distinguishing “good cause” 7 || showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 8 || standard when merits-related documents are part of court record
How later courts described this case
- distinguishing “good cause” 7 || showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 8 || standard when merits-related documents are part of court record
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
1 || RICKEY IVIE (#76864)
Byie@imwlaw.com
2 || JACK ALTURA (#297314)
jaltura@im wlaw.com
3 VIE McNEILL WYATT PURCELL & DIGGS
444 South Flower Street, Suite 1800
4 || Los Angeles, CA 90071
Tel: 13) 489-0028
5 || Fax: (213) 489-0552
6
Attorneys for Defendants
7 || COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, et al.
8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
E.J.M. and A.E.M., minors, ) CASE NO.: 2:20-cv-05975-GW-MRWx
individually, and as successors in )
12 || interest to EDUARD JESSE MATOS, ) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
13. || by and through their Guardian Ad )
Litem, Janet F. Garcia, Joanna L. ) [DISCOVERY MATTER]
14 || Garcia, an individual, and Edgar )
Matos, an individual, ) (MRW VERSION 4/19)
) . .
ae Check if submitted without material
16 Plaintiffs,
om ) modifications to MRW form
17 vs. )
)
18 || LOS ANGELES COUNTY, a public)
19 || entity; LOS ANGELES COUNTY )
SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, a public)
20 || entity; JIM McDONNELL, an )
91 || individual; ALEX VILLANUEVA, an_)
individual; and DOES 1-100, inclusive, )
22 )
3 Defendants. )
74 || 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
6 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
57 || Proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
9g |\ disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may
1 || be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to
2 || enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this
3 || Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
4 || discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends
5 || only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
6 || under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth
7 || in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to
8 || file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the
9 || procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party
10 || seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
11 1.2 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
12 Discovery in this matter is likely to involve requests for the disclosure of
13 || peace officer personnel information, including internal affairs investigations,
14 || employed-related discipline, if any, and prior use of force documentation. This type
15 || of information may be protected as “official information.” Sanchez v. City of Santa
16 || Ana, 936 F.2d 1027, 1033 (9th Cir. 1990); Kelly v. City of San Jose, 114 F.R.D. 653,
17 || 660 (N.D. Cal. 1987). Use of force documentation may contain medical records
18 || from third-party arrestees, which is protected by 5 U.S.C. § 552; Health
19 || 26 Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
20 Further, certain internal documents by Defendant County of Los Angeles and
21 || Defendant Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department may be subject to the
22 || “deliberative process privilege” because they constitute the impressions and
23 || decision-making processes of an entity. Lahr v. Nat’l Transp. Safety Bd., 569 F.3d
24 || 964, 981—82 (9th Cir. 2009).
25 The potential harm of disclosing these types of information would be to chill
26 || a public entity’s internal investigation of its employees’ conduct and disrupt the free
27 || flow of information during such internal investigations.
28
1 Additionally, this case is likely to involve the disclosure of the medical
2 || information of the Decedent, Eduard Jesse Matos, which is protected by HIPAA.
3 || 2. DEFINITIONS
4 2.1 Action: E.J.M., et al. v. County of Los Angeles, et al., case number
5 || 2:20-cv-05975-GW-MRW.
6 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
7 || designation of information or items under this Order.
8 2.3. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
9 || how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
10 || protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
11 || the Good Cause Statement.
12 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
13 || their support staff).
14 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
15 || items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
16 || “CONFIDENTIAL.”
17 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
18 || of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
19 || among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
20 || generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
21 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
22 || pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
23 || an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
24 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
25 || House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
26 || counsel.
27 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
28 || other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
1 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
2 || party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and
3 || have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm
4 || which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
5 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
6 || employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
7 || support staffs).
8 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
9 || Discovery Material in this Action.
10 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
11 || support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
12 || demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
13 || and their employees and subcontractors.
14 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
15 || designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
16 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
17 || Material from a Producing Party.
18
19 || 3. SCOPE
20 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
21 || Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
22 |) extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
23 |) compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
24 |) presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
25 Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the orders of the
26 || trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
27
28 || 4. DURATION
1 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as
2 || confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will
3 || be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless
4 || compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are
5 || made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of
6 || Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause”
7 || showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”
8 || standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the
9 || terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
10
11 || 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
12 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
13 |) Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
14 || this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
15 || qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
16 || protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
17 || communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,
18 || items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
19 |) unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
20 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
21 || that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
22 |) purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
23 || unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating
24 || Party to sanctions.
25 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
26 || designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
27 || promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
28
1 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
2 || this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
3 || stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
4 || under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
5 || produced.
