Opinion

Court: District Court, C.D. California
Filed: Jan 28, 2026
Cited by: 0 cases
Authority: More cited than 40.9%

a party’s privacy rights are to be protected 20 through a “carefully crafted protective order.”

How later courts described this case

a party’s privacy rights are to be protected 20 through a “carefully crafted protective order.”

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

9 ESTATE OF STEVE DE LEON ) CASE NO. 5:25-cv-02272-KK-SP

GONZALEZ, by and through ) [Assigned to the Hon. Kenly Kiya Kato,

10 successors in interest, Steve Anthony ) District Judge; Referred to the Hon. Sheri

De Leon and Rosario Gonzalez; ) Pym, Magistrate Judge]

11 STEVE ANTHONY DE LEON, )

individually; ROSARIO GONZALEZ, )

12 individually )

) STIPULATED PROTECTIVE ORDER

13 Plaintiffs, )

)

14 v. )

)

15 COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE, a public )

entity; RIVERSIDE COUNTY )

16 SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT; )

SHERIFF CHAD BIANCO, in his )

17 individual and official capacities; )

HERMAN LOPEZ; MICHAEL )

18 KOEHLER; ALYSSA VERNAL; )

SCOTT LOWDER and DOES 1 )

19 through 10, individually, jointly and )

severally, )

20 )

Defendants. )

21 )

)

22 )

)

23 )

1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS

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

proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public

disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may be

1 the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this Order

2 does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and

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

legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below,

that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to a file confidential

information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be

followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from

the court to file material under seal.

B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT

Plaintiffs and the individual Defendants may produce certain documents in this

case that contain personal medical, employment or financial information. Such

information may implicate the privacy interests of the party and are properly

protected through a Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c) protective order. Seattle Times Co. v.

14 Rhinehart, 467 U.S. 20, 35 n.21 (1984) (“Rule 26(c) includes among its express

15 purposes the protection of a ‘party or person from annoyance, embarrassment,

16 oppression or undue burden or expense.’ Although the Rule contains no specific

17 reference to privacy or to other rights or interests that may be implicated, such matters

18 are implicit in the broad purpose and language of the Rule.”); Soto v. City of Concord,

19 162 F.R.D. 603, 617 (N.D. Cal. 1995) (a party’s privacy rights are to be protected

20 through a “carefully crafted protective order.”).

21 2. DEFINITIONS

22 2.1 Action: This pending federal law suit.

23 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation

24 of information or items under this Order.

25 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of

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

27 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the

28 Good Cause Statement.

1 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as

2 their support staff).

3 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or

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

5 “CONFIDENTIAL.”

6 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless

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

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

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

10 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter

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

12 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.

13 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.

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

15 counsel.

16 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or

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

18 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party

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

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

21 has appeared on behalf of that party, including support staff.

22 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,

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

24 support staffs).

25 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

26 Discovery Material in this Action.

27 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support

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

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

2 and their employees and subcontractors.

3 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

4 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

5 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material

6 from a Producing Party.

7 3. SCOPE

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

9 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or

extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or

compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or

presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.

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

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

4. DURATION

Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the information that was designated as

confidential or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced as an

exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of

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

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

trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180-81 (9th

Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in

22 discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are

23 part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend

24 beyond the commencement of the trial except as outlined in this section.

25 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

26 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

27 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under

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

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

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

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

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

within the ambit of this Order.

Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations

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

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

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

Party to sanctions.

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

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

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

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

this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of Section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise

stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection

under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or

produced.

Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

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

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

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

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

23 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page

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

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

26 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for

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

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

1 and before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be

2 deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents

it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents,

or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing

the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix the “CONFIDENTIAL

legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of

the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly

identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the

margins). Markings added to documents pursuant to this paragraph shall not obscure

the content or text of the documents produced.

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

the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition

all protected testimony. The court reporter must affix to each such transcript page

containing Protected Material the “CONFIDENTIAL legend”, as instructed by the

14 Designating Party.

15 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and

16 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on

17 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the

18 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants

19 protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the protected

20 portion(s).

