# Daniel Velasco v. Carlos Maldonado > District Court, C.D. California · August 9, 2021 URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10041581 ## Case - **Court:** District Court, C.D. California - **Decided:** August 9, 2021 - **Opinion:** 100trialcourt - **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library ## Citator (automated) - No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases. - Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10041581 ## Opinion text 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DANIEL VELASCO, CASE NO. 2:21-cv-04933 DSF (KSx) [Assigned to Judge Dale S. Fischer, USDC-1st Cthse Ctrm. 7D] 12 Plaintiff, [Assigned to Mag. Karen Stevenson, USDC-Roybal, Ctrm 580] 13 vs. STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER 14 OFFICER CARLOS MALDONADO; OFFICER SCOTT OHANA; CITY 15 OF LOS ANGELES, BY AND THROUGH THE LOS ANGELES 16 POLICE DEPARTMENT; DOES 1-25, inclusive, 17 Defendants. 18 19 20 Pursuant to Rule 26(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and based 21 on the parties’ Stipulated Protective Order (“Stipulation”) filed on August 6, 22 2021, the terms of the protective order to which the parties have agreed are 23 adopted as a protective order of this Court (which generally shall govern the 24 pretrial phase of this action) except to the extent, as set forth below, that those 25 terms have been modified by the Court’s amendment of the good cause 26 statement and paragraph 7.2(i) of the Stipulation. 27 \\ 1 1. A. PURPOSES & LIMITATIONS 2 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential, 3 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public 4 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be 5 warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter 6 the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order 7 does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and 8 that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends file 9 confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures 10 that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks 11 permission from the court to file material under seal. 12 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT 13 This action involves the City of Los Angeles and members of the Los Angeles 14 Police Department. Discovery in this action is likely to involve materials and 15 information that Defendants the City of Los Angeles et al. (“City”) maintains as 16 confidential, such as personnel files of the police officers involved in this incident, 17 Internal Affairs materials and information, video recordings (including Body-Worn 18 Video recordings and Digital In-Car Video recordings), audio recordings, and 19 information and other administrative materials and information currently in the 20 possession of the City and which need special protection from public disclosure and 21 from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation. 22 Absent a protective order delineating the responsibilities of nondisclosure on 23 the part of the parties hereto, there is a specific risk of unnecessary and undue 24 disclosure by one or more of the many attorneys, secretaries, law clerks, paralegals 25 and expert witnesses involved in this case, as well as the corollary risk of 26 embarrassment, harassment and professional and legal harm on the part of the LAPD 27 officers referenced in the materials and information. Additionally, the unfettered 1 the media to share this information with potential jurors in the area, impacting the 2 fairness of any subsequent trial. 3 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt 4 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately 5 protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the 6 parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for 7 and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and 8 serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this 9 matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as 10 confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good 11 faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there 12 is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case. 13 2. DEFINITIONS 14 2.1 Action: Daniel Velasco v. Officer Carlos Maldonado, et al., Case No. 15 2:21-cv-04933 DSF (KSx). 16 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation 17 of information or items under this Order. 18 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of 19 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for 20 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the 21 Good Cause Statement. 22 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their 23 support staff). 24 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or 25 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as 26 “CONFIDENTIAL.” 27 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of 1 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or 2 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter. 3 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter 4 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as 5 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action. 6 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action. 7 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside 8 counsel. 9 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or 10 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action. 11 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party 12 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have 13 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which 14 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff. 15 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors, 16 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their 17 support staffs). 18 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or 19 Discovery Material in this Action. 20 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support 21 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or 22 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) 23 and their employees and subcontractors. 24 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is 25 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” 26 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material 27 from a Producing Party. 1 3. SCOPE 2 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only 3 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or 4 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or 5 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or 6 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material. 7 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the 8 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. 9 4. DURATION 10 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as 11 confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will 12 be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless 13 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are 14 made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of 15 Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” 16 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” 17 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the 18 terms of this protective order do not extend as to the CONFIDENTIAL information 19 and materials introduced or admitted as an exhibit at trial. 20 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL 21 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. 22 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under 23 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that 24 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for 25 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written 26 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, 27 or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably 1 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations 2 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper 3 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose 4 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating 5 Party to sanctions. 6 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it 7 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must 8 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation. 9 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in 10 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise 11 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection 12 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or 13 produced. 14 Designation in conformity with this Order requires: 15 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic 16 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial 17 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend 18 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that 19 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page 20 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected 21 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins). 22 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection 23 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated 24 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and 25 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be 26 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents 27 it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, 1 the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL 2 legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of 3 the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly 4 identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the 5 margins). 6 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the 7 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all 8 protected testimony. 9 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for 10 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the 11 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend 12 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants 13 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected 14 portion(s). 15 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent 16 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the 17 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. 18 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable 19 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this 20 Order. 21 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS 22 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a 23 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s 24 Scheduling Order. 