Victor Diaz Sandoval v. County of Riverside

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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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VICTOR DIAZ SANDOVAL

11 Case No. 5:22-cv-01319-CV-GJS

Plaintiff,

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v. STIPULATED PROTECTIVE

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COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE, et al.

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Defendant.

Hon. Cynthia Valenzuela

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United States District Judge

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Hon. Gail J. Standish

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United States Magistrate Judge

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Trial Date: Not Yet Set

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21 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

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

23 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public disclosure

24 and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be warranted.

25 Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following

26 Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer

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1 blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection

2 it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or

3 items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles.

4 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

5 This action involves jail records and peace officer and law enforcement records,

6 including, but not limited to, audio and video recordings. Such confidential and

7 proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, photographs,

8 audio and video recordings, reports, and other documents pertaining to open criminal

9 investigations and pending prosecutions, peace officer records of named Defendants,

10 sections of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Corrections Division Policy

11 Manual, jail records, including information and images implicating privacy rights of

12 third parties, and information otherwise generally unavailable to the public, or which

13 may be privileged or otherwise generally protected from disclosure under state or

14 federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly, to expedite

15 the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes over

16 confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the parties are

17 entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted reasonable

18 necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of trial, to address

19 their handling of at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of justice, a protective

20 order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the intent of the parties that

21 information will not be designated as confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing

22 be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been maintained in a

23 confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it should not be part of

24 the public record in this case.

25 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL

26 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this

27 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under

1 standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file

2 material under seal.

3 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial

4 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions,

5 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and

6 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006), Phillips v. Gen. Motors

7 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics, Inc.,

8 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders require good

9 cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling reasons with

10 proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with respect to

11 Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere designation

12 of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the

13 submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the material sought

14 to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—

15 constitute good cause.

16 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then

17 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief

18 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See

19 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item

20 or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal

21 in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must

22 articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for

23 the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to

24 file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.

25 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its

26 entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If

27 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only

1 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should

2 include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.

3 2. DEFINITIONS

4 2.1 Action: This pending federal lawsuit.

5 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation

6 of information or items under this Order.

7 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of

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

9 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause

10 Statement.

11 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their

12 support staff).

13 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or

14 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as

15 “CONFIDENTIAL.”

16 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of

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

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

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

20 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter

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

22 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.

23 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.

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

25 counsel.

26 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or

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

1 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party

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

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

4 appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.

5 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,

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

7 support staffs).

8 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

9 Discovery Material in this Action.

10 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support

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

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

13 their employees and subcontractors.

14 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

15 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

16 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material

17 from a Producing Party.

3. SCOPE

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

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Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from

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Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected

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Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their

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Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.

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

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

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4. DURATION

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FINAL DISPOSITION of the action is defined as the conclusion of any appellate

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1 Except as set forth below, the terms of this protective order apply through FINAL

2 DISPOSITION of the action. The parties may stipulate that the they will be

3 contractually bound by the terms of this agreement beyond FINAL DISPOSITION,

4 but will have to file a separate action for enforcement of the agreement once all

5 proceedings in this case are complete.

6 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as

7 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced

8 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members

9 of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific

10 factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial.

11 See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing

12 documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-

13 related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, for such materials, the terms

14 of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.

15 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

16 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

17 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection

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

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

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

21 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items

22 or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably

23 within the ambit of this Order.

24 Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations

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

26 (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose

27 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party

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

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

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

4 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this

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

6 or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this

7 Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.

8 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

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

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

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

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

13 contains protected material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for

14 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g.,

15 by making appropriate markings in the margins).

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

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

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

19 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed

20 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants

21 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine €h documents, or portions

22 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified

23 documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each

24 page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion of the material on a page

25 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected

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

27 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies

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

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

10 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon

11 timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts

12 to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.

13 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

14 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

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

16 Order.

17 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute

18 resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.

19 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on

20 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose

21 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may

22 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived

23 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the

24 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing

25 Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.

26 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

27 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is

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

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

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

4 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).

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

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

7 authorized under this Order.

8 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

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

10 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL”

11 only to:

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

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

14 disclose the information for this Action;

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

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

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

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

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

20 (d) the court and its personnel;

21 (e) court reporters and their staff;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4 by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed deposition

5 testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be separately

6 bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as permitted

7 under this Stipulated Protective Order; and

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

9 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.

10 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN

11 OTHER LITIGATION

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

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

14 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:

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

16 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

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

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

19 order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this

20 Stipulated Protective Order; and

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

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

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

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

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

26 or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The

27 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court

1 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful

2 directive from another court.

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

4 IN THIS LITIGATION

5 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-

6 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information

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

8 and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as

9 prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.

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

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

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

13 information, then the Party shall:

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

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

16 with a Non-Party;

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

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

19 specific description of the information requested; and

20 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-

21 Party,€ requested.

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

23 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may

24 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request.

25 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce

26 any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality

27 agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court

1 protection in this court of its Protected Material.

2 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

4 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this

5 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing

6 the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve

7 all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to

8 whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and (d)

9 request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be

10 Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

11 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

12 PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

14 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,

15 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil

16 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure

17 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior

18 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the

19 parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or

20 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the

21 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to

22 the court.

23 12. MISCELLANEOUS

24 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any

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

26 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this

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

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

2 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.

3 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any

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

5 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific

6 Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is

7 denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public

8 record unless otherwise instructed by the court.

9 13. FINAL DISPOSITION

10 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60

11 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return

12 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this

13 subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,

14 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected

15 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party

16 must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person

17 or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by

18 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed

19 and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,

20 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the

21 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an

22 archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts,

23 legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports,

24 attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials

25 contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute

26 Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4

27 (DURATION).

1 14. VIOLATION

2 Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures including,

3 without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.

4 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.2

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SKAPIK LAW GROUP

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7 Dated: February 26, 2025 /s/ Matthew T. Falkenstein

Matthew T. Falkenstein

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Attorneys for Plaintiff Victor Diaz Sandoval

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COLE HUBER LLP

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Dated: February 26, 2025 /s/ Nicole R. Roggeveen

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Nicole R. Roggeveen

13 Attorneys for Defendants County of Riverside

and David Holm

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16 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

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19 DATED: ___M _a _r _c _h _ 3 _, _ 2 _0 _2 _5 ___________

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22 _____________________________________

23 HON. GAIL J. STANDISH

United States Magistrate Judge

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2 Pursuant to Local Rule 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), the filer of this Stipulated Protective Order

attests that all other signatories listed, and on whose behalf the filing is submitted,

1 EXHIBIT A

2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

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

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

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

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

8 [date] in the case of Victor Diaz Sandoval v. County of Riverside, et al., United States

9 District Court, Central District of California, Case No. 5:22-cv-01319-CV-GJS . I

10 agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective

11 Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me

12 to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will

13 not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated

14 Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the

15 provisions of this Order.

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

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

18 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this

19 action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full name] of

20 _______________________________________ [print or type full address and

21 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with

22 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective

23 Order.

24 Date: ______________________________________

25 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________

26 Printed name: _______________________________

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