The opinion
Michael L. Wroniak (State Bar No. 210347)
Chandler A. Parker (State Bar No. 277902)
2
COLLINS + COLLINS LLP
3 750 The City Drive, Suite 400
Orange, CA 92868
4
(714) 825-4100 – FAX (714) 823-4101
5 Email: mwroniak@ccllp.law
Email: cparker@ccllp.law
6
7 Attorneys for Defendants
COUNTY OF ORANGE
8
9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
10 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
11
12 EDWIN PHILLIPS, an individual ) CASE NO. 8:21-cv-00255-DOC-KES
) Hon. David O. Carter, Courtroom 9D
13 Plaintiff, )
14 ) [DISCOVERY MATTER]
vs. )
15
) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
16 COUNTY OF ORANGE, a )
municipality; and DOES 1-10, )
17
inclusive, )
18 )
Defendants. )
19
)
20 ) Complaint Filed: 02/08/2021
) Trial Date: None
21
)
22 )
)
23
TO THE HONORABLE COURT:
24
25
/ / /
26
/ / /
27
28
/ / /
1. INTRODUCTION
2 1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
3 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
4 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public disclosure
5 and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted.
6 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following
7 Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer
8 blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection
9 it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items
10 that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The
11 parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated
12 Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil
13 Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that
14 will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
15 1.2 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
16 The case arises from a use of force incident between Plaintiff EDWIN PHILLIPS
17 (“Plaintiff”) and Sheriff Deputies employed by Defendant COUNTY OF ORANGE
18 (“County”) at the Theo Lacy Facility (“TCF”) on January 5, 2020. Plaintiff alleges
19 alleging the following five (5) claims arising from the incident: 1) Battery; 2)
20 Negligence; 3) Bane Act Violations; 4) Excessive Force in violation of 28 U.S.C. §
21 1983; and 5) First Amendment Retaliation in violation of 28 U.S.C. § 1983.
22 This action is likely to involve materials protected by California Evidence Code
23 section 1040, California Code of Civil Procedure section 129, California Penal Code
24 section 632, the official information privilege or other state or federal statutes, court
25 rules, case decisions, or common law prohibiting dissemination and disclosure.
26 Additionally, this action may involve other proprietary information concerning police
27 practices and security protocols for which special protection from public disclosure and
28 from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted.
In terms of discovery, Defendants anticipate that a protective order will be
2 necessary in connection with the following items of evidence: 1) surveillance and
3 handheld video footage from the interior of the TCF which may include information
4 about sensitive security features inside the jail and reveal the identities of inmates
5 receiving medication, medical treatment or otherwise engaging in activities with a
6 reasonable expectation of privacy; 2) recordings of telephone calls made from inside
7 the jail which may include confidential communication with attorneys, medical
8 professionals, and clergy; 3) personnel and administrative records of peace officers; 4)
9 mental health and medical records protected by HIPPA; 5) Photographs and audio
10 recordings; and 6) such other evidence for which dissemination should be limited for
11 use in this action only.
12 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt
13 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect
14 information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are
15 permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the
16 conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends
17 of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the
18 intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical
19 reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been
20 maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should
21 not be part of the public record of this case.
22 2. DEFINITIONS
23 2.1 Action: Edwin Phillips v. County of Orange, et al. (Case No.: 8:21-CV-
24 00255 DOC (KESx)
25 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of
26 information or items under this Order.
27 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how
28 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
2 Statement.
3 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
4 support staff).
5 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
6 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
7 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of
8 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among
9 other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated
10 in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
11 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
12 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an
13 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
14 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
15 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
16 counsel.
17 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
18 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
19 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to
20 this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have
21 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which
22 has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
23 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
24 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
25 support staffs).
26 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
27 Discovery Material in this Action.
28
2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
2 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
3 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and
4 their employees and subcontractors.
5 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
6 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
7 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
8 from a Producing Party.
9 3. SCOPE
10 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected
11 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from
12 Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected
13 Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their
14 Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
15 Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the orders of the trial
16 judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial. Likewise, the
17 mere existence of this stipulation and Order shall not serve as a basis to preclude the
18 admission of any protected materials as evidence at the time of trial.
19 4. DURATION
20 4.1 Except for information specified in 4.2, the confidentiality obligations
21 imposed by this Order will remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise
22 in writing or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition will be deemed to be the
23 later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice;
24 and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals,
25 rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits for filing
26 any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.
27 4.2 If the case proceeds to trial, information designated as CONFIDENTIAL
28 under this protective order that is authorized for use at trial by stipulation, order or is
otherwise admitted as an exhibit will become public and will be presumptively available
2 to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported
3 by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance
4 of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing
5 for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when
6 merits-related documents are part of court record).
