# Opinion

> District Court, C.D. California · October 14, 2025

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11174484

## Case

- **Full name:** Westley Henson, individually and as successor-in-interest to Joseph Henson; Rhonda Ann Smith, individually and as successor-in-interest to Joseph Henson v. County of Los Angeles, a public entity; Aram Derderian, an individual
- **Court:** District Court, C.D. California
- **Decided:** October 14, 2025
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

1 JILL WILLIAMS - State Bar No. 221793
KIMBERLY SARMIENTO – State Bar No. 345641
2 CARPENTER, ROTHANS & DUMONT LLP
500 South Grand Avenue, 19th Floor
3 Los Angeles, California 90071
(213) 228-0400 / (213) 228-0401 (Fax)
4 jwilliams@crdlaw.com / ksarmiento@crdlaw.com

5 Attorneys for Defendants,
County of Los Angeles and
6 Deputy Aram Derderian
7
8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10

11 WESTLEY HENSON, individually ) Case No. 2:24-CV-08883 JLS (AJRx)
and as successor-in-interest to )
12 Joseph Henson; RHONDA ANN )
SMITH, individually and as ) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER
13 successor-in-interest to Joseph )
Henson, )
14 )
Plaintiff, )
15 )
v. )
16 )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, a )
17 public entity; ARAM )
DERDERIAN, an individual; and )
18 Does 1-20 inclusive, )
)
19 )
Defendants. )
20 )
21
1. GENERAL
22
1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to involve
23
production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special
24
protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than
25
prosecuting this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby
26
stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order.
27
The parties acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all
28
1 disclosures or responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public
2 disclosure and use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled
3 to confidential treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further
4 acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective
5 Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local
6 Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the standards that will
7 be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.
8 1.2 Good Cause Statement.
9 This action is likely to involve law enforcement investigatory materials,
10 including information derived from the confidential personnel files of sworn peace
11 officers, for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any
12 purpose other than prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and
13 proprietary materials and information consist of, among other things, law
14 enforcement records and other information otherwise generally unavailable to the
15 public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under
16 state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law. Accordingly,
17 to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of disputes
18 over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information the
19 parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted
20 reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the conduct of
21 trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the ends of
22 justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is the
23 intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for tactical
24 reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it has been
25 maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause why it
26 should not be part of the public record of this case.
27 2. DEFINITIONS
28
1 2.1 Action: Westley Henson v. County of Los Angeles, et al., Case No.
2 2:24-CV-08883 JLS (AJRx)
3 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
4 designation of information or items under this Order.
5 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
6 how it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
7 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
8 the Good Cause Statement.
9 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and County Counsel (as well as
10 their support staff).
11 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
12 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
13 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
14 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
15 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
16 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced
17 or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
18 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
19 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
20 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
21 2.8 County Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
22 County Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
23 counsel.
24 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association,
25 or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
26 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party
27 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have
28
1 appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm that
2 has appeared on behalf of that party, including support staff.
3 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
4 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
5 support staffs).
6 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
7 Discovery Material in this Action.
8 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
9 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
10 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
11 and their employees and subcontractors.
12 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
13 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
14 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
15 Material from a Producing Party.
16
17 3. SCOPE
18 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
19 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
20 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
21 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
22 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
23 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
24 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
25
26 4. DURATION
27 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the court-filed information to be
28
1 introduced that was previously designated as confidential or maintained pursuant to
2 this protective order becomes public and will be presumptively available to all
3 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by
4 specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance
5 of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and Cty. of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81
6 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents
7 produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related
8 documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order
9 do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
10
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, items,
18 or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably
19 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.
28
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
8 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
9 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix, at a minimum, the legend
10 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
11 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
12 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
13 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
14 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
15 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
16 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
17 before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
18 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the
19 documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which
20 documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before
21 producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the
22 “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a
23 portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
24 Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate
25 markings in the margins).
26
27
28
1 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party
2 identify the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the
3 deposition.
4 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and
5 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on
6 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the
7 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information
8 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the
9 protected portion(s).
10 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
11 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
12 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
13 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
14 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
15 Order.
16
17 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
18 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
19 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
20 Scheduling Order.
21 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
22 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1, et seq. Any discovery motion must
23 strictly comply with the procedures set forth in Local Rules 37-1, 37-2, and 37-3.
24 6.3 Burden. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding
25 shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an
26 improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on
27 other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the
28
1 Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all
