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of

17 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection

18 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause

19 Statement.

20 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their

21 support staff).

22 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or

23 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as

24 “CONFIDENTIAL.”

25 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of

26 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,

27 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or

1 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.

2 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter

3 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an

4 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.

5 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.

6 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside

7 counsel.

8 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or

9 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.

10 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party

11 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have

12 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that has

13 appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.

14 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,

15 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their

16 support staffs).

17 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

18 Discovery Material in this Action.

19 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support

20 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or

21 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and

22 their employees and subcontractors.

23 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

24 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” A watermark may be affixed to the documents.

25 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material

26 from a Producing Party.

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3. SCOPE

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The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected

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Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from

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Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected

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Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their

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Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.

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Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial

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judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.

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4. DURATION

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Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as

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CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced as

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an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members

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of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific

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factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial.

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See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing

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documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-

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related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective

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order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.

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5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

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5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

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Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this

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Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies

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under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection

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only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written communications that

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1 which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this

2 Order.

3 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations

4 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper

5 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose

6 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party

7 to sanctions.

8 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it

9 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must

10 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.

11 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this

12 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated

13 or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this

14 Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.

15 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

16 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic

17 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial

18 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend

19 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that

20 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for

21 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g.,

22 by making appropriate markings in the margins).

23 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection

24 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated

25 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before

26 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed

27 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants

1 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or

2 portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the

3 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to

4 each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a page

5 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected

6 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).

7 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies

8 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition

9 all protected testimony.

10 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for

11 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the

12 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend

13 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants

14 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected

15 portion(s).

16 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

17 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the

18 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.

19 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable

20 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this

21 Order.

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23 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

24 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

25 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling

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27 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute

1 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.

2 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the

3 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose

4 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may

5 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or

6 withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the

7 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing

8 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.

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10 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

11 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is

12 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this

13 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such

14 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the

15 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving

16 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).

17 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a

18 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons

19 authorized under this Order.

20 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

21 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a

22 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL”

23 only to:

24 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well

25 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to

26 disclose the information for this Action;

27 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the

1 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;

2 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom

3 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the

4 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);

5 (d) the court and its personnel;

6 (e) court reporters and their staff;

7 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional

8 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have

9 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);

10 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a

11 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;

12 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the

13 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party

14 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will

15 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the

16 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed

17 by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition

18 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately

19 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted

20 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and

21 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,

22 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.

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24 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN

25 OTHER LITIGATION

26 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that

27 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as

1 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:

2 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall

3 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

4 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to

5 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or

6 order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this

7 Stipulated Protective Order; and

8 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued

9 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.

10 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with

11 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action

12 as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena

13 or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The

14 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court

15 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as

16 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful

17 directive from another court.

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19 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED

20 IN THIS LITIGATION

21 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-

22 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information

23 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies

24 and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as

25 prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.

26 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to

27 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is

1 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s

2 confidential information, then the Party shall:

3 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party

4 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement

5 with a Non-Party;

6 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated

7 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably

8 specific description of the information requested; and

9 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-

10 Party, if requested.

11 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14

12 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may

13 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request.

14 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce

15 any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality

16 agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court

17 order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking

18 protection in this court of its Protected Material.

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20 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

21 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed

22 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this

23 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing

24 the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve

25 all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to

26 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d)

27 request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be

1 Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

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3 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

4 PROTECTED MATERIAL

5 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain

6 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,

7 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil

8 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure

9 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior

10 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the

11 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or

12 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the

13 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to

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16 12. MISCELLANEOUS

17 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any

18 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.

19 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this

20 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to

21 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this

22 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any

23 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.

24 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any

25 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may

26 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific

27 Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is

1 denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public

2 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.

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4 13. FINAL DISPOSITION

5 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60

6 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return

7 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this

8 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,

9 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected

10 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party

11 must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person

12 or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by

13 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed

14 and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,

15 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the

16 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an

17 archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts,

18 legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports,

19 attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials

20 contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute

21 Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4

22 (DURATION).

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1 14. VIOLATION

2 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including,

3 without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.

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5 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

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7 Dated: December 23, 2019 _______________/s/_________________

HON. ROZELLA A. OLIVER

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United States Magistrate Judge

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