# Opinion

> District Court, C.D. California · November 7, 2025

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11200343

## Case

- **Full name:** Cesar Puga v. City of Riverside, County of Riverside; and Doe Officers 1 – 10
- **Court:** District Court, C.D. California
- **Decided:** November 7, 2025
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10

11 CESAR PUGA, Case No.: 5:25-cv-2079-SVW (DTBx)

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[PROPOSED] STIPULATED
13 Plaintiff, PROTECTIVE ORDER

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Action Filed: August 8, 2025
15 v. Pretrial Conference: XXX
16 Trial Date: XXX

17
CITY OF RIVERSIDE, COUNTY OF Assigned to:
18 RIVERSIDE; and DOE OFFICERS 1 Hon. Stephen V. Wilson
– 10, U.S. District Court Judge
19
Courtroom 10A
20
Defendants.
21

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1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
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Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
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proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
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disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be
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warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to enter the
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following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order does not
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confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and that the
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protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited
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information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal
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principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this
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Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information under
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seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed and the
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standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court to file
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material under seal.
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B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
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In light of the nature of the claims and allegations in this case and the parties'
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representations that discovery in this case will involve the production of confidential
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records (including but not limited to employment/personnel records and information of
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individually named Defendants and/or other employees of the County). In addition,
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Defendants anticipate conducting discovery as to Plaintiff’s mental health history, as
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well as any potential criminal history of Plaintiff and law enforcement interactions,
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which may include disclosure of sealed , confidential or otherwise sensitive information.
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In order to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of
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disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information
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the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are permitted
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reasonable necessary uses of such material in connection with this action, to address
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their handling of such material at the end of the litigation, and to serve the ends of
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justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. The parties
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shall not designate any information/documents as confidential without a good faith belief
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that such information/documents have been maintained in a confidential, non-public
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manner, and that there is good cause or a compelling reason why it should not be part of
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28 the public record of this case.
2. DEFINITIONS
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2.1 Action: Cesar Puga v. County of Riverside, et al., USDC Case Number
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5:25-cv-2079-SVW (DTBx).
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2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of
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information or items under this Order.
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2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how
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it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection
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under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause
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Statement.
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2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
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support staff).
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2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
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items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
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“CONFIDENTIAL.”
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2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
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of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
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among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or
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generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
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2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
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pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an
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expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
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2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
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House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
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counsel.
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2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
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other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
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2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party
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28 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and have
appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm which has
1
appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
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2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
3
employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
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support staffs).
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2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
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Discovery Material in this Action.
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2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support
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services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
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demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and
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their employees and subcontractors.
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2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
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designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
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2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material
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from a Producing Party.
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3. SCOPE
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The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
18
Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
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extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations
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of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by
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Parties or their 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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Should this Action proceed to trial or to a determination on its merits via a
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28 F.R.C.P. Rule 56 motion, and in connection therewith any or all of the Protected
Material is offered as evidence, the disclosure after final disposition of Protected
1
Material offered as evidence shall be subject to Kamakana v. City and County of
2
Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180–81 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause”
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showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”
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standard when merits-related documents are submitted as part of court record), or the
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controlling authority at the time of the requested disclosure.
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Except for Protected Material offered in evidence as described in the preceding
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paragraph, even after final disposition of this litigation the confidentiality obligations
8
imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise
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in writing, the confidential item or information has been de-designated in accordance
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with Part VI, infra, or a court order otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed
11
to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims and defenses in this Action, with or without
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prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein after the completion and exhaustion of all
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appeals, rehearing’s, remands, trials, or reviews of this Action, including the time limits
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for filing any motions or applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.
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5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
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5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
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Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this
18
Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies
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under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for items, or
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communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably
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within the ambit of this Order.
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Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that
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are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g.,
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to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary
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expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
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If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
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28 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
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5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this
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Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or
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ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order
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must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or produced.
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Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
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(a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
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documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
8
proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
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“CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
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contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
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qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
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portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
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A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection need
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not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which
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documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the
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designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed
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“CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the protection only those
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parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that qualify
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so that other portions of the material, documents, documents it wants copied and
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produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof,
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qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents
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the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains
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Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for
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protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g.,
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by making appropriate markings in the margins).
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(b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify
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28 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the
deposition all protected testimony.
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(c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and
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for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
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exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
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“CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
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protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected
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portion(s).
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5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure
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to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
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Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material. Upon
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timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to
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assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this Order.
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6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
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6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
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designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
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Scheduling Order.
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6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute
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resolution process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
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6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the
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Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
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(e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
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expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or
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withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the
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material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the
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Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
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7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
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7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
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disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action
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only for prosecuting, defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected
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Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions
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described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party
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must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
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Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
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location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
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authorized under this Order.
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7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise
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ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving Party
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may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
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(a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as
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well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary
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to disclose the information for this Action;
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(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
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the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
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(c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
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disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
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“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
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(d) the court and its personnel;
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(e) court reporters and their staff;
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(f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
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Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
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signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
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(g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
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28 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
(h) during their depositions, witnesses ,and attorneys for witnesses, in the
1
Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party
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requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit 1 hereto; and (2) they will not
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be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
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“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
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agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
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deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be
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separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except s
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permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
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(i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting
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personnel, mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
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8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED IN
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OTHER LITIGATION
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If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that
15
compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
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“CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
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(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
18
shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
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(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
20
to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
21
subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a
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copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
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(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
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pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
25
If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with the
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subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this action as
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28 “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the subpoena or
order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The
1
Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court
2
of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as
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authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful directive
4
from another court.
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9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE PRODUCED
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IN THIS LITIGATION
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(a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
9
Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
10
produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
11
remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
12
construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
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(b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
14
produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
15
subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
16
confidential information, then the Party shall:
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(1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
18
that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality
19
agreement with a Non-Party;
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(2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
21
Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
22
specific description of the information requested; and
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(3) make the information requested available for inspection by the
24
Non-Party, if requested.
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(c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within
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14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may
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28 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If
the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any
1
information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality
2
agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court. Absent a court
3
order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
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protection in this court of its Protected Material.
5

