Opinion

Kelly Lynch v. City of Los Angeles

Court: District Court, C.D. California
Filed: Apr 8, 2021
Cited by: 0 cases
Authority: More cited than 17.9%

The opinion

1 KATHLEEN A. KENEALY, Chief Deputy City Attorney – SBN 212289

SCOTT MARCUS, Senior Assistant City Attorney –SBN 184980

2 CORY M. BRENTE, Senior Assistant City Attorney – SBN 115453

LISA W. LEE, Deputy City Attorney – SBN 186495

3 200 North Main Street, 6th Floor, City Hall East

Los Angeles, CA 90012

4 Phone No.: (213) 978-7032

Fax No.: (213) 978-8785

5 Email: lisa.lee@lacity.org

6 Attorneys for Defendants, CITY OF LOS ANGELES, AMANDA LANKFORD,

RYAN WALL, and BRIAN BRANDT

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

11 KELLY LYNCH, CASE NO. CV20-07931-JVS-(ASx)

Hon. James V. Selna, Santa Ana, Ctrm 10C

12 Mag. Alka Sagar, Ctrm. 540, 5th Fl.

Plaintiff,

v. PROTECTIVE ORDER

15 CITY OF LOS ANGELES, a

Municipality; SERGEANT LANKFORD

16 #40423, OFFICER WALL # 42917.

OFFICER BRIAN BRANDT #36706; and

17 DOES 1 THROUGH 10, INCLUSIVE,

Defendants.

21 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

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

23 or private information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use

24 for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly,

25 the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated

26 Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket

27 protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords

28 from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are

1 entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties

2 further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective

3 Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule

4 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied

5 when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.

7 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

This action involves the City of Los Angeles (“City”), Los Angeles Police

Department (“LAPD”) Sergeant Amanda Lankford, LAPD Officer Ryan Wall, and

LAPD Officer Brandt (“Defendants”). Plaintiff is seeking materials and information

that Defendant City maintains as confidential, such as personnel files of the police

officers involved in this incident, Internal Affairs materials and information, video

recordings, audio recordings, information and other administrative materials and

information currently in the possession of the City and which Defendants believe need

special protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than

prosecuting this litigation. Plaintiff is also seeking official information contained in

the personnel files of the police officers involved in the subject incident, which the City

maintains as strictly confidential and which Defendants believe need special protection

from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this

litigation.

Defendants assert that the confidentiality of the materials and information sought

by Plaintiff is recognized by California and federal law, as evidenced inter alia by

California Penal Code section 832.7 and Kerr v. United States Dist. Ct. for N.D. Cal.,

511 F.2d 192, 198 (9th Cir. 1975), aff'd, 426 U.S. 394 (1976). The City has not publicly

released the materials and information referenced above except under protective order

1 that have been used to initiate disciplinary action against LAPD officers, and has been

2 used as evidence in disciplinary proceedings, where the officers’ conduct was

3 considered to be contrary to LAPD policy.

4 Defendants contend that absent a protective order delineating the responsibilities

5 of nondisclosure on the part of the parties hereto, there is a specific risk of unnecessary

6 and undue disclosure by one or more of the many attorneys, secretaries, law clerks,

7 paralegals and expert witnesses involved in this case, as well as the corollary risk of

8 embarrassment, harassment as well as professional, physical and legal harm on the

9 part of the LAPD officers referenced in the materials and information.

10 Defendants also contend that the unfettered disclosure of the materials and

11 information, absent a protective order, would allow the media to share this information

12 with potential jurors in the area, impacting the rights of the Defendants herein to

13 receive a fair trial.

14 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt

15 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect

16 information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are

17 permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the

18 conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends

19 of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the

20 intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical

21 reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been

22 maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should

23 not be part of the public record of this case.

25 2. DEFINITIONS

2.1 Action: this pending federal law suit.

27 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of

28 information or items under this Order.

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

protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above

in the Good Cause Statement. This also includes (1) any information copied or

extracted from the Confidential information; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries

or compilations of Confidential information; and (3) any testimony,

7 conversations, or presentations that might reveal Confidential information.

8 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their

support staff).

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

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

“CONFIDENTIAL.”

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

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

among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are

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

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

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

as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.

