The opinion
1 WYATT VESPERMANN
California State Bar No. 322865
2 MARIAH OGDEN
California State Bar No. 337054
3
PANISH | SHEA | RAVIPUDI LLP
4 11111 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 700
Los Angeles, California 90025
5 Telephone: 310.477.1700
Facsimile: 310.477.1699
6 wvespermann@panish.law
mogden@panish.law
7
8 Attorneys for Plaintiffs
9 DEMARIA LAW FIRM
Anthony N. DeMaria (#177994)
10 1684 W. Shaw Ave. Suite 101
Fresno, CA 93711
11 Telephone: (559) 206-2410 Facsimile: (559) 570-0126
Email: ademaria@demarialawfirm.com
12 vbernhardt@demarialawfirm.com
13 Attorneys for COUNTY Defendants
14
15 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
16 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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18 E.P., et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-01260-JLT-CDB
19 Plaintiffs, Assigned to: District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston
Referred to: Magistrate Judge Christopher D.
20 v. Baker
21 COUNTY OF KERN, et al., Date Filed: 09/23/2025
22 Defendants. STIPULATION AND ORDER
RE: PROTECTIVE ORDER AS
23 MODIFIED
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1 The parties hereto, by and through their respective counsel, do hereby stipulate and agree as
2 follows:
3 1. The Protective Order as set forth in the following pages will be the Protective Order
4 applicable in this action with regard to potentially sensitive documents and information the parties
5 believe will be the subject of discovery in this proceeding and may also be subject in part to State
6 and Federal statutes limiting public disclosure.
7 2. Defendant, Eichhorst, has not yet answered upon service of the Complaint and
8 Summons in this action, but no interests of Ms. Eichhorst will be harmed or affected by the Court
9 authorizing the application of this Protective Order to this action, and Counsel for Plaintiff shall
10 ensure service of this filing upon Ms. Eichhorst when executed by the Court.
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12 IT IS SO STIPULATED.
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15 Dated: April 14, 2026 DeMaria Law Firm, APC
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By: /s/Anthony N. DeMaria
18 Anthony N. DeMaria
Attorneys for COUNTY Defendants
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21 Dated: April 14, 2026 Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP
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By: /s/Wyatt Vespermann
24 Wyatt Vespermann
Attorneys for Plaintiff
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1 PROTECTIVE ORDER RE: CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS/INFORMATION
2 E.P., et al. v. County of Kern, et al.
Eastern District Court of California
3 Case No. 1:25-cv-01260-JT-CDB
4 I. DEFINITIONS
5 1) The “Action” or “Matter” as used herein, refers to the case of E.P. et al v. County of
6 Kern et al, 1:25-cv-01260-JT-CDB
7 2) The “Cases” for purposes of this Protective Order refers to Kern County Superior Court
8 Case No.’s JUV-0613699 & JD144416-00 (Alejandro Perez), AND, JUV-0613699 &
9 JD144417-00 (E.P.), and for purposes of the following Protective Order terms and conditions
10 specifically relates to the “juvenile case files” for the Cases as the phrase “juvenile case files” is
11 described by C.R.C. 5.552. Juvenile case files also include for purposes of this Protective Order,
12 any law enforcement related WRITINGS (e.g. incident/police reports, audio and/or video footage
13 or materials) relating to Plaintiffs Ashley Sinden, Alejandro Perez Jr. (deceased), Alejadro Perez
14 Ramos Sr., Edwin Walton III, Edwin Walton IV, Estella Perez (E.P.), Roland Rivera or Amalia
15 Perez. Any WRITINGS as that term is described at “4)” below, that are produced for reasons
16 related to review or use in the Action from “juvenile case files” of the Cases are presumptively
17 “Confidential” as defined below. Regardless of any other terms of this Protective Order,
18 inclusive of “Confidential” defined in “4)” below, WRITINGS that did not originate from or
19 were created by persons who were employees or contractors or administrative sub-units of the
20 County of Kern are not presumptively “Confidential.” The Resource Family Approval file for
21 Margaret Eichhorst is presumptively “Confidential.”
22 3) “Challenging Party” for purposes this Protective Order refers to a Party or Non-Party
23 that challenges the designation of information or items as “Confidential” under this Order by
24 another party.
25 4) “Confidential” and/or “Confidential Information” for purposes of this Protective Order
26 refers to WRITINGS as that term is defined by California Evid. Code 250, and further includes
27 the kinds of materials and other tangible items and information in various forms as described in
1 “Confidential” by a Party or Non-Party.
