even stipulated protective orders require good cause showing
How later courts described this case
- even stipulated protective orders require good cause showing
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
1 ERIC S. DREIBAND
Assistant Attorney General
2 SAMEENA SHINA MAJEED
Chief, Housing and Civil Enforcement Section N O TE: CHANGES HAVE BEEN
3 R. TAMAR HAGLER (CA Bar No. 189441) MADE TO THIS DOCUMENT
Deputy Chief
4 ONESHIA S. HERRING (NC Bar No. 41308)
Trial Attorney Par. 8a added.
5 U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
6 Housing and Civil Enforcement Section
150 M Street, NE, 8.1130 – 4CON
7 Washington D.C. 20530
Telephone: (202) 353-4132
8 Facsimile: (202) 514-1116
E-mail: Oneshia.Herring@usdoj.gov
9 NICOLA T. HANNA
United States Attorney
10 DAVID M. HARRIS
Chief, Civil Division
11 KAREN P. RUCKERT (CA Bar No. 315798)
Chief, Civil Rights Section
12 ACRIVI COROMELAS (CA Bar No. 298305)
Assistant United States Attorney
13 Federal Building, Suite 7516
300 North Los Angeles Street
14 Los Angeles, CA 90012
Telephone: (213) 894-2404
15 Facsimile: (213) 894-7819
E-mail: Acrivi.Coromelas@usdoj.gov
16 Attorneys for Plaintiff United States of America
17 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
18 FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
19 WESTERN DIVISION
20 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 2:20-cv-00327-DSF-AFM
21 Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
22 v.
Honorable Alexander F. MacKinnon
23 FILOMENO HERNANDEZ, RAMIN United States Magistrate Judge
AKHAVAN, BONNIE BRAE
24 INVESTMENT SERVICES LLC, and
WESTLAKE PROPERTY SERVICES
25 LLC,
26 Defendants.
27
1 1.
2 A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
3 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential or private
4 information for which special protection from public disclosure may be warranted.
5 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following
6 Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer
7 blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it
8 affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items
9 that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. Nothing in
10 this Order supersedes other applicable regulatory and statutory obligations requiring
11 disclosure of information.
12 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
13 This action is likely to involve personal, financial and/or proprietary information
14 for which special protection from public disclosure is warranted. Such confidential and
15 proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, personally-
16 identifiable information (“PII”) and other information protected by the Privacy Act, 5
17 U.S.C. § 552a, for individuals who are or were tenants at 720 South Westlake Avenue in
18 Los Angeles, California (“Westlake”) or 729 South Bonnie Brae Street in Los Angeles,
19 California (“Bonnie Brae”). Some of the individuals who are alleged aggrieved persons of
20 Defendants’ alleged discriminatory housing practices are current tenants of Westlake or
21 Bonnie Brae and fear retaliation.
22 This information is otherwise generally unavailable to the public, may be privileged
23 or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case
24 decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate
25 the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately
26 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties
27 are permitted reasonably necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the
1 justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of
2 the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and
3 that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that there is good cause why it
4 should not be part of the public record in this case.
5 C. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER
6 SEAL
7 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 13.3, below, that this
8 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under
9 seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the
10 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material
11 under seal.
12 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial
13 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions, good
14 cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and County of
15 Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d
16 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577
17 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a
18 specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and
19 legal justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to
20 file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as
21 CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the submission of competent evidence by
22 declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as
23 confidential, privileged, or otherwise 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 Pintos
27 v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type of
1 with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling
2 reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order.
3 Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal must
4 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 the
8 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be filed.
9 Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should include an
10 explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
11 2. DEFINITIONS
12 2.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit.
13 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of
14 information or items as “CONFIDENTIAL” under this Order.
15 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Any information that a Party or
16 Non-Party designates in good faith should be protected from disclosure and not used
17 outside of this litigation, because the disclosure and use of such information is restricted
18 by statute or could potentially cause harm to the interests of the Parties and/or Non-Parties,
19 regardless of how it is generated, stored, or maintained), or tangible items that qualify for
20 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c).
