The opinion
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7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
8 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
9
10 PAUL L. PIPITONE, Case No. 2:24-cv-04072-SSS (AJR)
District Judge: Sunshine Suzanne Sykes
11 Plaintiffs, Magistrate Judge: A. Joel Richlin
12 v.
13 MATTHEW BARKSDALE, an
individual, NICKOLAS ANTHONY, an
14 individual, SAN LUIS OBISPO
COUNTY, JOHN DOES and JANE STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
15 ROES 1-V, ORDER
16 Defendants.
17
18
19 [Discovery Document: Referred to
Magistrate Judge A. Joel Richlin]
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25 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
26 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
27 proprietary, or private information for which special protection from public
28
1 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may
2 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to
3 enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this
4 Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
5 discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends
6 only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
7 under the applicable legal principles.
8 B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
9 The parties contend that there is good cause and a particularized need for a
10 protective order to preserve the interests of confidentiality and privacy in peace
11 officer personnel file records and associated investigative or confidential records for
12 the following reasons.
13 First, Defendants contend that peace officers have a federal privilege of
14 privacy in their personnel file records: a reasonable expectation of privacy therein
15 that is underscored, specified, and arguably heightened by the Pitchess protective
16 procedure of California law. See Sanchez v. Santa Ana Police Dept., 936 F.2d 1021,
17 1033-1034 (9th Cir. 1990); Hallon v. City of Stockton, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
18 14665 *2-3, 12-13 (E.D. Cal. 2012) (concluding that “while ‘[f]ederal law applies to
19 privilege based discovery disputes involving federal claims,” the “state privilege law
20 which is consistent with its federal equivalent significantly assist in applying
21 [federal] privilege law to discovery disputes”); Soto v. City of Concord, 162 F.R.D
22 603, 613 n.4, 616 (N.D. Cal. 1995) (peace officers have constitutionally-based
23 “privacy rights [that] are not inconsequential” in their police personnel records); cf.
24 Cal. Penal Code §§ 832.7, 832.8; Cal. Evid. Code §§ 1040-1047. Defendants
25 further contend that uncontrolled disclosure of such personnel file information can
26 threaten the safety of non-party witnesses, officers, and their families/associates.
27 Second, Defendants contend that municipalities and law enforcement
28 agencies have federal deliberative-executive process privilege, federal official
1 information privilege, federal law enforcement privilege, and federal attorney-client
2 privilege (and/or attorney work product protection) interests in the personnel files of
3 their peace officers – particularly as those portions of peace-officer personnel files
4 that contain critical self-analysis, internal deliberation/decision-making or
5 evaluation/analysis, or communications for the purposes of obtaining or rendering
6 legal advice or analysis – potentially including but not limited to
7 evaluative/analytical portions of Internal Affairs type records or reports,
8 evaluative/analytical portions of supervisory records or reports, and/or reports
9 prepared at the direction of counsel, or for the purpose of obtaining or rendering
10 legal advice. See Sanchez, 936 F.2d at 1033-1034; Maricopa Audubon Soc’y v.
11 United States Forest Serv., 108 F.3d 1089, 1092-1095 (9th Cir. 1997); Soto, 162
12 F.R.D at 613, n.4; Kelly v. City of San Jose, 114 F.R.D. 654, 668-671 (N.D. Cal.
13 1987); Tuite v. Henry, 181 F.R.D. 175, 176-177 (D. D.C. 1998); Hamstreet v.
14 Duncan, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89702 (D. Or. 2007); Admiral Ins. Co.v. United
15 States Dist. Ct., 881 F.2d 1486, 1492, 1495 (9th Cir. 1988). Defendants further
16 contend that such personnel file records are restricted from disclosure by the public
17 entity’s custodian of records pursuant to applicable California law and that
18 uncontrolled release is likely to result in needless intrusion of officer privacy;
19 impairment in the collection of third-party witness information and statements
20 and related legitimate law enforcement investigations/interests; and a chilling
21 of open and honest discussion regarding and/or investigation into alleged
22 misconduct that can erode a public entity’s ability to identify and/or implement
23 any remedial measures that may be required.
24 Third, Defendants contend that, since peace officers do not have the same
25 rights as other private citizens to avoid giving compelled statements, it is contrary to
26 the fundamental principles of fairness to permit uncontrolled release of officers’
27 compelled statements. See generally Lybarger v. City of Los Angeles, 40 Cal.3d
28 822, 828-830 (1985); cf. U.S. Const., amend V.
