a party’s privacy rights are to be protected 26 through a “carefully crafted protective order.”
How later courts described this case
- a party’s privacy rights are to be protected 26 through a “carefully crafted protective order.”
- distinguishing “good cause” 28 1 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
1 Denisse O. Gastélum, SBN 282771 Christian Contreras, SBN 330269
2 Selene Estrada-Villela, SBN 354994 LAW OFFICES OF CHRISTIAN CONTRERAS
GASTÉLUM LAW, APC PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION
3 A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION 360 E. 2nd St., 8th Floor
3767 Worsham Ave. Los Angeles, California 90012
4 Long Beach, California 90808 Tel: (323) 435-8000
Tel: (213) 340-6112 Fax: (323) 597-0101
5 Fax: (213) 402-8622 Email: CC@Contreras-Law.com
Email: dgastelum@gastelumfirm.com
6
7 Attorneys for Plaintiffs,
ESTATE OF TAVEA STARKS-WALKER, by and through successors in interest, JB
8 Starks, Jr. and Eula Walker; JB STARKS, JR., individually; EULA WALKER,
individually
9
10 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
11 THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
12
13 ESTATE OF TAVEA STARKS- ) CASE NO. 5:24−cv−01879−JGB−SHK
) [Assigned to the Hon. Jesus G. Bernal,
14 WALKER, by and through successors ) District Judge; Referred to the Hon. Shashi
in interest, JB Starks, Jr. and Eula ) H. Kewalramani, Magistrate Judge]
15 Walker; JB STARKS, JR., )
)
16 individually; EULA WALKER, )
individually, ) [PROPOSED] STIPULATED
17 ) PROTECTIVE ORDER
Plaintiffs, )
18 v. )
)
19 COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE, a public )
)
20 entity; RIVERSIDE COUNTY )
SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT; )
21 SHERIFF CHAD BIANCO, in his )
)
22 individual and official capacities; )
EDWARD DELGADO; JAMES )
23 KRACHMER; ALYSSA VERNAL; )
)
24 DOES 1 through 10, individually, )
jointly and severally, )
25 )
)
Defendants.
26 )
)
27 )
28
1
2 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
3 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
4 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
5 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be
6 warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter
7 the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order
8 does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and
9 that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited
information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable
10
legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below,
11
that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to a file confidential
12
information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be
13
followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from
14
the court to file material under seal.
15
B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
16
Plaintiffs and the individual Defendants may produce certain documents in this
17
case that contain personal medical, employment or financial information. Such
18
information may implicate the privacy interests of the party and are properly
19
protected through a Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c) protective order. Seattle Times Co. v.
20 Rhinehart, 467 U.S. 20, 35 n.21 (1984) (“Rule 26(c) includes among its express
21 purposes the protection of a ‘party or person from annoyance, embarrassment,
22 oppression or undue burden or expense.’ Although the Rule contains no specific
23 reference to privacy or to other rights or interests that may be implicated, such matters
24 are implicit in the broad purpose and language of the Rule.”); Soto v. City of Concord,
25 162 F.R.D. 603, 617 (N.D. Cal. 1995) (a party’s privacy rights are to be protected
26 through a “carefully crafted protective order.”).
27 2. DEFINITIONS
28 2.1 Action: This pending federal law suit, Estate of Tavea Starks-Walker v.
1 County of Riverside, et al. Case Number 5:24−cv−01879−JGB−SHK.
2 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
3 of information or items under this Order.
4 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
5 how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
6 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the
7 Good Cause Statement.
8 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
9 their support staff).
10 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
11 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
12 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
13 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
14 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
15 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
16 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
17 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
18 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
19 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
20 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
21 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
22 counsel.
23 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
24 other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
25 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party
26 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have
27 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which
28 has appeared on behalf of that party, including support staff.
1 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
2 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
3 support staffs).
4 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
5 Discovery Material in this Action.
6 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
7 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
8 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
9 and their employees and subcontractors.
10 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
11 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
12 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
13 from a Producing Party.
14 3. SCOPE
15 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
16 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
17
compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
18
presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
19
Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
20
trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
21
4. DURATION
22
Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as
23
confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will
24
be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless
25
compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are
26
made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of
27
Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause”
28
1 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the
2 terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
3 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
4 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
5
this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
6
qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
7
protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
8
communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents, items,
9
or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably
10
within the ambit of this Order.
11
Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
12
that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
13
purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
14
unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating
15
Party to sanctions.
16 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
17 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
18 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
19 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
20 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of Section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
21 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
22 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
23 produced.
24 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
25 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
26 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
27 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
28 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
1 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
2 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
3
A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for
4
inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has
5
indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection
6
and before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
7
deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents
8
it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents,
9
or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing
10
the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL
11
legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of
12
the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly
13
identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the
14 margins). Markings added to documents pursuant to this paragraph shall not obscure
15 the content or text of the documents produced.
