The opinion
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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BRANDON M. ESCAMILLA, ) Case No. 1:24-cv-00364-KES-SAB
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Plaintiff, ) ORDER RE: STIPULATED
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vs. )
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA, et al., )
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Defendants. )
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In order to facilitate discovery in this matter, Plaintiff and Defendant, through
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their respective attorneys of record, stipulate as follows:
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1. Disclosure and discovery activity in this action may involve production
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of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special protection from
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public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation
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may be warranted. The information at issue in this case consists of investigative
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materials and certain personnel records. The particularized need for the protection
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28 of these records is two-fold. First, CDCR treats personnel documents as
1 confidential in that the information contained therein would not ordinarily be
2 disclosed to other persons or entities because the information is protected under state
3 or federal law. Further, CDCR believes that disclosure of personnel records,
4 without protection will impair staff’s authority, reduce staff effectiveness in dealing
5 with inmates, and interfere with staff’s ability to do an already difficult job.
6 2. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to the following Stipulated
7 Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket
8 protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it
9 affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or
10 items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles.
11 3. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth below, that this
12 Stipulation and Order creates no entitlement to file confidential information under
13 seal; and that Eastern District Local Rule 141 sets forth the procedures that must be
14 followed and reflects the standards that will be applied when a party seeks
15 permission from the court to file material under seal.
16 DEFINITIONS
17 4. Party: Any party to this action, including all of its officers, directors,
18 employees, consultants, retained experts, house counsel and outside counsel, as well
19 as their support staff.
20 5. Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information,
21 regardless of the medium or manner generated, stored or maintained (including,
22 among other things, testimony, transcripts, or tangible things) that are produced or
23 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery by any Party in this matter.
24 6. Confidential Information or Items: The information at issue in this
25 case consists of Defendant’s personnel and disciplinary records.
26 7. Receiving Party: A party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
27 Material from a Producing Party, including a Party that has noticed or subpoenaed
28 and is taking a deposition or comparable testimony.
1 8. Producing Party: A party or non-party that produces Disclosure or
2 Discovery Material in this action, including a Party that is defending a deposition
3 noticed or subpoenaed by another Party; additionally, for the limited purpose of
4 designating testimony subject to this Stipulation and Order pursuant, a “Producing
5 Party” shall also be construed to include a Party that is attending and/or participating
6 in a non-party deposition noticed/subpoenaed by another Party.
7 9. Designating Party: A party or non-party that designates information
8 or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
9 “Confidential.”
10 10. Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
11 designated as “Confidential” under the provisions of this Stipulation and Protective
12 Order.
13 11. Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a
14 matter pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to
15 serve as an expert witness or as a consultant in this action and who is not a past or a
16 current employee of a Party and who, at the time of retention, is not anticipated to
17 become an employee of a Party or a competitor of a Party’s; as well as any person
18 retained, designated, or disclosed by a Party as an expert pursuant to Federal Rule of
19 Civil Procedure 26(a)(2).
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21 SCOPE
22 12. The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
23 Confidential Documents, but also: (1) any information copied or extracted from
24 such material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations; and (3) any
25 testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel. However, the
26 protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order do not cover the following
27 information: (a) any information that is in the public domain at the time of
28 disclosure to a Receiving Party or becomes part of the public domain after its
1 disclosure to a Receiving Party as a result of publication not involving a violation of
2 this Order, including becoming part of the public record through trial or otherwise;
3 and (b) any information known to the Receiving Party prior to the disclosure or
4 obtained by the Receiving Party after the disclosure from a source who obtained the
5 information lawfully and under no obligation of confidentiality to the Designating
6 Party. Any use of Protected Material at trial shall not be governed by this Order, and
7 may be governed by a separate agreement or order.
8 DURATION
9 13. Even after disposition of this litigation, the confidentiality obligations
10 imposed by this Order shall remain in effect. Disposition shall be deemed to be the
11 later of:
12 (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this action, with or without
13 prejudice; and
14 (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all
15 appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or reviews of this action, including
16 the time limits for filing any motions or applications for extension of
17 time pursuant to applicable law.