1 Accordingly, Defendants contend that, without a protective order preventing
2 such, production of confidential records in the case can and will likely substantially
3 impair and harm defendant public entity’s interests in candid self-critical analysis,
4 frank internal deliberations, obtaining candid information from witnesses,
5 preserving the safety of witnesses, preserving the safety of peace officers and peace
6 officers’ families and associates, protecting the privacy officers of peace officers,
7 and preventing pending investigations from being detrimentally undermined by
8 publication of private, sensitive, or confidential information – as can and often does
9 result in litigation.
10 Without conceding Defendants’ contentions about or to the confidentiality of
11 any specific material, Plaintiff agrees that there is good cause for a Protective Order
12 so as to facilitate discovery while preserving the respective interests of the parties,
13 and while also providing an orderly framework for the resolution of any disputes
14 regarding assertions of confidentiality or privilege.
15 C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER SEAL
16 The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this
17 Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential information
18 under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must be followed
19 and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission from the court
20 to file material under seal.
21 There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial
22 proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive motions,
23 good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana v. City and
24 County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006); Phillips v. Gen. Motors
25 Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002); Makar-Welbon v. Sony Electrics,
26 Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective orders
27 require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or compelling
28 reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be made with
1 respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The parties’ mere
2 designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—
3 without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the
4 material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or
5 otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
6 Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then
7 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief
8 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See
9 Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item
10 or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal
11 in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party seeking protection must
12 articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and legal justification, for
13 the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence supporting the application to
14 file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.
15 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in
16 its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If
17 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only
18 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document shall
19 be filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety
20 should include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
21 2. DEFINITIONS
22 2.1 Action: This pending federal lawsuit: Paul L. Pipitone v. Deputy
23 Matthew Barksdale, Deputy Nicholas Anthony, and The County of San Luis Obispo,
24 2:24-cv-04072-SSS-AJR
25 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the
26 designation of information or items under this Order.
27 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of
28 how it is generated, stored, or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for
1 protection under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in
2 the Good Cause Statement.
3 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as
4 their support staff).
5 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information
6 or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
7 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
8 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless
9 of the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
10 among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced
11 or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
12 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
13 pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as
14 an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
15 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
16 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
17 counsel.
18 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association,
19 or other legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
20 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
21 party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action and
22 have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law firm
23 which has appeared on behalf of that party, including support staff.
24 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
25 employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
26 support staffs).
27 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
28 Discovery Material in this Action.
1 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
2 support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
3 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
4 and their employees and subcontractors.
5 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
6 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
7 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
8 Material from a Producing Party.
9 3. SCOPE
10 The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
11 Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
12 extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
13 compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
14 presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
15 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the
16 trial judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
17 4. DURATION
18 Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
19 CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or introduced
20 as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all
21 members of the public, including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by
22 specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance
23 of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause”
24 showing for sealing documents produced in discovery from “compelling reasons”
25 standard when merits-related documents are part of court record). Accordingly, the
26 terms of this protective order do not extend beyond the commencement of the trial.
27 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
28 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
1 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
2 this Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
3 qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for
4 protection only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written
5 communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,
6 items, or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
7 unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
8 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
9 that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
10 purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose
11 unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating
12 Party to sanctions.
13 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
14 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
15 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
16 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in
17 this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of Section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
18 stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
19 under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
20 produced.
21 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
22 (a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic
23 documents, but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial
24 proceedings), that the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend
25 “CONFIDENTIAL” (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that
26 contains protected material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
27 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
28 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
1 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for
2 inspection need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has
3 indicated which documents it would like copied and produced. During the
4 inspection and before the designation, all of the material made available for
5 inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has
6 identified the documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must
7 determine which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this
8 Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must
9 affix the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material.
10 If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the
11 Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
12 appropriate markings in the margins).
13 (b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identify
14 the Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the
15 deposition all protected testimony.
16 (c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and
17 for any other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on
18 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the
19 legend “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information
20 warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the
21 protected portion(s).