21 For purposes of this Stipulated Protective Order, the Parties will limit their
22 designation of“CONFIDENTIAL” information to the following categories of information
23 or documents: names, social security numbers, taxpayer identification numbers, and birth
24 dates; financial information such as financial account numbers, income tax returns, or
25 other personal financial records; personnel and government records; criminal records and
26 histories, if any, which are not publicly available; medical or psychological information,
27 including conditions, treatments, names or types of healthcare providers and dates of visits
1 about the location of any person identified as a witness or potential witness.
2 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information also includes the identities of such persons’ minor
3 children. Information or documents that are available to the public may not be designated
4 as “CONFIDENTIAL.” A Party may move the Court to include additional categories of
5 information as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
6 2.4 Counsel: attorneys who are employees of,or hired to represent,a Party to this
7 Action (as well as their support staff).
8 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items
9 that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
10 2.6 Disclosure of Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the
11 medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other
12 things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in
13 disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
14 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
15 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an
16 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
17 2.8 Final Disposition: occurs at the conclusion of this litigation, by expiration of
18 a settlement agreement or consent order, final judgment, or final order, including all
19 appeals.
20 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other
21 legal entity not named as a Party to this Action.
22 2.10 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
23 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Counsel.
24 2.11 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery
25 Material in this Action.
26 2.12 Professional Vendors: persons or entities retained by a Party or Non-Party to
27 provide litigation support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing
1 medium) and their employees and subcontractors.
2 2.13 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated
3 as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
4 2.14 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from
5 a Producing Party.
6 3. CONTACT BETWEEN THE DEFENDANTS AND ALLEGED
7 AGGRIEVED PERSONS
8 Defendant Filomeno Hernandez and anyone operating on his behalf or at his
9 direction (excluding counsel of record, his employees, or anyone hired by Defendant’s
10 counsel for the purpose of representing the Defendant in this action) shall not contact or
11 attempt to contact any person(s) identified by the Plaintiff in its initial or supplemental
12 disclosures or discovery responses as witnesses to, or potential aggrieved persons of,
13 Defendants’ alleged discriminatory housing practices. To the extent that the contact
14 involves individuals residing in the buildings, contact in the ordinary course of business
15 may be conducted, such as a repair to a unit; in such instances contact may not be by
16 Defendant Hernandez himself.
17 Defendants Ramin Akhavan, Bonnie Brae Investment Services LLC, Westlake
18 Property Services LLC (collectively, “Owner Defendants”), and anyone operating on their
19 behalf or at their direction (excluding counsel of record, their employees, or anyone hired
20 by Owner Defendants’ counsel for the purpose of rendering professional services in this
21 action) shall not contact or attempt to contact any person(s) identified by the Plaintiff in
22 its initial or supplemental disclosures or discovery responses as aggrieved persons of, or
23 persons with information related to, Defendants’ alleged discriminatory housing practices,
24 unless such contact is necessary for the regular course of business.
25 If any Defendant proceeds pro seat any time during this action, that Defendantshall
26 interact with aggrieved persons, or persons with information to,this lawsuit by the Plaintiff
27 only for the purpose of discovery, including informal evidence-gathering interviews and
1 Rules of Civil Procedure.
2 4. SCOPE
3 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected
4 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from
5 Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected
6 Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel
7 that might reveal Protected Material. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be
8 governed by the orders of the trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected
9 Material at trial.
10 5. DURATION
11 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as CONFIDENTIAL
12 or maintained pursuant to this Stipulated Protective Order used or introduced as an exhibit
13 at trial 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 to
15 proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447
16 F.3d at 1180–81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in
17 discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of
18 court record).