2 parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to
3 which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on
4 the challenge.
5 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
6 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
7 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
8 Action only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such
9 Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the
10 conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
11 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
12 DISPOSITION).
13 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
14 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
15 authorized under this Order.
16 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
17 otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
18 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
19 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
20 (a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
21 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably
22 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
23 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel)
24 of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
25 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
26 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
27 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
28
1 (d) the Court and its personnel;
2 (e) court reporters and their staff;
3 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
4 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
5 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
6 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or
7 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
8 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in
9 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing
10 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2)
11 they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
12 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
13 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed
14 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
15 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except
16 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
17 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
18 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
19
20 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
21 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION
22 If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
23 that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
24 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
25 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
26 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
27
28
1 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
2 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena
3 or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy of
4 this Stipulated Protective Order; and
5 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
6 by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
7 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
8 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this
9 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
10 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
11 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
12 protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
13 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
14 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
15
16 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
17 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
18 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
19 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
20 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
21 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
22 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
23 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
24 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
25 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
26 confidential information, then the Party shall:
27
28
1 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
2 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
3 with a Non-Party;
4 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
5 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
6 specific description of the information requested; and
7 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
8 Non-Party, if requested.
9 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within 14
10 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
11 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
12 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall
13 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
14 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court.
15 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense
16 of seeking protection in this Court of its Protected Material.
17
18 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
19 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
20 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
21 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
22 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
23 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person
24 or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this
25 Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
26 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
27
28
1 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
2 PROTECTED MATERIAL
3 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
4 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
5 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
6 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
7 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
8 privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as
9 the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or
10 information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the
11 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted
12 to the Court.
13
14 12. MISCELLANEOUS
15 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
16 person 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
25 specific Protected Material at issue; good cause must be shown in the request to file
26 under seal. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the
27
28
1 Court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless
2 otherwise instructed by the Court.
3
4 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
5 After the final disposition of this Action, within 60 days of a written request
6 by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to
7 the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all
8 Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any
9 other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the
10 Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a
11 written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to
12 the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where
13 appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed, and (2) affirms
14 that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations,
15 summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
16 Material. Notwithstanding this provision, counsel are entitled to retain an archival
17 copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal
18 memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney
19 work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials
20 contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute
21 Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4
22 (DURATION).
23
24 14. VIOLATION OF ORDER
25 Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate
26 measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary
27 sanctions.
28
1 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
2
3
DATED: October 10, 2025 CARPENTER, ROTHANS & DUMONT
4
5
6
By: /s/ Jill Williams
7 JILL WILLIAMS
KIMBERLY SARMIENTO
8 Attorneys for Defendants,
County of Los Angeles and
9 Deputy Aram Derderian
10
11
DATED: October 10, 2025 TAYLOR & RING LLP
12
13
14
By: /s/ Peter Reagan
15 JOHN C. TAYLOR
NEIL GEHLAWAT
16 PETER REAGAN
Attorneys for Plaintiff
17
WESTLEY HENSON
18
19
20
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
21
22
DATED:_1_0_/1_4_/_2_02_5_______
23
_________________________________
24 HON. A. JOEL RICHLIN
_
United States Magistrate Judge
25
26
27
28
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
8 case of ___________ [insert case name and number]. I agree to comply with
9 and to be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I
10 understand and acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to
11 sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will
12 not disclose in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated
13 Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the
14 provisions of this Order.
15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District
16 Court for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms
17 of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur
18 after termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________
19 [full name] of _______________________________________ [full address and
20 telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in connection
21 with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated
22 Protective Order.
23 Date: ______________________________________
24 City and State where signed: _________________________________
25
26 Printed name: _______________________________
27 Signature: __________________________________
28

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11174484. Public record. Not legal advice.