The opinion
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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
11 || JENNA GROOM, an individual, Case No. 2:19-cv-10359 PSG (Ex)
Plaintiff,
12 || vs.
13 || CITY OF EL PASO DE ROBLES aka CITY | STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
OF PASO ROBLES, a public entity;
14 || CHRISTOPHER SEAN MCGUIRE, an
individual; and DOES 1 through 10,
15 || inclusive, □
16 Defendants.
17
18 ||I. | PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
19 A, Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
20 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
21 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation
22 may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the
23 Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties
24 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all
1 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from
2 public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that
3 are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The
4 parties also acknowledge that the entry of this Order does not automatically
5 obligate any party to produce confidential, proprietary, or private information.
6 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section XIII(C), below, that this
7 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information
8 under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed
9 and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the
10 Court to file material under seal.
11 || 1. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
12 A, This action involves allegations that defendant Christopher McGuire
13 sexually assaulted plaintiff Jenna Groom while on duty as a Paso Robles Police
14 Department Police Officer. It is anticipated that confidential, proprietary, or
15 private information of the parties will be sought in discovery. Accordingly, to
16 expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes
17 over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the
18 parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted
19 reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct
20 of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends
21 of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is
22 the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential
23 for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief
24 .
1 that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is
2 good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
3 itl. DEFINITIONS
4 A. Action: This pending federal lawsuit, Case No. 2:19-cv-10359 PSG (Ex).
5 B. Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
6 of information or items under this Order.
7 Cc. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: (1) any information contained
8 within a peace officer personnel file; (2) the address, phone and license number
9 of any peace officer; (3) the name, address, phone, license number, photo or
10 likeness of any sexual assault victim; (4) the private financial information,
11 including the social security .
12 number of any party or witness; (5) the private medical information,
13 including psychiatric or psychological information, of any party or
14 witness; (6) any other information or tangible things that qualify for protection
15 under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure section 26(c) or any court order; and (7)
16 anything that the parties mutually agree should be classified as _
17 such.
18 Dz. Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
19 support staff).
20 E. Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates information or
21 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
22 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
23 F, Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless of
24 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained
1 (including, among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that
2 are produced or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this
3 matter.
4 G. Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
5 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to
6 serve as an expert or consultant in this Action.
7 H. House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
8 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
9 counsel,
10 1. Non-Party: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
11 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
12 J. Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a party
13 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and
14 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law
15 firm which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
16 K. Party: Any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
17 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and
18 their support staffs).
19 L. Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
20 Discovery Material in this Action.
21 M. Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation support
22 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
23 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or
24 medium) and their employees and subcontractors. □
1 N. Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
2 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
3 oO. Receiving Party: A Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
4 from a Producing Party.
SCOPE
6 A. The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
7 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
8 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
9 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
10 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
11 B. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the ordersof
12 the trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
13 DURATION
14 A. Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as
15 confidential or maintained pursuant to this Protective Order becomes public and
16 will be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press,
17 unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed
18 otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakanav.
19 City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006)
20 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in
21 discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents
22 are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this Protective Order do not
23 extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
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1 B. If this matter is resolved through settlement, all of the information
2 designated confidential or maintained pursuant to this Protective Order shall
3 remain confidential and shall not be publicly disclosed in any manner
4 whatsoever, including publication and dissemination on the internet or to the
5 press.
6 DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
7 A, Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection
8 . 1, Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for
9 protection under this Order must take care to limit any such designation
10 to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The
Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of
12 material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that
13 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or
14 communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
15 unjustifiably within the ambit ofthis Order.
16 2. Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited.
17 Designations that are shown to be-clearly unjustified or that have been
18 made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case
19 development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on
20 other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
21 3. If it comes to a Designating Party's attention that information or
22 items that it designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that
23 Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is
24 withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
1 B. Manner and Timing of Designations
2 1. Except as otherwise provided in this Order (see, e.g., Section
3 B(2)(b) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or
4 Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be
5 clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
6 2. Designation in conformity with this Order requires the following:
7 a. For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or
8 electronic documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or
9 other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix
10 at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL?” (hereinafter
i1 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected
12 material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
13 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
14 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
15 markings in the margins).
16 b. A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents
17 available for inspection need not designate them for protection
18 until after the inspecting Party has indicated which documents it
19 would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before
20 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection
21 shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has
22 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the
23 Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions
24 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before
1 producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix
2 the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected
3 Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
4 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
5 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
6 markings in the margins).
7 C, For testimony given in depositions, that the Designating
8 Party identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record,
9 before the close of the deposition all protected testimony. Ona
10 case by case basis on the record during the deposition the parties
11 may stipulate to designate an entire deposition transcript as
12 protected testimony.
13 d. For information produced in form other than document and
14 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix ina
15 prominent place on the exterior of the container or containers in
16 which the information is stored the legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If
17 only a portion or portions of the information warrants protection,
18 the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the
19 protected portion(s).
20 C. Inadvertent Failure to Designate
21 1. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate qualified
22 information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating
23 Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
24 _ Upon timely correction of a designation (i.e., by providing notice of the
41 inadvertent disclosure to the Receiving Party within twenty days of
2 discovery of the inadvertent production), the Receiving Party must make
3 reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with
4 the provisions of this Order.
5 |} Vil. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
6 A. Timing of Challenges
7 1. Any party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of
8 confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling
9 Order.
10 B. Meet and Confer
1. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process
12 under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
13 C. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
14 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
15 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
16 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
17 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
18 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
19 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
20 challenge.