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

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

counsel.

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

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

25 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to

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

27 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a

1 law firm which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support

2 staff.

3 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,

4 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record

5 (and their support staffs).

6 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

7 Discovery Material in this Action.

2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support

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

demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or

medium) and their employees and subcontractors.

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

as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

15 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material

16 from a Producing Party.

3. SCOPE

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

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

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

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

Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.

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

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

24 4. DURATION

25 Even after final disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations

26 imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise

27 in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the

28 later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with or without

1 prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all

2 appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits

3 for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.

5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

5 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

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

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

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

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

10 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for

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

12 Order.

Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that

are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g.,

to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary

expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.

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

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

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

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

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

stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection

under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or

produced.

Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

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

but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial

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

2 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page

3 that contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material

4 on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly

5 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in

6 the margins).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

15 each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material

16 on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the

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

18 b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the

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

20 protected testimony.

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

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

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

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

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

26 portion(s).

27 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure

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

timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to

assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.

6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

5 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

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

Order.

7 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the informal dispute

8 resolution process set forth in the Court's Procedures and Schedules.

9 See http://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/honorable-alka-sagar.

10 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding

11 shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper

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

13 may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has

14 waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to

15 afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the

16 Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.

7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

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

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

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

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

Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL

DISPOSITION).

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

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

persons authorized under this Order.

1 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

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

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

4 only to:

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

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

7 disclose the information for this

8 Action;

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

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

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

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

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

14 (d) the court and its personnel;

15 (e) court reporters and their staff;

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

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

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

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

20 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;

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

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

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

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

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

26 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed

27 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be

1 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as

2 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and

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

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

6 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN

7 OTHER LITIGATION

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

9 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

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

11 in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is

12 subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated

13 Protective Order; and

14 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the

15 Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.

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

17 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as

18 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or

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

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

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

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

23 from another court.

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

25 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION

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

in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by

Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief

1 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a

2 Non-Party from seeking additional protections.

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

4 Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an

5 agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information,

6 then the Party shall:

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

8 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a

9 Non-Party;

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

11 Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific

12 description of the information requested; and

13 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party,

14 if requested.

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

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

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

18 the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any

19 information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement

20 with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the

21 contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this

22 court of its Protected Material.

23 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

PROTECTED MATERIAL

When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

15 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted

16 to the court.

12. MISCELLANEOUS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is

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

3 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.

4 13. FINAL DISPOSITION

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(DURATION).

24 ///

25 ///

///

28 ///

1 ///

14. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate

measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary

sanctions.

6 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

Dated: April 1, 2021 LAW OFFICES OF ETAN Z. LORANT

8 By: /s/ Etan Z. Lorant

ETAN Z. LORANT, ESQ.

9 Attorney for Plaintiff KELLY LYNCH

10 Dated: April 1, 2021 MICHAEL N. FEUER, City Attorney

KATHLEEN A. KENEALY, Chief Deputy City Attorney

11 SCOTT MARCUS, Senior Assistant City Attorney

CORY M. BRENTE, Senior Assistant City Attorney

12 LISA W. LEE, Deputy City Attorney

By: /s/ Lisa W. Lee

13 LISA W. LEE, Deputy City Attorney

Attorneys for Defendants, CITY OF LOS ANGELES,

14 AMANDA LANKFORD, RYAN WALL, and BRIAN

BRANDT

FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: April 8, 2021

_____/ _s_ /_ S_a_g_a_r______________

Honorable Alka Sagar

United States Magistrate Judge

1 EXHIBIT A

ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE

3 BOUND

I, ____________________________________________ [print or type full name], of

5 [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that

6 I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued

7 by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on _______in

8 the case of Kelly Lynch v. City of Los Angeles, Et. al. Case No. 2:20-cv-07931-JVS-

9 AS I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective

10 Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to

11 sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not

12 disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated

13 Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions

14 of this Order.

15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the

16 Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated

17 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this

18 action. I hereby appoint ________________ [print or type full name] of

19 ________________ [print or type full address and telephone number] as my California

20 agent for service of process in connection with this action or any proceedings related

21 to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.

Date:_________

City and State where sworn and signed: ________________

Printed name: ________________

Signature:________________

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