a party’s 12 privacy rights are to be protected through a “carefully crafted protective order.”
How later courts described this case
- a party’s 12 privacy rights are to be protected through a “carefully crafted protective order.”
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
11 ESTATE OF REYNALDO RAMOS, Case No. 5:25-cv-00821-PVC
by and through successor in interest,
12 April Gonzalez; APRIL GONZALEZ, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
individually, ORDER
13
Plaintiffs,
14
v.
15
COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE, a public
16 entity; RIVERSIDE COUNTY
SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT;
17 SHERIFF CHAD BIANCO, in his
individual and official capacities;
18 HERMAN LOPEZ; MICHAEL
KOEHLER; ALYSSA VERNAL; and
19 DOES 1 through 10, individually,
jointly and severally,
20
Defendants.
21
22 1. INTRODUCTION
23 1.1 PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
24 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
25 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
26 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may
27 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to
1 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
2 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends
3 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
4 under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth
5 in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to
6 file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the
7 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party
8 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
9 1.2 GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
The facts and issues of this case, including the nature of the action, the type of
10
anticipated discovery, and the potential resulting harm should relevant materials be
11
disclosed publicly establish good cause to warrant a protective order.
12
The Complaint in this action names the County of Riverside, Riverside
13
County Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Chad Bianco, Herman Lopez, Michael
14
Koehler, and Alyssa Vernal as Defendants. See Dkt. 1, the Complaint. Further, the
15
Complaint in this action lists the following eleven (11) claims for relief: (1) “Failure
16
to Protect From Harm”; (2) “Failure to Provide Medical Care”; (3) “Deprivation of
17
the Right to Familial Relationship”; (4) “Policies, Customs, Practices…,”; (5)
18
Supervisory Liability; (6) “Negligence – Wrongful Death”; (7) “Negligence –
19
Medical Malpractice”; (8) “Violation of California Government Code § 845.6”; (9)
20
“Violation of California Civil Code § 52.1”; (10) “Violation of 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et
21
seq.”; and (11) “Violation of 29 U.S.C. § 794(a).” Id. In the Complaint, Plaintiffs
22
allege, “This civil rights action seeks to establish the true and unequivocal facts
23
surrounding the in-custody death of pretrial detainee Reynaldo Ramos at the
24
Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Robert Presley Detention Center on April
25
16, 2024.” Id.
26
Accordingly, this action is likely to involve the production of confidential
27
third party information, materials protected by the Official Information Privilege,
1
employment or financial information, and confidential information relating to the
2
County, its deputies, and other inmates, for which special protection from public
3
disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecution of this action is
4
warranted. Such information may implicate the privacy interests of the party and are
5
properly protected through a Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c) protective order. Seattle Times
6
Co. v. Rhinehart, 467 U.S. 20, 35 n.21 (1984) (“Rule 26(c) includes among its
7
express purposes the protection of a ‘party or person from annoyance,
8
embarrassment, oppression or undue burden or expense.’ Although the Rule
9
contains no specific reference to privacy or to other rights or interests that may be
10
implicated, such matters are implicit in the broad purpose and language of the
11
Rule.”); Soto v. City of Concord, 162 F.R.D. 603, 617 (N.D. Cal. 1995) (a party’s
12
privacy rights are to be protected through a “carefully crafted protective order.”).
13
Moreover, the potential harm that may result to any or all parties in this action
14
should relevant documents be disclosed publicly includes but is not limited to
15
dissemination of personal, private, and confidential information, cybersecurity
16
breaches, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPPA”)
17
violations, harm to reputation, emotional distress, violation of the Official
18
Information Privilege, and increased risk of institutional and individual safety
19
20 hazards.
21 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, facilitate the prompt
22 resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, adequately protect
23 information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, ensure that the parties are
24 permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the
25 conduct of trial, address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends
26 of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this Action. It is the
27 intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for
has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause
1
why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
2
2. DEFINITIONS
3
4 2.1 Action: Estate of Reynaldo Ramos, et al. v. County of Riverside, et al.,
5 Case No. 5:25-cv-00821-PVC.
6 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
7 designation of information or items under this Order.
8 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
9 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
10 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
11 the Good Cause Statement.
12 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
13 their support staff).
14 2.5 Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates information or
15 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
16 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
17 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless
18 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
19 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
20 generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
21 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
22 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
23 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
24 2.8 House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
25 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
26 counsel.