21 || VIII. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
22 A. Basic Principles □
23 1. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or
24 produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
1 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action.
2 Such Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of
3 persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When the
4 Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the
5 provisions of Section XIII below.
6 2. Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving
7 Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is
8 limited to the persons authorized under this Order. _
9 3. In no event shall any Protected Material, any portion thereof, or
10 any information about its contents, be made public, including by
11 providing Protected Material, any portion thereof, or any information
12 about its contents to a reporter, journalist, news agency, political
13 representative, special interest group, or anyone not expressly authorized
14 in this Order. In no event shall any Protected Material, any portion
15 thereof, or any information about its contents be posted on any form of
16 social media or otherwise published in a manner that would allow public
17 access to Protected Material, any portion thereof, or information about its
18 contents.
19 B. - Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items
20 1. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by
21 the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or
22 item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
23 a. The Receiving Party's Outside Counsel of Record in this
24 Action, as well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to
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1 whom it is reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this
2 Action;
3 b. The officers, directors, and employees (including House
4 Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably
5 necessary for this Action;
6 c. Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to
7 whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who
8 have signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
9 (Exhibit A);
10 d. The Court and its personnel;
li e. Court reporters and their staff;
12 f. Professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and
13 Professional Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary
14 or this Action and who have signed the “Acknowledgment and
15 Agreement to be Bound” attached as Exhibit A hereto;
16 g. The author or recipient of document containing the
17 information or a custodian or other person who otherwise
18 possessed or knew the information;
19 h. During their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for
20 witnesses, in the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably
21 necessary provided: (i) the deposing party requests that the
22 witness sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound;”
23 and (ii) they will not be permitted to keep any confidential
24 information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and Agreement
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1 to Be Bound,” unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or
2 ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony or
3 exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be
4 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to
5 anyone except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order;
6 i. Any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting
7 personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in
8 settlement discussions; and
9 j. Any other person that the Designating Party agrees to in
10 writing.
41 PROTECTED MATERIAL SUPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
12 IN OTHER LITIGATION
13 A. Ifa Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other
14 litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this
15 Action as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
16 1. Promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
17 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
18 2. Promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or
19 order to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material
20 covered by the subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such
21 notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
22 3. Cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
23 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be
24 affected.
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1 OB. If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served
2 with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated
3 | in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the Court from
4 which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the
5 Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden
6 and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential material and
7 nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a
8 Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
9 X. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
10 A. If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has
11 | disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not
12 authorized under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must
13 immediately (1) notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized
14 disclosures and all pertinent facts related thereto, (2) use its best efforts to
15 retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (3) inform the person
16 or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this
17 Order, and (4) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment
18 and Agreement to be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A, however such
19 execution does not permit such a person to retain copies of the Protected □
20 Material. Any intentional unauthorized disclosure may expose a Receiving Party
21 to sanctions.
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INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
2 PROTECTED MATERIAL
3 A, When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
4 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
5 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal
6 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify
7 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for
8 production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence
9 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of
10 disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client
11 privilege or work product protection, the parties may incorporate their
12 agreement in the Stipulated Protective Order submitted to the Court.
13 || XII. MISCELLANEOUS
14 A. Right to Further Relief
15 1. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek its
16 modification by the Court in the future.
17 B. Right to Assert Objections
18 oo By stipulating to the entry of this Protective Order, no Party waives
19 any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any
20 information or item on any ground. Similarly, no Party waives any right
21 to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered
22 by this Protective Order.
23 C. Filing Protected Material
24 □
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1 1. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must
2 comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may only be filed
3 under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
4 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material
5 under seal is denied by the Court, then the Receiving Party may file the
6 information in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the Court.
7 || XII. FINAL DISPOSITION
8 A. After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section V, within
9 sixty (60) days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving
10 Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such
11 material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies,
12 abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or
13 capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is
14 returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to
15 the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the Designating
16 Party) by the 60 day deadline that (4) identifies (by category, where appropriate)
17 all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the
18 Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries
19 or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material.
20 Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of
21 all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal
22 memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports,
23 attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
24 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
15
1 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth
2 in Section V.
3 B. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate
4 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary
5 sanctions.
6 || ITIS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
7
Dated:_March 17, 2021 TAYLOR RING
Mua few
9 Neda L. Lotfi
Attorneys for Plaintiff,
10 JENNA GROOM
I Lp
Dated: (lbeuatu UV WU HALL HiagTT CONNELY, LLP
12
i
13 CLAYTON ULHA
CATHERINE A. HALL
14 Attorneys for Defendant,
CHRISTOPHER SCOTT McGUIRE
15
Dated: _2/25/2021 ADAMSKI MOROSKI MADDEN
16 CUMBERLAND & GREEN LLP
17 MLLeF 6
MICHELLE L. GEARHART
18 Attorneys for Defendant,
CITY OF PASO ROBLES
19
20
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
21
22 || Dated;_>/19/2021 /s/ CHARLES B. EICK
HONORABLE CHARLES F, EICK
23 United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
2
3 I, sprint or type full name], of
4 [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I
5 || have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued
6 || by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on [DATE] in
7 \\the case of Jenna Groom v. City of Paso Robles, et al. | agree to comply with and to be
8 || 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.
13 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
14 || for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
15 || Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
16 || termination of this action. I hereby appoint [print or
17 || type full name] of [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.
20 || Date:
21 || City and State where sworn and signed:
22 || Printed Name:
23 || Signature:
24