The opinion
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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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OWEN BENJAMIN EVANS, an CASE NO.: 8:25-cv-02645-JWH-JDE
11 Individual,
12 STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
Plaintiff,
ORDER
13 v.
14 COUNTY OF ORANGE, a public entity;
CITY OF LAGUNA NIGUEL, a public
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entity; TYLER HILSABECK, an
16 individual; UNKNOWN PERSONS;
UNKNOWN OFFICERS; and
17 UNKNOWN DEPUTIES,
18 Defendants.
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Based on the Parties’ Stipulation (Dkt. 34) and for good cause shown, the Court
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finds and orders as follows.
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1. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
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A. Discovery in this Action may involve production of confidential or private
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information for which special protection from public disclosure and from use for any
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purpose other than prosecuting or defending this Action may be warranted. This Order
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does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to discovery and the
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protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends only to the limited
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information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment under the applicable legal
1 2. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
2 In light of the nature of the claims and allegations in this Action and the Parties’
3 representations that discovery in this Action may involve the production of confidential
4 records, and to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt resolution of
5 disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately protect information
6 the Parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the Parties are permitted
7 reasonably necessary uses of such material in connection with this Action, to address
8 their handling of such material at the end of the Action, and to serve the ends of justice,
9 a protective order for such information is justified in this matter.
10 This Action may involve confidential information set forth in various types of
11 records, including law enforcement investigative records, medical records, personnel
12 records, and perhaps other materials subject to privacy protections for which special
13 protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than the
14 prosecution or defense of this Action is warranted. If any Party intends to use such
15 Confidential materials for any purpose other than litigating this Action, the Party
16 seeking public disclosure must first seek approval from the Court. The Parties shall not
17 designate any information or documents as Confidential without a good faith belief that
18 such information or documents have been maintained in a confidential, non-public
19 manner, and that there is good cause or a compelling reason why it should not be part
20 of the public record in this Action.
21 3. UNDER SEAL FILING PROCEDURE
22 As set forth in Section 14.3, below, this Order does not entitle the Parties to file
23 confidential information under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that
24 must be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission
25 from the court to file material under seal. There is a strong presumption that the public
26 has a right of access to judicial proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection
27 with non-dispositive motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal.
1 Phillips v. Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002), Makar-Welbon
2 v. Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated protective
3 orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good cause or
4 compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification, must be
5 made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under seal. The Parties’
6 mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as CONFIDENTIAL does not—
7 without the submission of competent evidence by declaration, establishing that the
8 material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as confidential, privileged, or otherwise
9 protectable—constitute good cause.
10 Further, if a Party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial, then
11 compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and the relief
12 sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be protected. See Pintos
13 v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n., 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir. 2010). For each item or type
14 of information, document, or thing sought to be filed or introduced under seal, the Party
15 seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts and
16 legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence
17 supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by declaration.
18 Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable in its
19 entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be redacted. If
20 documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public viewing, omitting only
21 the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable portions of the document, shall be
22 filed. Any application that seeks to file documents under seal in their entirety should
23 include an explanation of why redaction is not feasible.
24 4. DEFINITIONS
25 4.1. Action: This pending federal lawsuit, Owen Benjamin Evans v. County of
26 Orange et al., Case No. 8:25-cv-02645-JWH-JDE.
27 4.2. Challenging Party: A Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation
1 4.3. “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: Information (regardless of how
2 it is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection under
3 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good Cause
4 Statement.
5 4.4. Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record and House Counsel (as well as their
6 support staff).
7 4.5. Designating Party: A Party or Non-Party that designates information or
8 items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
9 “CONFIDENTIAL.”
10 4.6. Disclosure or Discovery Material: All items or information, regardless of
11 the medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including, among
12 other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things), that are produced or generated
13 in disclosures or responses to discovery.
14 4.7. Expert: A person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
15 pertinent to the Action who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve as an
16 expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
17 4.8. House Counsel: Attorneys who are employees of a Party to this Action.
18 House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
19 counsel.
20 4.9 Non-Party: Any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or
21 other legal entity not named as a Party to this Action.
22 4.10. Outside Counsel of Record: Attorneys who are not employees of a Party
23 to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a Party to this Action and have
24 appeared in this Action on behalf of that Party or are affiliated with a law firm which
25 has appeared on behalf of that Party, and includes support staff.
26 4.11. Party: Any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
27 employees, consultants, agents, representatives, retained experts, and Outside Counsel
1 4.12. Producing Party: A Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosures or
2 Discovery Material in this Action.
3 4.13. Professional Vendors: Persons or entities that provide litigation support
4 services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
5 demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium) and
6 their employees and subcontractors.