27 2.9 Non-Party: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association,
1 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a
2 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and
3 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm
4 which has 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
11 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
12 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
13 and 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
17 Material from a Producing Party.
18 3. SCOPE
19 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
20 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
21 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
22 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
23 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
24 Any use of Protected Material at trial will be governed by the orders of the
25 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
26
27
1 4. DURATION
2 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as
3 confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will
4 be presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless
5 compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are
6 made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of
7 Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause”
8 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”
9 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the
10 terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
11 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
12 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
13 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
14 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
15 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
16 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
17 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,
18 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
19 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
20 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
21 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
22 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
23 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating
24 Party to sanctions.
25 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
26 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
27 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
1 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
2 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
3 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
4 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
5 produced.
6 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
7 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,
8 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that
9 the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter
10 “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected material. If only a
11 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
12 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
13 markings in the margins).
14 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for
15 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has
16 indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the
17 inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for
18 inspection will be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has
19 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must
20 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this
21 Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must
22 affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material.
23 If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the
24 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
25 appropriate markings in the margins).
26 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify the
27 Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition all
1 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for
2 any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
3 exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
4 “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
5 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, will identify the protected
6 portion(s).
7 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
8 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
9 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
10 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
11 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
12 Order.
13 5.4 Privilege Log. If a party withholds information that is responsive to a
14 discovery request, a privilege log will be prepared in accordance with Fed. R. Civ.
15 P. 26(b)(5).
16 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
17 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
18 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
19 Scheduling Order.
20 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party will initiate the dispute
21 resolution process (and, if necessary, file a discovery motion) under Local Rule 37.1
22 et seq.
23 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding will be on
24 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
25 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
26 parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
27 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties will
1 entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
2 challenge.
3 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
4 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
5 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
6 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
7 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
8 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
9 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
10 DISPOSITION).
11 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
12 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
13 authorized under this Order.
14 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
15 otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
16 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
17 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
18 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
19 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
20 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
21 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
22 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
23 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
24 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
25 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
26 (d) the Court and its personnel;
27 (e) court reporters and their staff;
1 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
2 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
3 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
4 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
5 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
6 (h) during their depositions, witnesses ,and attorneys for witnesses, in the
7 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
8 requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they
9 will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
10 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
11 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
12 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
13 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except
14 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
15 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
16 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
17 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
18 IN OTHER LITIGATION
19 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
20 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
21 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
22 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
23 will include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
24 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
25 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
26 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification will include
27 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
1 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
2 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
3 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
4 the subpoena or court order will not produce any information designated in this
5 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
6 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
7 permission. The Designating Party will bear the burden and expense of seeking
8 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
9 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
10 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
11 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
12 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
13 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
14 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
15 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
16 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
17 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
18 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
19 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
20 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
21 confidential information, then the Party will:
22 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
23 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
24 agreement with a Non-Party;
25
26 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
27 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
1 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
2 Non-Party, if requested.
3 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within
4 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
5 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
6 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party will
7 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
8 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
9 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party will bear the burden and expense
10 of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
11 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
12 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
13 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
14 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
15 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
16 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
17 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,
18 and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
19 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
20 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
21 PROTECTED MATERIAL
22 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
23 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
24 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
25 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever
26 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production
27 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and
1 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work
2 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated
3 protective order submitted to the court.
4 12. MISCELLANEOUS
5 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
6 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
7 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
8 Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
9 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
10 Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any
11 ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
12 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
13 Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
14 only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
15 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material
16 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information
17 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
18 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
19 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60
20 days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return
21 all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in
22 this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
23 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
24 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving
25 Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same
26 person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies
27 (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or
1 || abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any
2 || of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to
3 || retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing
4 || transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert
5 || reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such
6 || materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or
7 || constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in
8 || Section 4 (DURATION).
9 || 14. Any willful violation of this Order may be punished by civil or criminal
10 || contempt proceedings, financial or evidentiary sanctions, reference to disciplinary
11 || authorities, or other appropriate action at the discretion of the Court.
12
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN BY THE PARTIES’ STIPULATION, IT IS SO
"4 ORDERED.
15 .
DATED: September 15, 2025 fui. We
17 HON. PEDRO V. CASTILLO
ig United States Magistrate Judge
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
A908.0051-3376 va 14 Case No. 5:25-cv-00821-PVC
1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3
4 I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________
5 [full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and
6 understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States
7 District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of Estate of
8 Reynaldo Ramos, et al. v. County of Riverside, et al., Case No. 5:25-cv-00821-
9 PVC. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated
10 Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could
11 expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly
12 promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject
13 to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance
14 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 __________________________ [full
19 name] of _______________________________________ [full address and
20 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection with
21 this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective
22 Order.
23 Date: ______________________________________
24 City and State where signed: _________________________________
25
26 Printed name: _______________________________
27