21 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

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

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

24 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable

25 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this

26 Order.

27 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

28 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

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

2 Scheduling Order.

3 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party Shall initiate the dispute

4 resolution process under Civil Local Rule 37-1 et seq.

5 6.3 Burden of Persuasion

6 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the

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

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

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

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

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

12 Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.

14 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

15 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is

16 disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this

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

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

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

20 Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of Section 13 below (FINAL

21 DISPOSITION).

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

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

authorized under this Order.

7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

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

Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated

“CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

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

2 well as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably

necessary to disclose the information for this Action;

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

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

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

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

(d) the Court and its personnel;

(e) court reporters and their staff;

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

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

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

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

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

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

16 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing party

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

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

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

20 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed

21 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may be

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

permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and

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

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

8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED

PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION

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

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

“CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:

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

shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

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

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

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

this Stipulated Protective Order; and

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

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

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

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

14 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s

15 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking

16 protection in that court of its confidential material, and nothing in these provisions

17 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action

18 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.

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

20 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION

21 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a

22 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information

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

remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be

construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.

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

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

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

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

with a Non-Party;

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

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

specific description of the information requested; and

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

Party, if requested.

14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party

may 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 information in its possession or control that is subject to the

confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court.

14 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense

15 of seeking protection in this Court of its Protected Material.

16 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

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

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

20 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts

21 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person or

22 persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this Order,

and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and

Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.

11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

PROTECTED MATERIAL

When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted

to the Court.

12. MISCELLANEOUS

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

to seek its modification by the Court in the future.

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

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

disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in this

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

record unless otherwise instructed by the court.

13. FINAL DISPOSITION

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

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

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

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

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

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

(by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or

destroyed; and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies,

abstracts, compilations, summaries, or any other format reproducing or capturing any

of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to

retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing

transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert

reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such

materials contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or

constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in

Section 4 (DURATION).

14. Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate

measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary

sanctions.

IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

18 Dated: January 13, 2026 GASTÉLUM LAW, APC

By: /s/ Selene Estrada-Villela

20 Denisse O. Gastélum, Esq.

21 Selene Estrada-Villela, Esq.

Attorneys for Plaintiffs,

22 ESTATE OF STEVE DE LEON GONZALEZ, by

23 and through successors in interest, Steve Anthony De

Leon and Rosario Gonzalez; STEVE ANTHONY

24 DE LEON, individually; ROSARIO GONZALEZ,

25 individually

27 Dated: January 13, 2026 LAW OFFICES OF CHRISTIAN CONTRERAS

28 A Professional Law Corporation

1 By: /s/ Christian Contreras

Christian Contreras, Esq.

2 Attorney for Plaintiffs,

3 ESTATE OF STEVE DE LEON GONZALEZ, by

and through successors in interest, Steve Anthony De

4 Leon and Rosario Gonzalez; STEVE ANTHONY

5 DE LEON, individually, ROSARIO GONZALEZ,

‘ individually

Dated: January 13, 2026 MANNING & KASS ELLROD, RAMIREZ,

TRESTER LLP

ll By: /s/ Kayleigh A. Andersen

Eugene P. Ramirez

Kayleigh A. Andersen

13 Attorneys for Defendants

COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE, RIVERSIDE COUNTY

M4 SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT, SHERIFF CHAD

15 BIANCO, HERMAN LOPEZ, MICHAEL

6 KOEHLER, and ALYSSA VERNAL

18 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.

1 DATED: January 28, 2026

HON. SHERI PYM

02 United States Magistrate Judge

1 EXHIBIT A

2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND

I, _____________________________ [full name], of _________________

[full address], declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and

understand the Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States

District Court for the Central District of California on [date] in the case of

___________ [Estate of Steve De Leon Gonzalez, et al. v. County of Riverside, et

al.; Case No. 5:25-cv-02272-KK-SP]. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all

the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that

failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of

contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information

or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity

except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.

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

15 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this

16 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after

17 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [full

18 name] of _______________________________________ [full address and

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

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

21 Order.

Date: ______________________________________

City and State where signed: _________________________________

Printed name: _______________________________

Signature: __________________________________

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