18 DESIGNATING CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL
19 14. Exercise of Restraint in Designating Material as Confidential. Each
20 Party or non-party that designates information or items for protection under this
21 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies
22 under the appropriate standards. A Designating Party must take care to designate
23 for protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
24 communications that qualify – so that other portions of the material, documents,
25 items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
26 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order. Mass, indiscriminate, or routine
27 designations are prohibited. Designations that are shown to be clearly unjustified, or
28 that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber or
1 retard the case development process, or to impose unnecessary expenses and
2 burdens on other parties), expose the Designating Party to sanctions. If it comes to a
3 Party’s or a non-party’s attention that information or items that it designated for
4 protection do not qualify for protection at all, or do not qualify for the level of
5 protection initially asserted, that Party or non-party must promptly notify all other
6 parties that it is withdrawing the mistaken designation.
7 15. Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided
8 in this Order, material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly
9 so designated before the material is disclosed or produced. Designation in
10 conformity with this Order requires:
11 (a) Documents. For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or
12 electronic documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other
13 pretrial or trial proceedings), that the Producing Party affix the legend
14 “Confidential” to each page that contains protected material. If only a
15 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the
16 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g.,
17 by making appropriate markings in the margins).
18 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents or materials
19 available for inspection need not designate them for protection until
20 after the inspecting Party has indicated which material it would like
21 copied and produced. During the inspection and before the
22 designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
23 deemed “Confidential.” After the inspecting Party has identified the
24 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must
25 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection
26 under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the
27 Producing Party must affix the “Confidential” legend to each page that
28 contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a page
1 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify
2 the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
3 margins).
4 (b) Testimony. For testimony given in deposition or in other
5 pretrial or trial proceedings, that the Party or non-party offering or
6 sponsoring the testimony identify on the record, before the close of the
7 deposition, hearing, or other proceeding, all protected testimony, and
8 further specify any portions of the testimony that qualify as
9 “CONFIDENTIAL.” When it is impractical to identify separately each
10 portion of testimony that is entitled to protection, and when it appears
11 that substantial portions of the testimony may qualify for protection, the
12 Producing Party may invoke on the record (before the deposition or
13 proceeding is concluded) a right to have up to twenty (20) days to
14 identify the specific portions of the testimony as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
15 Only those portions of the testimony that are appropriately designated
16 as “CONFIDENTIAL” for protection within the 20 days shall be
17 covered by the provisions of this Stipulation and Protective Order.
18 Transcript pages containing Protected Material must be separately
19 bound by the court reporter, who must affix to each such page the
20 legend “CONFIDENTIAL,” as instructed by the Producing Party.
21 16. Inadvertent Failure to Designate. If timely corrected (preferably,
22 though not necessarily, within 30 days of production or disclosure of such material),
23 an inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or items as “Confidential”
24 does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection
25 under this Order for such material. If material is appropriately designated as
26 “Confidential” after the material was initially produced, the Receiving Party, on
27 timely notification of the designation, must make reasonable efforts to assure that
28 the material is treated in accordance with this Order.
1 CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
2 17. Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
3 designation of confidentiality at any time. Unless a prompt challenge to a
4 Designating Party’s confidentiality designation is necessary to avoid foreseeable,
5 substantial unfairness, unnecessary economic burdens, or a significant disruption or
6 delay of the litigation, a Party does not waive its right to challenge a confidentiality
7 designation by electing not to mount a challenge promptly after the original
8 designation is disclosed.
9 18. Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
10 resolution process by providing written notice of each designation it is challenging
11 and describing the basis for each challenge. To avoid ambiguity as to whether a
12 challenge has been made, the written notice must recite that the challenge to
13 confidentiality is being made in accordance with this specific paragraph of the
14 Protective Order.
15 19. Procedure. The parties shall attempt to resolve each challenge in good
16 faith and must begin the process by conferring directly within 14 days of the date of
17 service of notice. In conferring, the Challenging Party must explain the basis for its
18 belief that the confidentiality designation was not proper and must give the
19 Designating Party an opportunity to review the designated material, to reconsider
20 the circumstances, and, if no change in designation is offered, to explain the basis
21 for the chosen designation. A Challenging Party may proceed to the next stage of
22 the challenge process only if it has engaged in this meet and confer process first or
23 establishes that the Designating Party is unwilling to participate in the meet and
24 confer process in a timely manner.