2 5) “Counsel” for purposes this Protective Order refers to attorneys of record in the Action
3 and their affiliated attorneys, paralegals, clerical, and secretarial staff who are actively involved
4 in prosecuting or defending in the Action. Should any non-lawyer (eg. an expert or consultant
5 for an attorney/party) be given access to Confidential Materials the Counsel that provides those
6 Confidential Materials to the Non-Party person or entity shall advise the recipient(s) in writing
7 that such materials are being disclosed pursuant to, and subject to the terms of this Protective
8 Order, shall provide the recipient(s) with a copy of this Protective Order, and shall expressly
9 advise the recipient(s) that they may not be disclosed other than pursuant to the terms of this
10 Protective Order.
11 5) “Designating Party” for purposes this Protective Order refers to a Party or Non-Party
12 that designates information or items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery
13 as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
14 6) “Disclosure or Discovery Material” for purposes this Protective Order refers to all
15 WRITINGS as that term is defined above that are produced or provided from one or more parties
16 to one or more other parties in this litigation which are protected from public disclosure under a
17 specifically applicable State or Federal Law.
18 7) “Expert” for purposes of this Protective Order is defined as a person with specialized
19 knowledge or experience in a matter pertinent to the Action who has been retained by a Party or
20 its counsel to serve as an expert witness or as a consultant for the Action; Experts hired for
21 consultation or retention in the Action may be provided Protected Material and Confidential
22 Information provided terms of I(5) above are complied with.
23 8) “Non-Party” for purposes of this Protective Order refers to any natural person,
24 partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity not named as a Party to the Action.
25 9) “Party” for purposes of this Protective Order refers to any party Plaintiff or Defendant
26 in the Action, including in the case of an entity or governmental administrative sub-unit, all of
27 its/their officers, directors, employees, consultants, Experts and support staff.
1 10) “Producing Party” for purposes this Protective Order refers to a Party or Non-Party
2 that produces Disclosure or Discovery Material in the Action.
3 11 ) “Professional Vendor” for purposes this Protective Order refers to persons or entities
4 that provide litigation support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing
5 exhibits or demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
6 and their employees and subcontractors.
7 12) “Protected Materials” for purposes of the following provisions refers to any
8 Disclosure or Discovery Material that is designated as “CONFIDENTIAL” by a Designating
9 Party.
10 13) “Receiving Party” for purposes of this Protective Order refers to a Party that receives
11 Disclosure or Discovery Material from a Producing Party.
12 II. SCOPE
13 1) The protections conferred by this Protective Order cover not only Protected Material
14 (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected Material;
15 2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material;
16 3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might
17 reveal Protected Material.
18 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial judge;
19 this Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
20 III. DURATION OF CONFIDENTIALITY PROTECTIONS END AT TRIAL
21 1) Once a case proceeds to a trial all of the information that was designated as
22 Confidential or Protected Material pursuant to this protective order becomes public and will be
23 presumptively available to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling
24 reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in
25 advance of the trial. See Kamakana v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1180–81
26 (9th Cir. 2006) (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing WRITINGS produced in
27 discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related WRITINGS are part of court
1 commencement of the trial.
2 IV. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
3 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection.
4 1) Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection as
5 Confidential under this Protective Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific
6 material that qualifies under the appropriate standards and the terms of this Protective Order. The
7 Designating Party must designate for protection only those parts of WRITINGS that qualify so
8 that other portions of the WRITINGS for which protection from public disclosure is not
9 warranted by existing State of Federal law are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this
10 Protective Order.
11 2) Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations that are
12 shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to
13 unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary expenses and
14 burdens on other parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
15 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that WRITINGS the Designating Party
16 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must promptly
17 notify all other Parties in writing that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation of the
18 WRITINGS.
19 Manner and Timing of Designations
20 3) Except as otherwise provided in this Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section
21 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that
22 qualifies for protection under this Order must be clearly so designated before and/or at the time
23 the material is disclosed or produced. Designation in conformity with this Order requires the
24 following:
25 a) For WRITINGS in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents, but
26 excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), the Producing Party
27 will affix, at a minimum, a legend, stamp, or label indicating “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page
1 as necessary within a specific page to readily distinguish Confidential Information from non-
2 Confidential Information contained within a single page of a WRITING.
3 b) In the event a WRITING consists of a video or an audio recording, the Producing
4 Party shall produce the Confidential Information simultaneous with a separate document
5 identifying the video or audio recording by its electronic filename and associated Bates number,
6 if used, and also in the separate document identifying what portion of any such items it is
7 designating as Confidential Information, by identifying the beginning time and ending time of
8 any Confidential Information qualifying portion of the video or audio recording. The item, if
9 stored and produced in a container, may also be labeled as CONFIDENTIAL if it is the Producing
10 Party’s intention to identify the entirety of the video or audio recording as Confidential
11 Information.
12 c) A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection need not
13 designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated which documents it
14 would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before the designation, all of the
15 material made available for inspection shall be deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.”