6 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
7 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,
8 || but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that
9 || the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter
10 || “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a
11 || portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
12 || Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
13 || markings in the margins).
14 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for
15 || inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has
16 || indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the
17 || inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for
18 || inspection will be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has
19 || identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must
20 || determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this
21 || Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must
22 || affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material.
23 || If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the
24 || Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
25 || appropriate markings in the margins).
26 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the
27 || Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all
28 || protected testimony.
1 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for
2 || any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
3 || exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
4 || “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
5 || protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, will identify the protected
6 || portion(s).
7 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
8 || failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
9 || the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
10 || Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
11 || efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
12 || Order.
13
14 || 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
15 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
16 || designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
17 || Scheduling Order.
18 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party will initiate the dispute
19 || resolution process (and, if necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 37.1
20 || et seq.
21 6.3. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding will be on
22 || the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
23 || purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
24 || parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
25 || Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties will
26 || continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
27 || entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
28 || challenge.
1
2 || 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
3 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
4 || disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
5 || Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
6 || Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
7 || conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
8 || Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
9 || DISPOSITION).
10 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
11 || location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
12 || authorized under this Order.
13 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
14 || otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
15 || Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
16 || “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
17 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
18 || well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
19 || necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
20 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
21 || the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
22 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
23 || disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
24 || “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
25 (d) the Court and its personnel;
26 (e) court reporters and their staff;
27
28
1 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
2 || Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
3 || signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
4 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
5 || custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
6 (h) during their depositions, witnesses ,and attorneys for witnesses, in the
7 || Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
8 || requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they
9 || will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
10 || “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
11 || agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
12 || deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
13 || be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except
14 || as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
15 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
16 || mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
17
18 || 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
19 || INOTHER LITIGATION
20 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
21 || that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
22 || “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
23 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
24 || will include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
25 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
26 || to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
27 || subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification will include
28 || acopy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
1 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
2 || pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
3 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
4 || the subpoena or court order will not produce any information designated in this
5 || action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
6 || subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
7 || permission. The Designating Party will bear the burden and expense of seeking
8 || protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
9 || should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
10 || to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
1]
12 9. ANON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
13 || PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
14 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
15 || Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
16 || produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
17 || remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
18 || construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
19 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
20 |} produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
21 || subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
22 || confidential information, then the Party will:
23 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
24 |) that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
25 || agreement with a Non-Party;
26 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
27 || Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
28 || specific description of the information requested; and
1 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
2 || Non-Party, if requested.
3 (c) Ifthe Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within
4 || 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
5 || may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
6 || request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party will
7 || not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
8 || confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
9 || Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party will bear the burden and expense
10 || of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
11
12 || 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
13 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
14 || Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
15 || Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
16 || writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
17 || to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
18 || persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
19 || and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
20 || Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
21
22 || 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
23 || PROTECTED MATERIAL
24 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
25 || inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
26 || the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
27 || Procedure 26(b\(5\(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever
28 || procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production
1 || without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and
2 || (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a
3 || communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work
4 || product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated
5 || protective order submitted to the court.
6
7 || 12. MISCELLANEOUS
8 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
9 || person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
10 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
11 || Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
12 || disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
13 || Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
14 || ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
15 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
16 || Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
17 || only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
18 || specific Protected Material at issue. Ifa Party's request to file Protected Material
19 || under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information
20 || in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
21
22 || 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
23 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60
24 || days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
25 || all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in
26 || this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
27 || summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
28 || Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving
1 || Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same
2 || person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies
3 || (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or
4 || destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,
5 || abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any
6 || of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to
7 || retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
8 || transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
9 || reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
10 || materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
11 || constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
12 || Section 4 (DURATION).
13
14 |) 14. Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or criminal
15 || contempt proceedings, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary
16 || authorities, or other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court.
17
18 || SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
19
20 || paTED: _4, nd 4 7090 Alanine hoy ,
/ Attorneys for Plaintiff
22
23 || DATED: August 31, 2020 /s/ Jack F. Altura
Attorneys. for Defendant
55 Jack □ Altura
26
27 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
28
1
2 || DATED ‘September 10, 2020 Ud LiL—
United States Magisirate judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3
4 I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________
5 [full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and
6 understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States
7 District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of
8 ___________ [insert case name and number]. I agree to comply with and to be
9 bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and
10 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment
11 in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner
12 any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any
13 person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
15 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
16 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
17 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [full
18 name] of _______________________________________ [full address and
19 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with
20 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective
21 Order.
22 Date: ______________________________________
23 City and State where signed: _________________________________
24
25 Printed name: _______________________________
26
27 Signature: __________________________________