22 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent
23 failure to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive
24 the Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
25 Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make reasonable
26 efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the provisions of this
27 Order.
28 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
1 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a
2 designation of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s
3 Scheduling Order.
4 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party Shall initiate the dispute
5 resolution process under Civil Local Rule 37-1 et seq.
6 6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on
7 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper
8 purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other
9 parties), may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating
10 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall
11 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it
12 is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the
13 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
19 the 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
23 a location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the
24 persons authorized under this Order.
25 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless
26 otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a
27 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
28 “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
3 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;
4 (b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of
5 the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
6 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
7 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
8 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
9 (d) the Court and its personnel;
10 (e) court reporters and their staff;
11 (f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional
12 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have
13 signed the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
14 (g) the author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
15 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
16 (h) during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in
17 the Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (1) the deposing
18 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2)
19 they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
20 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
21 agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the Court. Pages of transcribed
22 deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
23 be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone except
24 as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
25 (i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
26 mutually agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
27 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED
28 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
3 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
4 (a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification
5 shall include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
6 (b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order
7 to issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the
8 subpoena or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include
9 a copy of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
10 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be
11 pursued by the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
12 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
13 the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this
14 action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
15 subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
16 permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
17 protection in that court of its confidential material, and nothing in these provisions
18 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
19 to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
20 9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
21 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
22 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a
23 Non-Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
24 produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
25 remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
26 construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
27 (b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
28 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
1 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
2 confidential information, then the Party shall:
3 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party
4 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
5 with a Non-Party;
6 (2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated
7 Protective Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably
8 specific description of the information requested; and
9 (3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-
10 Party, if requested.
11 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within
12 14 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
13 may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
14 request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall
15 not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
16 confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court.
17 Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and
18 expense of seeking protection in this Court of its Protected Material.
19 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
20 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
21 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
22 Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
23 writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts
24 to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the person
25 or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of this
26 Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the “Acknowledgment and
27 Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
28 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
1 PROTECTED MATERIAL
2 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
3 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
4 the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
5 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever
6 procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production
7 without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and
8 (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a
9 communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work
10 product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated
11 protective order submitted to the Court.
12
13 12. MISCELLANEOUS
14 12.1 Right to Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person
15 to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
16 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
17 Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
18 disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in
19 this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on
20 any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective
21 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
24 may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
25 specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material
26 under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information
27 in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
28 13. FINAL DISPOSITION
1 Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of all claims
2 and defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment herein
3 after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or
4 reviews of this Action, including the time limits for filing any motions or
5 applications for extension of time pursuant to applicable law. After the final
6 disposition of this Action, within 60 days of a written request by the Designating
7 Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the Producing
8 Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material”
9 includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format
10 reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected
11 Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written
12 certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the
13 Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where
14 appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed; and (2)
15 affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations,
16 summaries, or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
17 Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival
18 copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal
19 memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney
20 work product, and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials
21 contain Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute
22 Protected Material remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4
23 (DURATION).
24 14. VIOLATION
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
5 | Dated: April 28, 2026 PAUL L, PIPITONE, IN PRO PER
4 vs
5
6 |
7
Dated: April 28, 2026 MANNING & KASS, ELLROD, RAMIREZ, TRESTER,
LLP
10 |
11 | /s/ Kelly A. Duncan
| Sergio Hernandez
13 Attorney for Defendants Matthew Barksdale,
14 | Nicholas Anthony, County of San Luis Obispo
15
16
19
FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SOORDERED.
1 RM
| DATED:_ 4/30/2026
Homrorable A. Joel Richlin
3 United States Magistrate Judge
24
25 |
26 |
27
28
1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3
4 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of
5 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury
6 that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that
7 was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California
8 on [date] in the case of Paul L. Pipitone v. Matthew Barksdale, et. al. Case No.:
9 2:24-cv-04072-SSS-AJR. I agree to comply with and to be bound by all the terms
10 of this Stipulated Protective Order, and I understand and acknowledge that failure
11 to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of
12 contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information
13 or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity
14 except in strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court
16 for the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this
17 Stipulated Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after
18 termination of this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print
19 or type full name] of _______________________________________ [print or type
20 full address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in
21 connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this
22 Stipulated Protective Order.
23 Date: ____________________ Signature: ______________________
24 Printed name: ___________________
25 City and State where sworn and signed: _______________________
26
27
28