7 4.14. Protected Material: Any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
8 designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
9 4.15. Receiving Party: A Party that receives Protected Material from a
10 Producing Party.
11 5. SCOPE
12 The protections conferred by this Order cover not only Protected Material (as
13 defined above), but also (1) any information copied or extracted from Protected
14 Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or compilations of Protected Material; and
15 (3) any testimony, conversations, or presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might
16 reveal Protected Material.
17 Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial
18 judge and other applicable authorities. This Order does not govern the use of Protected
19 Material at trial.
20 6. DURATION
21 Should this Action proceed to trial, Protected Material introduced as evidence at
22 trial becomes public and will be presumptively available to all members of the public,
23 including the press, unless compelling reasons supported by specific factual findings to
24 proceed otherwise are made to the trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana,
25 447 F.3d at 1180-81 (distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents
26 produced in discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related
27 documents are part of court record). Thus, the terms of this Order do not extend beyond
1 Except for Protected Material offered in evidence as described in the preceding
2 paragraph, even after final disposition of this Action, the confidentiality obligations
3 imposed by this Order shall remain in effect until a Designating Party agrees otherwise
4 in writing, the Confidential item or information has been de-designated, or a court order
5 otherwise directs. Final disposition shall be deemed to be the later of (1) dismissal of
6 all claims and defenses in this Action, with or without prejudice; and (2) final judgment
7 herein after the completion and exhaustion of all appeals, rehearings, remands, trials, or
8 reviews of this Action, including the time limits for filing any motions or applications
9 for extension of time pursuant to applicable law.
10 7. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
11 7.1. Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection
12 Each Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under
13 this 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 for
17 which protection is not warranted are not swept unjustifiably within the ambit of this
18 Order. Mass, indiscriminate, or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
19 that are clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper purpose (e.g., to
20 unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to impose unnecessary
21 expenses and burdens on other Parties) may expose the Designating Party to sanctions.
22 If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
23 designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
24 promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
25 7.2. Manner and Timing of Designations
26 Except as otherwise provided in this Order, or as otherwise stipulated or ordered,
27 Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection under this Order must be
1 Designation in conformity with this Order requires the following:
2 a. For information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,
3 but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that the
4 Producing Party affix at a minimum “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that contains
5 Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page qualifies for
6 protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g.,
7 by making appropriate markings in the margins).
8 A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
9 need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
10 which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and before
11 the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be deemed
12 “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the documents it wants
13 copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine which documents, or portions
14 thereof, qualify for protection under this Order. Then, before producing the specified
15 documents, the Producing Party must affix “CONFIDENTIAL” to each page that
16 contains Protected Material. If only a portion or portions of the material on a page
17 qualifies for protection, the Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected
18 portion(s) (e.g., by making appropriate markings in the margins).
19 b. For video/audio recordings, the Producing Party shall identify such
20 recording as “CONFIDENTIAL” in the title/label of its electronic version.
21 c. For testimony, photographs, video, or audio footage taken, and exhibits
22 and other documents used during depositions, the Designating Party shall identify the
23 Protected Material on the record before the close of the deposition. Arrangements shall
24 be made with the court reporter transcribing the deposition and the videographer taping
25 the deposition to separately package such portions of the transcript or video containing
26 information designated as Confidential, and to label such portions appropriately.
27 d. For information produced in form other than documents and for any other
1 container or containers in which the information is stored “CONFIDENTIAL.” If only
2 a portion or portions of the information warrants protection, the Producing Party, to the
3 extent practicable, shall identify the protected portion(s).
4 The “CONFIDENTIAL” stamp shall be affixed to documents and other tangible
5 items in a manner that does not obscure the information contained thereon.
6 7.3. Inadvertent Failures to Designate
7 If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure to designate qualified information or
8 items does not, standing alone, waive the Designating Party’s right to secure protection
9 under this Order for such material. Upon timely correction of a designation, the
10 Receiving Party must make reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in
11 accordance with the provisions of this Order.
12 8. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
13 8.1. Timing of Challenges
14 Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation of confidentiality at any
15 time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order.
16 8.2. Meet and Confer
17 The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution process under Local
18 Rule 37.1 et seq.
19 8.3. Joint Stipulation
20 Any challenge submitted to the Court shall be via a joint stipulation pursuant to
21 Local Rule 37-2.
22 8.4 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the
23 Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose (e.g.,
24 to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other Parties) may expose the
25 Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has waived or withdrawn
26 the confidentiality designation, all Parties shall continue to afford the material in
27 question the level of protection to which it is entitled under the Designating Party’s
1 9. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
2 9.1. Basic Principles
3 A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is disclosed or produced by
4 another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this Action only for prosecuting,
5 defending, or attempting to settle this Action. Such Protected Material may be disclosed
6 only to the categories of persons and under the conditions described in this Order. When
7 the Action has been terminated, a Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of
8 Section 15 below (FINAL DISPOSITION).
9 Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
10 location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
11 authorized under this Order.