16 d) After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants copied and produced,
17 the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions thereof qualify for protection
18 under this Order. Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must
19 affix the CONFIDENTIAL legend, stamp or label to each page that contains Protected Material.
20 Inadvertent Failures to Designate
21 4) If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate qualified Confidential
22 Information or items does not standing alone waive the Designating Party’s right to secure
23 protection under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the
24 Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance
25 with the provisions of this Order.
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1 V. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
2 Timing of Challenges
3 1) Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of confidentiality at any time
4 that is consistent with any Scheduling Order entered by the Court in this action.
5 Meet and Confer
6 2) The Challenging Party shall first seek to meet and confer with the Designating Party,
7 and if agreement cannot be reached, shall initiate the dispute resolution process under Local Rule
8 251 et seq if there is a dispute as to a WRITING or a portion of a WRITING that has been
9 designated as Confidential.
10 Judicial Intervention
11 3) Pursuant to Local Rule 302(c)(1), any challenge to a confidentiality designation will
12 be brought as a motion before the Court only after having exhausted the Court’s mandatory
13 informal discovery dispute procedures as set forth herein: No written discovery motions shall be
14 filed without the prior approval of Judge Baker. A party with a discovery dispute must first confer
15 with the opposing party in a good faith effort to resolve by agreement the issues in dispute. If that
16 good faith effort is unsuccessful, prior to making any filing, the requesting party promptly shall
17 seek a conference with all involved parties and Judge Baker. To schedule this conference, the
18 parties should contact the Courtroom Deputy Clerk, Cori Boren, at (661) 326-6620 or via email at
19 CBoren@caed.uscourts.gov. At least two days before the conference, counsel shall file a joint,
20 informal letter brief detailing each party’s position. Each party’s narrative shall not exceed five
21 pages, excluding exhibits, and shall cite relevant authority in support of the party’s position. At
22 the commencement of the conference, if the parties jointly agree to Judge Baker’s consideration
23 and resolution of the discovery disputes outside the formal Local Rule 251 procedures, the Court
24 will entertain arguments by the parties and issue a written ruling. If the parties do not jointly agree
25 to the informal discovery dispute resolution procedures set forth herein, the requesting party may
26 then seek relief through motion to compel. Counsel must comply with Local Rule 251 with respect
27 to discovery disputes and certify their compliance in any discovery motion. Failure by the
1 for each challenged designation. In addition, the Challenging Party may file a motion challenging
2 a confidentiality designation only after having exhausted the Court’s mandatory informal
3 discovery dispute procedures as referenced above, including a challenge to the designation of a
4 deposition transcript or any portions thereof. Any motion brought pursuant to this provision must
5 be accompanied by a competent declaration affirming that the movant has complied with the meet
6 and confer requirements imposed by the preceding paragraph and has exhausted the Court’s
7 mandatory informal discovery dispute procedures as referenced above.
8 4) The burden of persuasion in any such challenge or contested proceeding shall be on
9 the Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g., to
10 harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the
11 Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn the
12 confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to afford the material in question the level
13 of protection to which it is entitled under the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules
14 on the challenge.
15 VI. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
16 Basic Principles
17 1) A Receiving Party may use Confidential and/or Protected Material that is disclosed or
18 produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action only for prosecuting,
19 defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Confidential and/or Protected Material may
20 be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order.
21 When the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of
22 section 13 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
23 2) Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a location
24 and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the person/persons authorized under
25 this Order.
26 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items
27 3) Unless otherwise ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party,
1 those identified in section 1(4), and the following;
2 a) The court and its personnel, court reporters, court reporters and their staff;
3 b) Professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional Vendors to whom
4 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this litigation;
5 c) The author or recipient of a document containing the information or a custodian or
6 other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
7 d) Persons during their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses
8 e) Any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, which the Party’s
9 have engaged in settlement, mediation, or other alternative dispute resolution processes.
10 VII. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED/ORDERED OTHER
11 LITIGATION.
12 1) If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation that seeks
13 to compel disclosure of any information or items designated in this matter as “CONFIDENTIAL”
14 must:
15 a) Promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall include a copy
16 of the subpoena or court order;
17 b) Promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to issue in the
18 other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or order is subject to a
19 Protective Order;
20 c) Cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by the
21 Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected; this does not mean the non-
22 Designating Party must agree with Designating Party’s position.
23 d) If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, or to in any manner invoke
24 the terms of this Protective Order, the Party served with the subpoena or court order shall not
25 produce any information designated in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination
26 by the court from which the subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the
27 Designating Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of
1 obtained, of the subject material’s confidential nature; nothing in these provisions should be
2 construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to disobey a lawful
3 directive from another court.