19 6. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
20 6.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each
21 Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order
22 must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the
23 appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only those
24 parts of material, documents, items or oral or written communications that qualify so that
25 other portions of the material, documents, items or communications for which protection
26 is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
27 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that
1 to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary
2 expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
3 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
4 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
5 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
6 6.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this
7 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of Section 6.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or
8 ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order
9 must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
10 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
11 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
12 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings),
13 the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter
14 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a
15 portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must
16 clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
17 margins).
18 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection need
19 not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which
20 documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the
21 designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed
22 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants
23 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions
24 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified
25 documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page
26 that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for
27 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by
1 (b) for testimony given in depositions, that the Designating Party identifies
2 the Disclosure or Discovery Material either on the record, or by, within thirty (30) days
3 after receiving the transcript of the deposition or other pretrial proceeding, designating
4 portions of the transcript and/or exhibits thereto as “CONFIDENTIAL” Information by
5 writing to Counsel for the Parties (and any Non-Parties present at the deposition or
6 appearing at the pretrial proceeding) and by coordinating the creation and distribution of
7 replacement transcripts by the court reporter. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or
8 exhibits to depositions that reveal “CONFIDENTIAL” Information must be separately
9 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed except as permitted under this
10 Stipulated Protective Order.
11 (c) for tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place
12 on the 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 protection,
14 the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
15 (d) for native electronic files or other Disclosure or Discovery Material
16 that contain “CONFIDENTIAL” Information and that reasonably cannot be marked or
17 endorsed with a label “CONFIDENTIAL,” the Parties will meet-and-confer to consider
18 and discuss reasonable options for the form of production that maintains the protections
19 required by this Order. For example, the Parties in good faith should consider (a) changing
20 the filename of native electronic files to include “CONFIDENTIAL –” as a prefix to the
21 existing filename, and
22 (e) producing native electronic files containing “CONFIDENTIAL”
23 Information on separate media (e.g., DVD) and/or in separate electronic folders adequately
24 labeled to indicate the confidential nature of the contents.
25 6.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure
26 to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating
27 Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely
1 that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order. Upon receipt
2 of the replacement materials, the Receiving Party should return or destroy the material that
3 was not properly endorsed or labeled, but nothing in this provision requires a Party to
4 delete manually any data from disaster recovery or backup systems even if that data may
5 contain copies or fragments of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information until it is overwritten or
6 destroyed in the ordinary course of records management.
7 7. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
8 7.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation
9 of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order.
10 7.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution
11 process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
12 7.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a joint
13 stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
14 7.4 Burden of Persuasion. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge
15 proceeding shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for
16 an improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on
17 other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
18 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue
19 to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the
20 Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
21 8. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
22 8.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
23 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action
24 for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action, except as provided in
25 Section 8.2(g). Such Protected Material may be disclosed to the categories of persons
26 and under the conditions described in this Order.
27 When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the
1 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
2 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
3 authorized under this Order.
4 8.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise
5 ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party
6 may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
7 (a) Non-Party Obligation re Receipt of Confidential Information: To the
8 extent confidential information (including identity of witnesses) is disclosed to a non-
9 party, the non-party shall use that confidential information only for legitimate purposes
10 in connection with litigation of this case. Each such non-party shall be expressly advised
11 of this obligation at the time confidential information is disclosed to him or her;
12 (b) Defendants—except that the following information may not be
13 disclosed to Defendant Hernandez: contact information (including phone number,
14 address, apartment location, and/or email address), social security numbers, taxpayer
15 identification numbers, birth dates, witness financial information, and medical or
16 psychological information as described in Section 8.3 below;
17 (c) the Parties’ Counsel and partners, supervisors, associates, secretaries,
18 paralegal assistants, and staff of such counsel only to the extent reasonably necessary to
19 render professional services in this Action;
20 (d) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
21 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
22 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
23 (e) the court and its personnel;
24 (f) court reporters, videographers, and their staff retained to take
25 depositions;
26 (g) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
27 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
1 (h) the Plaintiff and its counsel, staff, and law enforcement entities,
2 government agencies, and related personnel and officers in the course of business;
3 (i) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
4 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
5 (j) witnesses and potential witnesses (and their counsel), including those
6 who may testify as witnesses at any deposition or hearing, provided that such disclosure
7 is reasonable and in good faith calculated to aid in litigating this Action;
8 (k) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the
9 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
10 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will not
11 be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
12 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed
13 by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition
14 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately
15 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted
16 under this Stipulated Protective Order;
17 (l) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
18 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions;
19 (m) independent providers of document reproduction, electronic discov-
20 ery, or other litigation services retained or employed specifically in connection with this
21 litigation; and
22 (n) if applicable, employees of any Defendant’s insurance company only
23 to the extent necessary for representation of the Defendants in this action.