7 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
8 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
9 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
10 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies
11 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection
12 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that
13 qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items, or communications for
14 which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this
15 Order.
16 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
17 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose
18 (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary
19 expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
20 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
21 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
22 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
23 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this
24 Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated
25 or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this
26 Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
27 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
28
(a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,
2 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the
3 Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter
4 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a
5 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party
6 also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings
7 in the margins).
8 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for
9 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has
10 indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection
11 and before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection will be
12 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents
13 it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents,
14 or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the
15 specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to
16 each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material
17 on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the
18 protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
19 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the
20 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all
21 protected testimony.
22 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any
23 other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior
24 of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
25 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
26 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, will identify the protected
27 portion(s).
28
5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
2 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
3 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon
4 timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to
5 assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
6 5.4 Independent Source The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order
7 shall not apply to materials which have been lawfully obtained by the Receiving party
8 through means independent of discovery in this case even if the Designating Party later
9 designates the same materials as CONFIDENTIAL in accordance with the provisions
10 of this Order.
11 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
12 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
13 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling
14 Order.
15 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party will initiate the dispute resolution
16 process (and, if necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
17 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding will be on the
18 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g.,
19 to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the
20 Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn
21 the confidentiality designation, all parties will continue to afford the material in question
22 the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation
23 until the Court rules on the challenge.
24 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
25 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
26 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action
27 only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected
28 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
2 comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
3 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
4 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
5 authorized under this Order.
6 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise
7 ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party
8 may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
9 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well
10 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to
11 disclose the information for this Action;
12 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
13 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
14 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
15 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
16 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
17 (d) the Court and its personnel;
18 (e) court reporters and their staff;
19 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
20 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
21 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
22 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
23 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
24 (h) during their depositions, witnesses ,and attorneys for witnesses, in the
25 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
26 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they will
27 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
28 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise agreed
by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition
2 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately
3 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted
4 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
5 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
6 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
7
8 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
9 IN OTHER LITIGATION
10 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that
11 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
12 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
13 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification will
14 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
15 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
16 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or
17 order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification will include a copy of this
18 Stipulated Protective Order; and
19 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
20 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
21 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the
22 subpoena or court order will not produce any information designated in this action as
23 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or
24 order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
25 Designating Party will bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court
26 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
27 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive
28 from another court.
9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
2 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
3 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
4 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced
5 by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief
6 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting
7 a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
8 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
9 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
10 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential
11 information, then the Party will:
12 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that
13 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a
14 Non-Party;
15 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
16 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
17 specific description of the information requested; and
18 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-
19 Party, if requested.
20 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14
21 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may
22 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request.
23 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party will not produce
24 any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality
25 agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order
26 to the contrary, the Non-Party will bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in
27 this court of its Protected Material.
28 / / /
10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
2 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
3 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
4 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing
5 the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve
6 all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to
7 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request
8 such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound”
9 that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
10 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
11 PROTECTED MATERIAL
12 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
13 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the
14 obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
15 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
16 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
17 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
18 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
19 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
20 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to
21 the court.
22 12. MISCELLANEOUS
23 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
24 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
25 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
26 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
27 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
28
Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
2 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
3 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
4 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
5 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
6 Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is
7 denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public
8 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
9 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
10 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60
11 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all
12 Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
13 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
14 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
15 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party
16 must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person
17 or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by
18 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed
19 and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
20 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
21 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an
22 archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts,
23 legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney
24 work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain
25 Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected
26 Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4.
27
28
1 14. Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or crimina
2 |lcontempt proceedings, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinar
3 || authorities, or other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court.
4
5 ||IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
6
7 ||DATED: October 7, 2021 COLLINS + COLLINS LLP
8
By: _/s/ Chandler A. Parker
9 CHANDLER A. PARKER
10 MICHAEL L. WRONIAK
Attorneys for Defendants
COUNTY OF ORANGE
12
13. || DATED: October 7, 2021 UCI LAW CIVIL RIGHTS LITIGATION
CLINIC
14
15 By: __/s Melanie T. Partow
MELANIE T. PARTOW
16 PAUL L. HOFFMAN
17 Attorneys for Plaintiff,
EDWIN PHILLIPS
18
19 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
20
21
22 DATED: 10/8/2021 Yi Onin) ( ; S
23 HON. KAREN E. SCOTT
34 United States Magistrate Judge
25
26
27
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|| 79598
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 Edwin
8 Phillips vs. County of Orange, et al. (8:21-cv-00255-DOC-KES). I agree to comply
9 with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I
10 understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions
11 and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose
12 in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective
13 Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this
14 Order.
15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
16 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
17 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
18 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [full
19 name] of _______________________________________ [full address and
20 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with
21 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective
22 Order.
23 Date: ______________________________________
24 City and State where signed: _________________________________
25
26 Printed name: _______________________________
27
28 Signature: __________________________________