16 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify
17 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition
18 all protected testimony. The court reporter must affix to each such transcript page
19 containing Protected Material the “CONFIDENTIAL legend”, as instructed by the
20 Designating Party.
21 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and
for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on
22
the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the
23
legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
24
protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
25
portion(s).
26
5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
27
failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
28
1 Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
2 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
3 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
4 Order.
5 5.4
6 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
7 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
8 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
9 Scheduling Order.
10 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party Shall initiate the dispute
11 resolution process under Civil Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
12 6.3 Burden of Persuasion
13 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the
14 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
15 (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties), may
16 expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived
17 or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the
18 material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the
19 Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
20 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
21 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
22 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
23 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
24 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
25 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
26 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of Section 13 below (FINAL
27 DISPOSITION).
28
1 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
2 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
authorized under this Order.
3
7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
4
otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
5
Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
6
“CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
7
(a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
8
well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
9
necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
10
(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
11
the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
12
(c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
13
disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
14
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
15
(d) the Court and its personnel;
16
(e) court reporters and their staff;
17
(f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
18 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
19 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
20 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
21 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
22 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the
23 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
24 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they will
25 not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
26
agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed
27
deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be
28
1 separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except as
2 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
(i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
3
mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
4
8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
5
PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
6
If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
7
that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
8
“CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
9
(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
10
shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
11
(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
12
to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena
13
or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of
14
this Stipulated Protective Order; and
15
(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
16 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
17 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
18 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this
19 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
20 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
21 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
22 protection in that court of its confidential material, and nothing in these provisions
23 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
24
9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
25
PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
26
(a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
27
Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
28
1 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
2 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
3
(b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
4
produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
5
subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
6
confidential information, then the Party shall:
7
(1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
8
that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
9
with a Non-Party;
10
(2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
11
Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
12
specific description of the information requested; and
13
(3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-
14 Party, if requested.
15 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within
16 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
17 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
18 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall
19 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
20 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court.
21 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense
of seeking protection in this Court of its Protected Material.
22
10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
23
If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
24
Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
25
Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
26
writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
27
to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
28
1 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
2 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
3 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
4 PROTECTED MATERIAL
When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
5
inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
6
the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
7
Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
8
may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
9
privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
10
parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
11
information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
12
parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted
13
to the Court.
14
12. MISCELLANEOUS
15
12.1 Right to Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person
16
to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
17
12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
18
Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
19
disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
20
Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
21
ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
22
12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
23
Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
24
only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific
25
Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal
26
is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public
27
record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
28
1 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
2 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60
3 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in
4
this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
5
summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
6
Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving
7
Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same
8
person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies
9
(by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or
10
destroyed; and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,
11
abstracts, compilations, summaries, or any other format reproducing or capturing any
12
of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to
13
retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
14
transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
15 reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
16 materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
17 constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
18 Section 4 (DURATION).
19 14. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate
20 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary
21 sanctions.
22
23 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
24 ///
25 ///
///
26
///
27
///
28
1 |} Dated: March 24, 2025 By: /s/ Denisse O. Gastélum
5 Denisse O. Gastélum, Esq.
Selene Estrada-Villela, Esq.
3 Attorneys for Plaintiffs,
4 ESTATE OF TAVEA STARKS-WALKER, by and
through successors in interest, JB Starks, Jr. and Eula
5 Walker; JB STARKS, JR., individually; EULA
6 WALKER, individually,
Dated: March 24, 2025 LAW OFFICES OF CHRISTIAN CONTRERAS
8 A Professional Law Corporation
9
By: /c/ Christian Contreras
10 Christian Contreras, Esq.
11 Attorneys for Plaintiffs,
ESTATE OF TAVEA STARKS-WALKER, by and
12 through successors in interest, JB Starks, Jr. and Eula
13 Walker; JB STARKS, JR., individually; EULA
4 WALKER, individually,
15
Dated: March 24, 2025 BURKE, WILLIAMS & SORENSEN, LLP
16
17
18 By: /s/Caylin W. Jones
Nathan A. Oyster
19 Caylin W. Jones
Attorneys for Defendants
20 COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE, SHERIFF CHAD
2] BIANCO, EDWARD DELGADO; JAMES
KRACHMER; and ALYSSA VERNAL
| OR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
24
25 |! DATED: March 25, 2025
26
27 - Mpeg
2g || Honorable Shashi H. Kewalramani
United States Magistrate Judge
13
1
2 EXHIBIT A
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3
4
I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of
5
_________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury 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 Estate of Tavea Starks−Walker, et al. v. County of Riverside, et
9
al.; Case No. 5:24−cv−01879−JGB−SHK. I agree to comply with and to be bound
10
by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, and I understand and acknowledge
11
that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature
12
of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any
13
information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person
14 or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
16 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
17 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
18 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or
19 type full name] of _______________________________________ [print or type full
20 address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in
21 connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this
Stipulated Protective Order.
22
Date: ______________________________________
23
City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
24
25
Printed name: _______________________________
26
27
Signature: __________________________________
28