24 8.3 Disclosure of Medical or Psychological Information. The Parties
25 acknowledge that it is possible that information related to certain aggrieved individuals’
26 medical or psychological condition or treatment, including names or types of healthcare
27 providers and dates of visits to providers, may be exchanged during discovery in this case.
1 from inadvertent or unnecessary disclosure as stated in Section 3 above. Nothing in this
2 Section limits counsel for Defendants from discussing the substance of the medical or
3 psychological information with the Defendants in order to evaluate the Plaintiff’s claims.
4 If counsel for Defendants determines that disclosure of the actual records to Defendants is
5 necessary, then counsel will explain the reasons for disclosure to counsel for the Plaintiff
6 in advance of such disclosure. If the Counsel for the Parties cannot agree on the disclosure
7 to Defendants, then any Party may file a motion with the Court before disclosure occurs.
8 In the event a Defendant proceeds pro se, medical/psychological information may be
9 disclosed directly to Defendant.
10 Defendants may attend portions of depositions where medical/psychological
11 information is discussed only after theymake a statement on the record that theywill abide
12 by this Order and not disclose the medical/psychological information to any person other
13 than the Defendants’ Counsel and only to the extent necessary to defend the claims against
14 them. The Defendants are bound by the terms of this agreement with respect to any
15 medical/psychological information they obtain through any other means during the course
16 of this litigation, such as review of pleadingsfiled in this case or communications between
17 the Parties in this case. Nothing in this section shall limit or otherwise affect any of the
18 Parties’ ability to use this information during depositions or in the litigation of this matter.
19 8.4 Persons Bound by Stipulated Protective Order. This Order will take effect
20 whenentered and is binding upon all counsel of record and their law offices, the Parties,
21 and persons made subject to this Order by its terms.
22 8.5 Applicability to Parties Later Joined. If additional persons or entities become
23 parties to this lawsuit, they must not be given access to any Protected Material until they
24 execute and file with the Court their written agreement to be bound by the provisions of
25 this Order. Should any aggrieved person intervene in this lawsuit, her name and any
26 information alleged publicly in her complaint shall not be considered Protected Material.
27 / / /
1 8a. NON-PARTY OBLIGATIOIN RE RECEIPT OF CONFIDENTIAL
2 INFORMATION
3 To the extent confidential information (including identity of witnesses) is disclosed
4 to a non-party, the non-party shall use that confidential information only for legitimate
5 purposes in connection with litigation of this case. Each such non-party shall be expressly
6 advised of this obligation at the time confidential information is disclosed to him or her.
7 9. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN
8 OTHER LITIGATION
9 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that
10 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
11 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
12 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
13 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
14 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
15 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or
16 order is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy
17 of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
18 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
19 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
20 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the
21 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as
22 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order
23 issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating
24 Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its
25 confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing
26 or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another
27 court.
1 10. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
2 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
3 The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in
4 this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Non-
5 Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided
6 by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party
7 from seeking additional protections.
8 11. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
9 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
10 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
11 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing
12 the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all
13 unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom
14 unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request such
15 person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is
16 attached hereto as Exhibit A.
17 12. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
18 PROTECTED MATERIAL
19 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently
20 produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of
21 the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B).