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10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
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If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
8
Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
9
Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
10
writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to
11
retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or
12
persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order, and
13
(d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
14
Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
15

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11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
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PROTECTED MATERIAL
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When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
19
inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the
20
obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
21
26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be
22
established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
23
privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the
24
parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or information
25
covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, the parties may
26
incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
27
28 ///
12. MISCELLANEOUS
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12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any
2
person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
3
12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
4
Protective Order no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
5
disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this
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Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground
7
to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective Order.
8
12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
9
Protected Material must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5. Protected Material may
10
only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
11
specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under
12
seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the
13
public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
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13. FINAL DISPOSITION
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After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60
17
days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all
18
Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this
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subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
20
summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
21
Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party
22
must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or
23
entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category,
24
where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed and (2)
25
affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
26
compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
27
28 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an
1 || archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts,
2 || legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorne
3 || work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain
4 ||Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected
5 || Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION
6 ||14. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate
7 ||measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary
8 || sanctions.
9
10 | ITIS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.
11
12 || DATED: _ October 28, 2025
13
14 ||/s/__Astina Shakilyan
Attorneys for Plaintiff(s)

DATED: _ November 4, 2025
17
/s/ Molshree Gupta
19 |) Attorneys for Defendant(s)
20
21 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
22 ||DATED: _ November 7, 2025

24 || Honorable David T. Bristow
25 || United States District/Magistrate Judge
26
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EXHIBIT A
1
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
2
I, [print or type full name], of
3
[print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury
4
that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that
5
was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California on
6
[date] in the case of Cesar Puga v. County of Riverside, et al., USDC Case Number
7
5:25-cv-2079-SVW (DTBx). I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms of
8
this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that failure to so
9
comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of contempt. I
10
solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or item that is
11
subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in strict
12
compliance with the provisions of this Order. I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction
13
of the United States District Court for the Central District of California for the
14
purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order, even if such
15
enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this action. I hereby appoint
16
[print or type full name] of
17
[print or type full address and telephone number] as my California
18
agent for service of process in connection with this action or any proceedings related
19
to enforcement of this Stipulated Protective Order.
20
Date:
21
City and State where sworn and signed:
22
Printed name:
23
Signature:
24
25
26
27
28

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11200343. Public record. Not legal advice.