# Marco Baeza v. Coast Community College District

> District Court, C.D. California · December 11, 2024

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10761997

## Case

- **Court:** District Court, C.D. California
- **Decided:** December 11, 2024
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

1 CALLAHAN & BLAINE, APLC
David J. Darnell (Bar No. 210166)
2 ddarnell@callahan-law.com
Brett E. Bitzer (Bar No. 264736)
3 bbitzer@callahan-law.com
3 Hutton Centre Drive, Ninth Floor
4 Santa Ana, California 92707
Telephone: (714) 241-4444
5 Facsimile: (714) 241-4445
EXEMPT FROM FEES - CALIFORNIA
6 Attorneys for Defendant GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 6103
COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
7
8 DUCKWORTH & PETERS LLP
Thomas E. Duckworth (Bar No. 152369)
9 tom@duckworthpeters.com
Erika A. Heath (Bar No. 304683)
10 erika@duckworthpeters.com
351 California St., Ste. 700
11 Santa Francisco, California 94104
Telephone: (415) 433-0333
12
Attorneys for Plaintiff MARCO BAEZA
13
14
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
15
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
16
17 CASE NO.: 8:24-cv-2044-JWH-KES
MARCO BAEZA,
18
Plaintiff,
19
v. STIPULATION AND
20 PROTECTIVE ORDER RE
COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE
CONFIDENTIAL DESIGNATIONS
21 DISTRICT,
22 Defendant. Complaint Filed: September 20, 2024
Trial Date: Not set
23
24
25
26
27
1 I. PURPOSES AND 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 pursuing this litigation may be
5 warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to
6 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this
7 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
8 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends
9 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
10 under the applicable legal principles.
11 II. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
12 Discovery in this action is likely to involve the production of documents and
13 information that one or more parties contends will include sensitive financial,
14 confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from
15 public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action
16 is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials and information may
17 consist of, among other things, confidential business or financial information or
18 information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which may be
19 privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under state or federal statutes,
20 court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite the flow of
21 information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over confidentiality of
22 discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are entitled to keep
23 confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of
24 such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling
25 at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such
26 information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that information
27 will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so
designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential,
1 non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of the public
2 record of this case.
3 III. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE
4 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 14.3, below, that this
5 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information
6 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed
7 and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court
8 to file material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public has a right
9 of access to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with
10 nondispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal.
11 See Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir.
12 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002),
13 Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even
14 stipulated protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of
15 good cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal
16 justification, must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to
17 file under seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as
18 CONFIDENTIAL does not— without the submission of competent evidence by
19 declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as
20 confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
21 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then
22 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the
23 relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected.
24 See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For
25 each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced
26 under seal, the party seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons,
27 supported by specific facts and legal justification, for the requested sealing order.
Again, competent evidence supporting the application to file documents under seal
1 must be provided by declaration.
2 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in
3 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If
4 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting
5 only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document,
6 shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their
7 entirety should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
8 IV. DEFINITIONS
9 1.1 Action: Marco Baeza v. Coast Community College District,
10 Central District Case No.: 8:24-cv-2044-JWH-KES.
11 1.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
12 of information or items under this Order.
13 1.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
14 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
15 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
16 the Good Cause Statement.
17 1.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
18 their support staff).
19 1.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
20 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
21 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
22 1.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
23 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
24 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
25 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery.
26 1.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
27 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
1 1.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
2 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
3 counsel.
4 1.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or
5 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
6 1.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party
7 to this Action but are retained to represent a party to this Action and have appeared
8 in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that has
9 appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
10 1.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
11 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
12 support staffs).
13 1.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
14 Discovery Material in this Action.
15 1.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
16 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
17 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
18 and their employees and subcontractors.
19 1.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
20 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
21 1.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
22 from a Producing Party.
23 V. SCOPE
24 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
25 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
26 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
27 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
1 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
2 trial judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of
3 Protected Material at trial.
4 VI. DURATION
5 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
6 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced
7 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all
8 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by
9 specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance
10 of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause”
11 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”
12 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the
13 terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
14 VII. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
15 7.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
16 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection
17 under this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material
18 that qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate
19 for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written
20 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items
21 or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably
22 within the ambit of this Order.
23 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
24 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
25 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
26 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating
27 Party to sanctions.
If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
1 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
2 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
3 7.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
4 this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure of Discovery Material
5 that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before
6 the material is disclosed or produced.
7 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
8 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,
9 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that
10 the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter
11 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a
12 portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also
13 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings
14 in the margins).
15 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
16 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
17 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
18 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
19 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the
20 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which