25 20. Judicial Intervention. If the Parties cannot resolve a challenge
26 without intervention, the Designating Party shall file and serve a motion to retain
27 confidentiality under Eastern District Local Rule 230 and 251 (and in compliance
28 with Eastern District Local Rules 141 and 141.1, if applicable) within 14 days of the
1 parties agreeing that the meet and confer process will not resolve their dispute, or by
2 the first day of trial of this matter, whichever date is earlier.
3 21. Motion. Each such motion must be accompanied by a competent
4 declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the meet and confer
5 requirements imposed in the preceding paragraph. In addition, the Challenging
6 Party may file a motion challenging a confidentiality designation at any time if there
7 is good cause for doing so, including a challenge to the designation of a deposition
8 transcript or any portions thereof. Any motion brought pursuant to this provision
9 must be accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the movant has
10 complied with the meet and confer requirements imposed by the preceding
11 paragraph.
12 22. Burden of Persuasion. The burden of persuasion in any such
13 challenge proceeding shall be on the Designating Party, regardless of whether the
14 Designating Party is the moving party or whether such Party sought or opposes
15 judicial intervention. Unless the Designating Party has waived the confidentiality
16 designation by failing to oppose a motion to remove confidentiality as described
17 above, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of
18 protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the
19 court rules on the challenge.
20 23. Withdrawal of “Confidential” Designation. At its discretion, a
21 Designating Party may remove confidential information from some or all of the
22 protections and provisions of this Stipulation and Order at any time by any
23 reasonable method.
24 ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
25 24. Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use confidential information
26 that is disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with
27 this case only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this litigation. Such
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1 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
2 conditions described in this Order.
3 25. Disclosure of “Confidential” Information. Until and unless the
4 Court holds otherwise, all documents and copies thereof marked “Confidential” will
5 not be distributed to the Plaintiff, who is currently incarcerated. Plaintiff, however,
6 upon reasonable notice will be permitted to review the Confidential documents in
7 the litigation coordinator’s office. Except as otherwise stated, a Receiving Party
8 may disclose confidential information to a party’s experts or associates of the
9 party’s attorneys. The parties further agree that this provision does not affect
10 Plaintiff’s rights to request the Court to modify this Stipulation and Order and
11 permit Plaintiff to have copies of the Confidential documents.
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13 So stipulated:
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15 Dated: February 3, 2025 REILY & JEFFERY, INC.
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17 s/ Janine K. Jeffery
Janine K. Jeffery
18 Attorney for Defendants N. Flores,
G. Barrera, and G. Rivera
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20 Dated: February 3, 2025 ROBERT CHALFANT LAW, PC
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22 s/ Robert Chalfant
Robert Chalfant
23 Attorney for Plaintiff
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1 COURT ORDER ENTERING STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
2 Pursuant to the stipulation of the parties and good cause appearing, IT IS HEREBY
3 |} ORDERED that:
4 1. The above stipulated protective order is ENTERED;
5 2. The provisions of the parties’ stipulation and this protective order shall remain in
6 effect until further order of the Court;
7 3. The parties are advised that pursuant to the Local Rules of the United States
8 District Court, Eastern District of California, any documents which are to be filed
9 under seal will require a written request which complies with Local Rule 141;
10 4. The party making a request to file documents under seal shall be required to show
11 either good cause or compelling reasons to seal the documents, depending on the
12 type of filing, Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-78 (9th Cir. 2009);
13 Ctr. for Auto Safety v. Chrysler Grp., LLC, 809 F.3d 1092, 1101 (9th Cir. 2016);
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15 5. If a party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the Court, then
16 the previously filed material shall be immediately accepted by the court and
17 become information in the public record and the information will be deemed filed
18 as of the date that the request to file the Protected Information under seal was made.
19 || IT IS SO ORDERED.
A (ee
* || pated: February 4, 2025 OF
21 STANLEY A. BOONE
0 United States Magistrate Judge
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