Opinion

Court: District Court, C.D. California
Filed: May 4, 2026
Cited by: 0 cases

The opinion

8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

10 WESTERN DIVISION

SINATRA WASHINGTON, et al.

Plaintiffs, Case No. 2:25-CV-03160-FLA-MBK

13 v.

[xPxRxOxxPxOxxSxExDx] STIPULATED

14 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PROTECTIVE ORDER

15 Defendant.

18 1. GENERAL

19 1.1 Purposes and Limitations. Discovery in this action is likely to involve

20 production of confidential, proprietary, or private information for which special

21 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting

22 this litigation may be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and

23 petition the Court to enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties

24 acknowledge that this Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or

25 responses to discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and

26 use extends only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential

27 treatment under the applicable legal principles. The parties further acknowledge, as

28 set forth in Section 12.3, below, that this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle

1 them to file confidential information under seal; Civil Local Rule 79-5 sets forth the

2 procedures that must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party

3 seeks permission from the court to file material under seal.

4 1.2 Good Cause Statement.

5 Because the motor vehicle at issue involved a vehicle driven by an employee

6 of United States Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) that was carrying

7 passengers who worked at CBP, this action is likely to involve the disclosure of the

8 names and personal information of officers who work at CBP, which information is

9 regulated by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Data Release Policy (August

10 2020). Recently, federal law enforcement officers, including CBP officers, have been

11 the subject of doxxing and have had their personal information and other data put

12 online.1 The names of these CBP employees is information otherwise generally

13 unavailable to the public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from

14 disclosure under state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law.

15 Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution

16 of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect

17 information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the parties are

18 permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for and in the

19 conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and serve the

20 ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this matter. It is

21 the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as confidential for

22 tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good faith belief that it

23 has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and there is good cause

24 why it should not be part of the public record of this case.

1 https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/10/09/dhs-condemns-dangerous-doxxing-and-

27 escalating-threats-against-federal-law;

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/federal-prosecutors-charge-3-activists-with-

doxing-of-ice-agent-in-los-angeles

1 2. DEFINITIONS

2 2.1 Action: this pending federal lawsuit.

3 2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation

4 of information or items under this Order.

5 2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of

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

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

8 Cause Statement.

9 2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their

10 support staff).

11 2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or

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

13 “CONFIDENTIAL.”

14 2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless

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

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

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

18 2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter

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

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

21 2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.

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

23 counsel.

24 2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or

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

26 2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a party

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

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

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

3 2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,

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

5 support staffs).

6 2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or

7 Discovery Material in this Action.

8 2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation support

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

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

11 and their employees and subcontractors.

12 2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is

13 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”

14 2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery Material

15 from a Producing Party.

17 3. SCOPE

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

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

20 from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of

21 Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties

22 or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.

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

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

26 4. DURATION

27 Once a case proceeds to trial, all of the court-filed information to be introduced

28 that was previously designated as confidential or maintained pursuant to this

1 protective order becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members

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

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

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

5 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in

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

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

8 beyond the commencement of the trial.

10 5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL

11 5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.

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

13 Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that qualifies

14 under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate for protection

15 only those parts of material, documents, items, or oral or written communications that

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

17 for which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of

18 this Order.

19 Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations

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

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

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

23 to sanctions.

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

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

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

27 5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in

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

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

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

3 produced.

4 Designation in conformity with this Order requires:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

12 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

23 margins).

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

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

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

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

28 the exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend

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

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

3 portion(s).

4 5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent

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

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

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

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

9 Order.

11 6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS

12 6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a

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

14 Scheduling Order.

15 6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute

16 resolution process under Local Rule 37-1, et seq, as modified by Judge Kaufman’s

17 Procedures. See https://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/honorable-michael-b-kaufman. Any

18 discovery motion must strictly comply with these procedures.

19 6.3 Burden. The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding

20 shall be on the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an

21 improper purpose (e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on

22 other parties) may expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating

23 Party has waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall

24 continue to afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled

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

26 //

27 //

28 //

1 7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

2 7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is

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

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

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

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

7 Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).

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

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

10 authorized under this Order.

11 7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless

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

13 Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated

14 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:

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

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

17 necessary to disclose the information for this Action;

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

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

20 (c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom

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

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

23 (d) the Court and its personnel;

24 (e) court reporters and their staff;

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

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

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

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

2 a custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;

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

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

5 party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2) they

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

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

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

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

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

11 permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and

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

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

15 8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED

16 PRODUCED IN OTHER LITIGATION

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

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

19 “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:

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

21 include a copy of the subpoena or court order;

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

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

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

25 this Stipulated Protective Order; and

26 (c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued

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

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

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

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

4 or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s permission. The

5 Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking protection in that court

6 of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions should be construed as

7 authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful

8 directive from another court.

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

11 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION

12 (a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-

13 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information

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

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

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

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

18 a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to an

19 agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential

20 information, then the Party shall:

21 (1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party

22 that some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement

23 with a Non-Party;

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

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

26 specific description of the information requested; and

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

28 Party, if requested.

1 (c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within 14

2 days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may

3 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request.

4 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce

5 any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality

6 agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court. Absent a court

7 order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking

8 protection in this Court of its Protected Material.

10 10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

20 11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE

21 PROTECTED MATERIAL

22 When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 parties may incorporate their agreement in the stipulated protective order submitted

3 to the Court.

5 12. MISCELLANEOUS

6 12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any

7 person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.

8 12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this

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

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

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

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

13 12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any

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

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

16 Protected Material at issue; good cause must be shown in the request to file under

17 seal. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the Court,

18 then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless

19 otherwise instructed by the Court.

21 13. FINAL DISPOSITION

22 After the final disposition of this Action, within 60 days of a written request by

23 the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the

24 Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected

25 Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other

26 format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material. Whether the Protected

27 Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written

28 certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person or entity, to the

1 Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by category, where

2 appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed, and (2) affirms

3 that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts, compilations,

4 summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material.

5 Notwithstanding this provision, counsel are entitled to retain an archival copy of all

6 pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda,

7 correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product,

8 and consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected

9 Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material

10 remain subject to this Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).

12 14. VIOLATION OF ORDER

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

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

15 sanctions.

17 IT IS SO STIPULATED, THROUGH COUNSEL OF RECORD.

/s/ Justina G. Ramon

19 DATED May 1, 2026 _____________________________________

Attorneys for Plaintiff

DATED: May 4, 2026* /s/ Jasmin Yang*

23 Attorneys for Defendant

24 Pursuant to Local Rule 5-4.3.4(a)(2)(i), I hereby attest that the above

25 signatories concur in the contents of this document and have authorized this filing.

1 || ITIS SO ORDERED.

3 || DATED: _May4 _, 2026 LA LEG

4 UNITED. STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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