# Cavazos v. County of Fresno

> District Court, E.D. California · June 7, 2024

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10635667

## Case

- **Court:** District Court, E.D. California
- **Decided:** June 7, 2024
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

1 LAW OFFICES OF DALE K. GALIPO
Dale K. Galipo – SBN 144074
2
dalekgalipo@yahoo.com
Eric Valenzuela – SBN 284500
3
evalenzuela@galipolaw.com
4 21800 Burbank Boulevard, Suite 310
Woodland Hills, CA 91367
5 Telephone: (818) 347-3333
Facsimile: (818) 347-4118
6

7 Attorneys for Plaintiff Loida Cavazos

8 PRENTICE LONG, PC
Margaret E. Long – SBN 227176
9 Caitlin Smith – SBN 269716
2240 Court Street
10
Redding, CA 96001
11 Telephone: (530) 691-0800
Facsimile: (530) 691-0700
12 E-Mail: margaret@prenticelongpc.com
caitlin@prenticelongpc.com
13
Attorneys for Defendant County of Fresno
14

15
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
16
EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, FRESNO DIVISION
17
18
19 LOIDA CAVAZOS, No. 1:23-CV-00859-JLT-BAM

20 Plaintiff,
AMENDED STIPULATION AND
21 v. [PROPOSED] PROTECTIVE ORDER
22 COUNTY OF FRESNO; EMILO REYES;
and DOES 2-10, inclusive,
23
Defendants.
24
25
1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
26
Disclosure and discovery activity in this action are likely to involve production of
27
confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
28
1 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be
2
warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the court to enter the
3
following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not
4
confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection
5
it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that
6
7 are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further
8 acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does
9 not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rules 141 and 141.1
10
set forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a
11
party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
12
2. DEFINITIONS
13
2.1 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of
14
15 information or items under this Order.
16 2.2 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it is
17 generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under Federal
18
Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c).
19
2.3 Counsel: (1) attorneys who have been retained on behalf of a Party to this
20
Action and their support staff; (2) attorneys who are employees of a Party to this action;
21
and/or (3) attorneys representing an insurer or indemnitor of any Defendant, including the
22
23 legal personnel of the insurer or indemnitor.
24 2.4 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or items
25
that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
26
2.5 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the
27
medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among other
28
1 things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated in
2
disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
3
2.6 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 an expert
5
witness or as a consultant in this action.
6
7 2.7 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this action. House
8 Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside counsel.
9 2.8 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other
10
legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
11
2.9 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party to this
12
action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this action and have appeared in this
13
action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has appeared on behalf of
14
15 that party.
16 2.10 Party: any party to this action, including all of its officers, directors,
17 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their support
18
staffs).
19
2.11 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or Discovery
20
Material in this action.
21
2.12 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
22
23 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or demonstrations,
24 and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and their employees and
25
subcontractors.
26
2.13 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as
27
“CONFIDENTIAL.”
28
1 / / /
2
2.14 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material from a
3
Producing Party.
4
3. SCOPE
5
The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only Protected
6
7 Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected
8 Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and (3)
9 any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal
10
Protected Material. However, the protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order do not
11
cover the following information: (a) any information that is in the public domain at the time of
12
disclosure to a Receiving Party or becomes part of the public domain after its disclosure to a
13
Receiving Party as a result of publication not involving a violation of this Order, including
14
15 becoming part of the public record through trial or otherwise; and (b) any information known
16 to the Receiving Party prior to the disclosure or obtained by the Receiving Party after the
17 disclosure from a source who obtained the information lawfully and under no obligation of
18
confidentiality to the Designating Party. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be
19
governed by a separate agreement or order.
20
4. DURATION
21
The confidentiality obligations imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until this
22
23 litigation is terminated. For the avoidance of doubt and the purposes of this section, the
24 litigation is terminated if either the following occurs: 1) a final settlement agreement is
25
reached between the parties; or 2) a final judgment has issued after all available appellate
26
review has been exhausted. Upon termination of the litigation, parties agree to return to the
27
28
1 other party any document produced pursuant to this order along with an affidavit under
2
penalty of perjury that no copies of such records have been retained.
3
5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
4
5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each
5
Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this Order must
6
7 take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies under the appropriate
8 standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of material,
9 documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify – so that other portions of
10
the material, documents, items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are
11
not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. If it comes to a Designating Party’s
12
attention that information or items that it designated for protection do not qualify for
13
protection, that Designating Party must promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing
14
15 the mistaken designation. The parties agree that this Protective Order encompasses the
16 following categories of protected production, including, but not limited to: (1) all Fresno
17 County Coroner’s records, including x-rays, photos, diagrams, reports, and notes; (2) all
18
hospital and ambulance records; (3) all photographs and video footage taken by Fresno
19
County Sheriff’s Office of Internal Affairs, including investigative interview video footage;
20
(4) all Fresno County Sheriff’s Office of Internal Affairs written records and emails; (5) all
21
CLETS materials, including DL, CII, and RMS; and (6) any and all records or documentation
22
23 that would be subject to confidentiality or privilege protections under applicable Federal or
24 California law.
25
26
27
28
1 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this
2
Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or
3
ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must
4
be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
5
/ / /
6 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
7
(a) For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
8
documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that
9
the Producing Party affix the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” to the first page of every document
10
11 that contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
12 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s)
13 (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
14
A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or materials available for
15
inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
16
which material it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the
17
designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed
18
19 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied
20 and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof,
21 qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the
22
Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL” legend to each page that contains
23
Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for
24
protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by
25
26 making appropriate markings in the margins).
27 (b) For testimony given in deposition or in other pretrial or trial
28
1 proceedings, that the Designating Party identifies on the record, before the close of the
2
deposition, hearing, or other proceeding, all protected testimony.
3
(c) For information produced in some form other than documentary and for
4
any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the exterior of
5
the container or containers in which the information or item is stored the legend
6
7 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information or item warrant
8 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
9 portion(s).
10
5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to
11
designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating
12
Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of
13
14 a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is
15 treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
16 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
17
6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of
18
confidentiality at any time. Unless a prompt challenge to a Designating Party’s confidentiality
19
designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable, substantial unfairness, unnecessary economic
20
burdens, or a significant disruption or delay of the litigation, a Party does not waive its right to
21
22 challenge a confidentiality designation by electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the
23 original designation is disclosed.
24 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution
25
process by providing written notice of each designation it is challenging and describing the
26
basis for each challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to whether a challenge has been made, the
27
written notice must recite that the challenge to confidentiality is being made in accordance
28
1 with this specific paragraph of the Protective Order. The parties shall attempt to resolve each
2
challenge in good faith and must begin the process by conferring directly (in voice-to-voice
3
dialogue; other forms of communication are not sufficient) within 14 days of the date of
4
service of notice. In conferring, the Challenging Party must explain the basis for its belief that
5
the confidentiality designation was not proper and must give the Designating Party an
6
7 opportunity to review the designated material, to reconsider the circumstances, and, if no
8 change in designation is offered, to explain the basis for the chosen designation. A
9 Challenging Party may proceed to the next stage of the challenge process only if it has
10
engaged in this meet and confer process first or establishes that the Designating Party is
11
unwilling to participate in the meet and confer process in a timely manner.
12
6.3 Judicial Intervention. If the Parties cannot resolve a challenge without court
13
intervention, the Designating Party shall file and serve a motion to retain confidentiality under
14
15 Civil Local Rule 7 (and in compliance with Civil Local Rule 79-5, if applicable) within 21
16 days of the initial notice of challenge or within 14 days of the parties agreeing that the meet
17 and confer process will not resolve their dispute, whichever is earlier. Each such motion must
18
be accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the
19
meet and confer requirements imposed in the preceding paragraph. Failure by the Designating
20
Party to make such a motion including the required declaration within 21 days (or 14 days, if
21
applicable) shall automatically waive the confidentiality designation for each challenged
22
23 designation. In addition, the Challenging Party may file a motion challenging a confidentiality
24 designation at any time if there is good cause for doing so, including a challenge to the
25
designation of a deposition transcript or any portions thereof. Any motion brought pursuant to
26
this provision must be accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the movant has
27
complied with the meet and confer requirements imposed by the preceding paragraph.
28
1 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the
2
Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to
3
harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the
4
Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived the confidentiality
5
designation by failing to file a motion to retain confidentiality as described above, all parties
6
7 shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled
8 under the Producing Party’s designation until the court rules on the challenge.
9 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
10
7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
11
disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this case only
12
for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this litigation. Such Protected Material may
13
be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this
14
15 Order. When the litigation has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the
16 provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION). Protected Material must be stored
17 and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location and in a secure manner that ensures that
18
access is limited to the persons authorized under this Order.
19
7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise
20
ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party may
21
disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to Counsel of Record
22
23 for the Receiving Party, as well as employees of said Counsel of Record to whom it is
24 reasonably necessary to disclose the information for this litigation and who have signed the
25
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
26
8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN
27 OTHER LITIGATION

28 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that
1 compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this action as
2
“CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
3
(a) Promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
4
shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
5
(b) Promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
6
7 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order
8 is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Stipulated
9 Protective Order; and
10
(c) Cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
11
pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
12
If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the
13
subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as
14
15 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or order
16 issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The Designating
17 Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court of its confidential
18
material – and nothing in these provisions should be construed as authorizing or encouraging
19
a Receiving Party in this action to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
20
9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED
21 IN THIS LITIGATION