4 VIII. NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT IN THIS ACTION
5 1) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-Party in this
6 Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced by Non-Parties in
7 connection with this litigation is protected by the remedies and relief provided by this Protective
8 Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking
9 additional protections.
10 2) In the event a Party is required by a valid discovery request from a Requesting Party
11 to produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is subject to
12 an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential information, then
13 the Party shall promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that some or
14 all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
15 3) Promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective Order in this
16 Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the information
17 requested, copying the Requesting Party in any communications with the Non-Party in this regard
18 as well at the same time; and
19 4) Make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party, if
20 requested.
21 5) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14 days of
22 receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party may produce the Non-
23 Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request. If the Non-Party timely
24 seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce any information in its possession
25 or control that is subject to the confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a
26 determination by the court. Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the
27 burden and expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
1 IX. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
2 1) If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed Protected
3 Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Stipulated Protective
4 Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in writing the Designating Party of the
5 unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the
6 Protected Material, (c) inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were
7 made of all the terms of this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the
8 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
9 X. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION & PRIVILEGE LIST REQUIREMENT
10 1) When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain inadvertently
11 produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection, the obligations of the
12 Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This
13 provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery
14 order that provides for production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of
15 Evidence 502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure of
16 a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work product
17 protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in a stipulated protective order submitted
18 to the court.
19 2) Counsel for any Producing Party subject to this Protective Order, shall ensure that
20 with the production of any WRITINGS to another Party, Non-Party, Counsel provides a Privilege
21 Log identifying any redactions of WRITINGS, or entire WRITINGS withheld, in which to the
22 extent relevant, the log indicates the relevant date, author(s), recipient(s), the general subject
23 matter or content, as well as the specific privilege or protection being asserted, including any
24 statutory authority for withholding the information or entire WRITING. The Parties hereto
25 acknowledge that they understand and agree the goals of a Privilege Log are to provide enough
26 information to justify the claim of privilege without disclosing the privileged information itself,
27 and give the other Party/ies enough information to make an informed and reasoned decision on
1 waiving any such objection(s).
2 XII. MISCELLANEOUS
3 1) Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Protective Order abridges the right of any
4 Party or person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
5 2) Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this Protective Order
6 no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to disclosing or producing any
7 information or item on any ground not addressed in this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly,
8 no Party waives any right to object on any ground to use in evidence of any of the material
9 covered by this Protective Order.
10 3) Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material
11 must comply with Civil Local Rule 141. Protected Material may only be filed under seal pursuant
12 to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party's
13 request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may
14 file the information in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
15 4) Nothing herein prohibits any Party from seeking a ruling from the Court that any item
16 produced in discovery is not, or should not be, deemed confidential, and requesting an Order not
17 requiring the filing of any item under seal.
18 XIII. FINAL DISPOSITION
19 1) After the final disposition of this Action which for all purposes is that point in time
20 where there are no appealable rights on any issue remain, within 60 days of a written request by
21 the Designating Party, Counsel for each Receiving Party must return all Protected Material to the
22 Counsel for Producing Party or destroy such material. As used in this subdivision, “all Protected
23 Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries, and any other format
24 reproducing or capturing any of the Protected Material, but does not include such items prepared
25 by the Counsel (i.e. attorney work product). Whether the Protected Material is returned or
26 destroyed, the Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if
27 not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies
1 || 2 below, was returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any
2 || copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of
3 || the Protected Material other than as excepted in paragraph 2 below.
4 2) Notwithstanding the foregoing provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an archival
5 || copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda,
6 || correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and
7 || consultant and expert work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such
8 || archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this Protective
9 || Order.
10 3) Any violation of this Protective Order may be punished by any and all appropriate
11 |} measures including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
12 4) All WRITINGS constituting Protected Material from the juvenile case file are not
13 || required to be destroyed by the parent Ashley Sinden or her Counsel, each of whom has the right
14 ||to receive and possess copies of any and all juvenile case files pursuant to W&IC
15 |] 827(a)(1)(D&E); (a)(3)(A)C1); (a)(4&5), notwithstanding any terms of this Protective Order.
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18 | IT IS SO ORDERED.
| Dated: _ April 16, 2026 | Wr bY
20 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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