25 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute 26 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq. 27 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on 1 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may 2 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived 3 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the 4 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing 5 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge. 6 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 7 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is 8 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this 9 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such 10 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the 11 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving 12 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). 13 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a 14 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons 15 authorized under this Order. 16 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless 17 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a 18 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated 19 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to: 20 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well 21 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary 22 to disclose the information for this Action; 23 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the 24 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action; 25 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom 26 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the 27 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 1 (e) court reporters and their staff; 2 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional 3 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have 4 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A); 5 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a 6 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information; 7 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the 8 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party 9 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they will 10 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the 11 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise 12 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed 13 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be 14 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as 15 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and 16 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, 17 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions. 18 Counsel making the disclosure to any qualified person described herein shall retain 19 the original executed copy of the Nondisclosure Agreement until sixty (60) days after 20 this litigation has become final, including any appellate review, and monitoring of an 21 injunction. Counsel for the Receiving Party shall maintain all signed Nondisclosure 22 Agreements and shall produce the original signature page upon reasonable written 23 notice from opposing counsel. If an issue arises regarding a purported unauthorized 24 disclosure of Confidential Information, unless otherwise ordered by the Court, 25 upon noticed motion of contempt filed by the Designating Party, counsel for the 26 Receiving Party may be required to file the signed Nondisclosure Agreements, as 27 well as a list of the disclosed materials, in camera with the Court having jurisdiction 1 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED 2 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION 3 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation 4 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as 5 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must: 6 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall 7 include a copy of the subpoena or court order; 8 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to 9 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena 10 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of 11 this Stipulated Protective Order; and 12 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued 13 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. 14 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with 15 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this 16 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the 17 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s 18 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking 19 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions 20 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to 21 disobey a lawful directive from another court. 22 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE 23 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION 24 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a 25 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information 26 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the 27 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be 1 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to 2 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is 3 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s 4 confidential information, then the Party shall: 5 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party 6 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement 7 with a Non-Party; 8 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated 9 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably 10 specific description of the information requested; and 11 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the 12 Non-Party, if requested. 13 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may 15 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. 16 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not 17 produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the 18 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. 19 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense 20 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material. 21 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL 22 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed 23 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this 24 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in 25 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts 26 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or 27 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, 1 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and 2 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 3 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE 4 PROTECTED MATERIAL 5 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain 6 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, 7 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil 8 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure 9 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior 10 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the 11 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or 12 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the 13 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted 14 to the court. 15 12. MISCELLANEOUS 16 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any 17 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future. 18 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this 19 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to 20 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this 21 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any 22 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order. 23 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any 24 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may 25 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the 26 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material 27 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in 1 13. FINAL DISPOSITION 2 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60 3 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return 4 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this 5 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, 6 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected 7 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving 8 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same 9 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies 10 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or 11 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, 12 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any 13 of the Protected Material. 14 \\ 15 \\ 16 \\ 17 \\ 18 \\ 19 \\ 20 \\ 21 \\ 22 \\ 23 \\ 24 \\ 25 \\ 26 \\ 27 \\ 1 Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy 2 || of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal 3 || memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney 4 || work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain 5 || Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected 6 || Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION). Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate 9 || measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary 10 || sanctions. 11 12 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SOORDERED. 13 14|}DATED: August 9, 2021 iS : 16 Tyan . hasan SIM. 7 REN L STEVENSON UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 EXHIBIT A 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND 3 I, [print 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 6 issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on 7 August 9, 2021 in the case of Daniel Velasco v. Officer Carlos Maldonado, et al., 8 USDC Case No. 2:21-cv-04933 DSF (KSx). I agree to comply with and to be bound 9 by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge 10 that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature 11 of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any 12 information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or 13 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 for the 15 Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated 16 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of 17 this action. I hereby appoint 18 [print or 19 type full name] of _ [print 20 or type full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of 21 process in connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of 22 this Stipulated Protective Order. 23 Date: 24 City and State where sworn and signed: 25 26 Printed name: 27 Signature: --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10041581. Public record. Not legal advice.