21 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before
22 producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the
23 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a
24 portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also
25 must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings
26 in the margins).
27 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies the
Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all
1 protected testimony.
2 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for
3 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
4 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
5 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
6 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
7 portion(s).
8 7.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
9 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
10 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
11 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
12 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
13 Order.
14 VIII. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
15 8.1. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
16 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
17 Scheduling Order.
18 7.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
19 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
20 7.3 Joint Stipulation. Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a
21 joint stipulation pursuant to Local Rule 37-2.
22 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
23 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
24 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
25 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
26 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
27 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is
entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
1 challenge.
2 IX. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
3 9.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
4 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
5 Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such
6 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
7 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
8 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 15 below (FINAL
9 DISPOSITION).
10 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
11 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
12 authorized under this Order.
13 9.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
14 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
15 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
16 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
17 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well as
18 employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to
19 disclose the information for this Action;
20 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
21 Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
22 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
23 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
24 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
25 (d) the court and its personnel;
26 (e) court reporters and their staff;
27 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
1 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
2 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
3 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
4 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the
5 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
6 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they
7 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
8 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
9 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
10 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
11 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except
12 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
13 (i) any mediators or settlement officers and their supporting personnel,
14 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
15 X. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
16 IN OTHER LITIGATION
17 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
18 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
19 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
20 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
21 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
22 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
23 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena
24 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of
25 this Stipulated Protective Order; and
26 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
27 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected. If the
Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the
1 subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action
2 as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
3 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
4 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
5 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
6 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
7 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
8 XI. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
9 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
10 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
11 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
12 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
13 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
14 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
15 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
16 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
17 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
18 confidential information, then the Party shall:
19 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that
20 some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
21 with a Non-Party;
22 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective
23 Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific
24 description of the information requested; and
25 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party,
26 if requested.
27 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14
days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
1 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
2 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall
3 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
4 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
5 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and
6 expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
7 XII. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
8 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
9 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
10 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
11 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
12 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
13 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
14 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment an
15 Agreement to Be Bound” attached hereto as Exhibit A.
16 XIII. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
17 PROTECTED MATERIAL
18 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
19 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
20 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil\
21 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
22 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without
23 prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar
24 as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
25 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
26 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted
27 to the court.
1 XIV. MISCELLANEOUS
2 14.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
3 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
4 14.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
5 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
6 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
7 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
8 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
9 14.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
10 Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
11 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
12 specific Protected Material. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal
13 is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the
14 public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
15 XV. FINAL DISPOSITION
16 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 6, within 60
17 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
18 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in
19 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
20 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
21 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving
22 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same
23 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60-day deadline that (1) identifies
24 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or
25 destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,
26 abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any
27 of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to
retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
1|| transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
2|| reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if suct
3 || materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
4| constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
Section 6 (DURATION).
6| XVI. VIOLATION
7 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
8 | including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
10 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
1]
28 12 | Dated: December 9, 2024 CALLAHAN & BLAINE, APLC

By: _/s/ David J. Darnell
14 David J. Darnell
Brett B. Bitzer
15 Attorneys for Defendant COAST
COMM JNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT

18 Dated: December 9, 2024 DUCKWORTH & PETERS LLP
19 By: _/s/ Thomas E. Duckworth
20 Thomas E. Duckworth
Erika A. Heath
1 Attorneys for Plaintiff MARCO BAEZA
22
33 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
24
25 DATED: 12/11/2024 db fs Scot
KAREN E. SCOTT
26 United States Magistrate Judge
27
28
-13-

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10761997. Public record. Not legal advice.