22
(a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
23
Non-Party in this action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced
24
by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief
25
provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-
26
27 Party from seeking additional protections.
28 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
1 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an
2
agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then
3
the Party shall:
4
(1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
5
that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
6
7 agreement with a Non-Party;
8 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
9 Protective Order in this litigation, the relevant discovery request(s), and a
10
reasonably specific description of the information requested; and
11
(3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-
12
Party.
13
(c) If the Non-Party fails to object or seek a protective order from this court
14
15 within 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
16 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If
17 the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any
18
information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with
19
the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the
20
Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its
21
Protected Material.
22
23 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
24 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
25
Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated
26
Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating
27
Party of the unauthorized disclosures; (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized
28
1 copies of the Protected Material; (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized
2
disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order; and (d) request such person or persons to
3
execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit
4
A.
5
11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
6
PROTECTED MATERIAL
7
When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently
8
produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the
9
Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This
10
11 provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery
12 order that provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of
13 Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure
14
of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product
15
protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order
16
submitted to the court.
17
12. MISCELLANEOUS
18
19 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person
20 to seek its modification by the court in the future.
21
12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective
22
Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing
23
any information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order.
24
Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the
25
26 material covered by this Protective Order,
27
28
1 12.3 Filing Protected Material. Without written permission from the Designating
2
Party or a court order secured after appropriate notice to all interested persons, a Party may
3
not file in the public record in this action any Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file
4
under seal any Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material
5
may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
6
7 Protected Material at issue. Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 79-5, a sealing order will issue only
8 upon a request establishing that the Protected Material at issue is privileged, protectable as a
9 trade secret, or otherwise entitled to protection under the law. If a Receiving Party's request to
10
file Protected Material under seal pursuant to Civil Local Rule 79-5 is denied by the court,
11
then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record pursuant to Civil Local
12
Rule 79-5 unless otherwise instructed by the court.
13
13. FINAL DISPOSITION
14
15 Within 60 days after the final disposition of this action, as defined in paragraph 4, each
16 Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such
17 material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts,
18
compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
19
Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must
20
submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to
21
the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where
22
23 appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the
24 Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other
25
format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this
26
provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial,
27
deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial
28
1 exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even
2
if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
3
constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4
4
(DURATION).
5

6
7 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
8 Dated: June 6, 2024 LAW OFFICES OF DALE K. GALIPO

9
By: /s/ Eric Valenzuela
10
DALE K. GALIPO
11 ERIC VALENZUELA
Attorneys for Plaintiff
12 Loida Cavazos
Dated: June 6, 2024 PRENTICE LONG, PC
13

14
By: /s/ Margaret E. Long
15 MARGARET E. LONG
Attorneys for Defendant
16 County of Fresno

17

18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
1 EXHIBIT A
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
2
I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of _________________
3 [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety
and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District
4 Court for the Northern District of California on [date] in the case of Loida Cavazos v.
County of Fresno, Emilo Reyes, and Does 2-10, inclusive, No. 1:23-CV-00859-JLT-BAM. I
5 agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order
and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions
6 and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any
manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any
7 person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the
8 Northern District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated
Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this
9 action.
I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of
10 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and telephone
number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with this action or any
11 proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.

12
Date: ______________________________________
13
City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
14
Printed name: _______________________________
15
Signature: __________________________________
16

17

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19

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21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28
1 ORDER

2
Having considered the above stipulation and finding good cause, the Court adopts the
3 signed stipulated protective order with the amendment that the references to “Civil Local Rule
4 79-5” in Sections 6.3 and 12.3 are amended from “Civil Local Rule 79-5” to “Local Rules 141
5 and 141.1” to reflect the Local Rules of the United States District Court, Eastern District of
6 California.
7 The parties are advised that pursuant to the Local Rules of the United States District
8 Court, Eastern District of California, any documents subject to the protective order to be filed
9 under seal must be accompanied by a written request which complies with Local Rule 141 prior
10 to sealing. The party making a request to file documents under seal shall be required to show
11 good cause for documents attached to a non-dispositive motion or compelling reasons for
12 documents attached to a dispositive motion. Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665,
13 677-78 (9th Cir. 2009). Within five (5) days of any approved document filed under seal, the party
14 shall file a redacted copy of the sealed document. The redactions shall be narrowly tailored to
15 protect only the information that is confidential or was deemed confidential.
16 Additionally, the parties shall consider resolving any dispute arising under the protective
17 order according to the Court’s informal discovery dispute procedure.
18
19 IT IS SO ORDERED.

20 Dated: June 6, 2024 /s/ Barbara A. McAuliffe _
21 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10635667. Public record. Not legal advice.