22 Nothing in this provision requires a party to delete manually any data from disaster
23 recovery or backup systems even if that data may contain copies or fragments of privileged
24 or protected material until it is overwritten or destroyed in the ordinary course of records
25 management. This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be
26 established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior privilege
27 review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach
1 the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their
2 agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
3 13. MISCELLANEOUS
4 13.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person
5 to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
6 13.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Stipulated
7 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing
8 or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated
9 Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in
10 evidence of any of the material covered by this Stipulated Protective Order.
11 13.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected
12 Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed
13 under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected
14 Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the
15 court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless
16 otherwise instructed by the court.
17 14. FINAL DISPOSITION
18 14.1 Destruction of Protected Material. After the final disposition of this Action,
19 within 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must
20 return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in
21 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
22 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material.
23 Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit
24 a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the
25 Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that affirms that the Receiving Party has
26 complied with this provision.
27 14.2. Retention of Work Product. Notwithstanding requirements above to return or
1 papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence,
2 deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and
3 expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material, so long as that
4 work product does not duplicate verbatim substantial portions of the text or images of
5 designated documents. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected
6 Material remain subject to this Stipulated Protective Order as set forth in Section 4
7 (Duration). Counsel may use his or her own work product in subsequent litigation provided
8 that its use does not disclose Protected Information.
9 Nothing in this Stipulated Protective Order requires a Receiving Party to delete
10 manually any data from disaster recovery or backup systems even if that data may contain
11 copies or fragments of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information until it is overwritten or destroyed
12 in the ordinary course of records management.
13 15. JURISDICTION
14 The Court’s jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this Orderwill terminate on the
15 final disposition of this case. But a party may file a motion to seek leave to reopen the case
16 to enforce the provisions of this Order.
17 16. VIOLATION
18 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including,
19 without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
20
21 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
22 Dated: September 1, 2020
23 NICOLA T. HANNA ERIC S. DREIBAND
United States Attorney Assistant Attorney General
24 Central District of California Civil Rights Division
DAVID M. HARRIS SAMEENA SHINA MAJEED
25 Assistant United States Attorney Chief, Housing and Civil
Chief, Civil Division Enforcement Section
26 KAREN RUCKERT R. TAMAR HAGLER
Chief, Civil Rights Section Deputy Chief, Housing and Civil
Enforcement Section
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/s/ Acrivi Coromelas /s/ Oneshia S. Herring
1 || Assistant United States Attorney Trial Attorney
Civil Rights Section, Civil Division United States Department of Justice
2 Civil Rights Division
Housing and Civil Enforcement Section
3 Attorneys for Plaintiff
United States of America
5 | [Signatories continued on next page. ]
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* T attest that all signatories listed, and on whose behalf this filing is submitted, concur in
7 || this filing’s content and have authorized the filing.
g Dated: September 1, 2020 FISCHER ZISBLATT & KISS LLP
9 /s/ Benjamin Kiss
BENJAMIN KISS
10 Attorneys for Defendants Ramin Akhavan,
Bonnie Brae Investment Services LLC, and
11 Westlake Property Services LLC
12 || Dated: September 1, 2020 LAW OFFICES OF BENJAMIN TAYLOR
13 /s/_ Benjamin Taylor
14 BENJAMIN TAYLOR
Attorneys for Defendant
15 Filomeno Hernandez
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17 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
18 | .
19 ~~ ——_—_—_——.
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HON. ALEXANDER F. MacKINNON
21 || United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 [print or type full name], of
4 || [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its
5 || entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United
6 || States District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of United
7 || States v. Hernandez et al., Case No. 2:20—cv—00327—DSF—AFM. I agree to comply with
8 || and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and
9 || acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in
10 || the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any
11 | information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or
12 || entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order. I further agree to
13 || submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Central District of
14 | California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such
15 || enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I hereby appoint
16 [print or type full name] of
17 [print or type full address and
18 || telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this
19 action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
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21 || Date:
22 || City and State where sworn and signed:
23 | Printed Name:
24 || Signature:
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