Fair Housing Council of Riverside County, Inc. v. Group XIII Properties LP

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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12 FAIR HOUSING COUNCIL OF ) Case No.: 5:21-cv-00941-JGB-KKx

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, INC., AND )

13 JAMES BEASLEY ) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE

) ORDER

14 Plaintiffs, )

)

15 vs. )

)

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GROUP XIII PROPERTIES LP, )

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GROUP XIII PROPERTIES, INC., )

18 SWARANJIT (MIKE) NIJJAR, )

AND ELISA VALERIO, )

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Defendants. )

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)

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1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

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

24 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public

25 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may

26 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to

27 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this

28 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to

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1 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends

2 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment

3 under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth

4 in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them

5 to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the

6 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a

7 party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.

8 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

9 Discovery will likely involve housing and complaint records of third-parties

10 which contain personal and financial information. It will also likely involve

11 discovery of certain financial information from the parties. This discovery

12 implicates privacy concerns of the parties and third-parties. Accordingly, to

13 expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes

14 over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the

15 parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted

16 reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of

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

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

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

20 tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it

21 has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause

22 why it should not be part of the public record of this case.

23 2. DEFINITIONS

24 2.1 Action: This pending federal lawsuit.

25 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the

26 designation of information or items under this Order.

27 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of

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

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

2 the Good Cause Statement.

3 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as

4 their 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

7 “CONFIDENTIAL.”

8 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless

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

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

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

12 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter

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

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

15 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.

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

17 counsel.

18 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association,

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

20 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a

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

22 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm

23 which has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.

24 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,

25 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their

26 support staffs).

27 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

28 Discovery Material in this Action.

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1 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation

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

3 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)

4 and 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

8 Material from a Producing Party.

9 3. SCOPE

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

11 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or

12 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or

13 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or

14 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.

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

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

17 4. DURATION

18 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as

19 confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and

20 will be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press,

21 unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed

22 otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City

23 and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing

24 “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from

25 “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are part of court

26 record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the

27 commencement of the trial

28 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

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1 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

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

3 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that

4 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for

5 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written

6 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,

7 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept

8 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.

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

10 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper

11 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to

12 impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the

13 Designating Party to sanctions.

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

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

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

17 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in

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

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

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

21 produced.

22 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

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

24 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial

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

26 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that

27 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page

28 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the

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

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

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

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

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

6 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the

7 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine

8 which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order.

9 Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix

10 the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If

11 only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the

12 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making

13 appropriate markings in the margins).

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

15 Disclosure or Discovery Material within 30 days of receipt of the transcript.

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

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

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

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

20 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the

21 protected portion(s).

22 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

23 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive

24 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such

25 material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make

26 reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the

27 provisions of this Order.

28 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

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1 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

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

3 Scheduling Order.

4 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute

5 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.

6 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be

7 on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper

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

9 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating

10 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall

11 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is

12 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the

13 challenge.

14 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

15 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is

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

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

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

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

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

21 DISPOSITION).

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

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

24 authorized under this Order.

25 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

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

27 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated

28 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

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

2 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably

3 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;

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

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

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

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

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

9 (d) the court and its personnel;

10 (e) court reporters and their staff;

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

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

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

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

15 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;

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

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

18 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2)

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

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

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

22 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may

23 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone

24 except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order;

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

26 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions; and

27 (j) witnesses in preparation for deposition or trial if the document regards

28 them or their testimony, provided that the witness executes Exhibit 1 and does not

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1 retain a copy of the confidential material.

2 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED

3 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION

4 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation

5 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as

6 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:

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

8 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

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

10 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena

11 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy

12 of this Stipulated Protective Order; and

13 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued

14 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.

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

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

17 as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the

18 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s

19 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking

20 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions

21 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action

22 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.

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

24 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION

25 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a

26 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information

27 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the

28 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be

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1 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.

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

3 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is

4 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s

5 confidential information, then the Party shall:

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

7 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality

8 agreement with a Non-Party;

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

10 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably

11 specific description of the information requested; and

12 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the

13 Non-Party, if requested.

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

15 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party

16 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery

17 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall

18 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the

19 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.

20 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and

21 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.

22 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

24 disclosed Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized

25 under this Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a)

26 notify in writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its

27 best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform

28 the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms

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1 of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the

2 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit

3 A

4 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

5 PROTECTED MATERIAL

6 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain

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

8 protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal

9 Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify

10 whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for

11 production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence

12 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure

13 of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or

14 work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the

15 stipulated protective order submitted to the court.

16 12. MISCELLANEOUS

17 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any

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

19 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this

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

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

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

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

24 Order.

25 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any

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

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

28 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material

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1 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information

2 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.

3 13. FINAL DISPOSITION

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

5 60 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must

6 return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As

7 used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts,

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

9 Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the

10 Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if

11 not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that

12 (1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was

13 returned or destroyed and (2)affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any

14 copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or

15 capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel

16 are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial,

17 deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition

18 and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert

19 work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival

20 copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this

21 Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).

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114. VIOLATION

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

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

4 || sanctions.

5 ok ok

7 | ITIS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

BRANCART & BRANCART LAW OFFICE OF D. WAYNE

10 LEECH, A PROFESSIONAL

/s/ Christopher Brancart CORPORATION

1] | Christopher Brancart (SBN 128475)

ebrancart(@/brancart.com /s/ D. Wayne Leech

12 .O. Box D. Wayne Leech, Esq. (SBN 97676)

Pescadero, CA 94060 wayne@leechlaw.com,

13] Tel: 650) 879-0141 ain Street, Suite 200

Fax: (650) 879-1103 El Monte, CA 91731

14 Tel: (626) 443-0061

Fax: (626) 443-1165

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16 Attorneys for Plaintiffs Attorneys for Defendants

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18 ok ok

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29 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

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99 DATED: October 26, 2021

23) Canlyye~

24) OT

95 Honorable Kenly Kiya Kato

26 United States Magistrate Judge

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1 EXHIBIT A

2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

3

4 I, _______________________________ [print or type full name], of

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

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

7 was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California

8 on [date] in the case of ___________ [insert formal name of the case and the

9 number and initials assigned to it by the court]. I agree to comply with and to be

10 bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and

11 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and

12 punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in

13 any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective

14 Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this

15 Order.

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

17 the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this

18 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after

19 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print

20 or type full name] of _______________________________________ [print or

21 type full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of

22 process in connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of

23 this Stipulated Protective Order.

24 Date: ______________________________________

25 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________

26

27 Printed name: _______________________________

28 Signature: __________________________________

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