12 9.2. Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items
13 Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or permitted in writing by the Designating
14 Party, a Receiving Party may disclose any information or item designated
15 “CONFIDENTIAL” only to:
16 a. The Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well
17 as employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary to
18 disclose the information for this Action;
19 b. Officers, directors, board members, council members, insurers (including
20 third party administrators), employees, agents, and representatives (including House
21 Counsel) of the Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this
22 Action;
23 c. Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
24 disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
25 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
26 d. The Court and its personnel;
27 e. Court reporters and their staff;
1 Vendors to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action who have signed
2 the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to be Bound” attached as Exhibit A hereto;
3 g. The author or recipient of a document containing the information or a
4 custodian or other person who otherwise possessed or knew the information;
5 h. During their depositions, witnesses, and attorneys for witnesses, in the
6 Action to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary provided: (i) that if the witness is a
7 Non-Party, the deposing party requests that the witness and their attorney sign the
8 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound;” and (ii) they will not be permitted to
9 keep any confidential information unless they sign the “Acknowledgment and
10 Agreement to Be Bound,” unless otherwise agreed by the Designating Party or ordered
11 by the Court. Pages of transcribed deposition testimony; video or audio footage of
12 deposition testimony; or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material must be
13 separately packaged by the court reporter and/or the videographer and may not be
14 disclosed to anyone except as permitted under this Order; and
15 i. Any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel,
16 mutually agreed upon by any of the Parties engaged in settlement discussions.
17 10. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
18 IN OTHER LITIGATION
19 If a Receiving Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other
20 litigation that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action
21 as “CONFIDENTIAL,” that Receiving Party must:
22 a. Promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
23 include a copy of the subpoena or court order unless prohibited by law;
24 b. Promptly notify in writing the person who caused the subpoena or order to
25 issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena or
26 order is subject to this Order. Such notification shall include a copy of this Order; and
27 c. Cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued
1 If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party
2 served with the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated
3 in this action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which
4 the subpoena or order issued, unless the Receiving Party has obtained the Designating
5 Party’s permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
6 protection in that court of its Confidential material and nothing in these provisions
7 should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action to
8 disobey a lawful directive from another court.
9 11. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
10 PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
11 a. The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
12 Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information produced
13 by Non-Parties in connection with this Action is protected by the remedies and relief
14 provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be construed as prohibiting
15 a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
16 b. In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
17 produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
18 subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s confidential
19 information, then the Party shall:
20 1. Promptly notify in writing the requesting Party and the Non-Party that
21 information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement with a Non-Party;
22 2. Promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Order in this Action,
23 the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific description of the
24 information requested; and
25 3. Make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party,
26 if requested.
27 c. If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this Court within 14
1 produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery request.
2 If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall not produce
3 any information in its possession or control that is subject to the confidentiality
4 agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the Court. Absent a Court
5 order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
6 protection in this Court of its confidential material.
7 12. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
8 If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
9 Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this Order,
10 the Receiving Party must immediately (1) notify in writing the Designating Party of the
11 unauthorized disclosures, (2) use its best efforts to retrieve the Protected Material, (3)
12 inform the person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the
13 terms of this Order, and (4) request such person or persons to execute the
14 “Acknowledgment and Agreement to be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
15 13. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
16 When a Producing Party gives notice to a Receiving Party that certain
17 inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other protection,
18 the obligations of the Receiving Party are those set forth in Federal Rule of Civil
19 Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify whatever procedure
20 may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for production without prior
21 privilege review. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) and (e), the Parties may reach
22 an agreement on the effect of disclosure of a communication or information covered by
23 the attorney-client privilege or work product protection, and may incorporate such
24 agreement into a Stipulation and Proposed Order submitted to the Court.
25 14. MISCELLANEOUS
26 14.1. Right to Further Relief
27 Nothing in this Order abridges the right of any person to seek its modification by
1 14.2. Right to Assert Other Objections
2 By entering into this Stipulation, no Party waives any right it otherwise would
3 have to object to disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not
4 addressed in this Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on any ground to
5 use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Order.
6 14.3. Filing Protected Material
7 A Party that seeks to file under seal any Protected Material must comply with
8 Civil Local Rule 79-5 and any orders of the Court. Protected Material may only be filed
9 under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the specific Protected
10 Material at issue. If a Party's request to file Protected Material under seal is denied by
11 the Court, then the Receiving Party may file the information in the public record unless
12 otherwise instructed by the Court.
13 15. FINAL DISPOSITION
14 After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in Section 6, within sixty
15 (60) days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must
16 return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As used
17 in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts, compilations,
18 summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the Protected
19 Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the Receiving Party
20 must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if not the same person
21 or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that (1) identifies (by
22 category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was returned or destroyed
23 and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any copies, abstracts,
24 compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
25 Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel are entitled to retain an
26 archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial, deposition, and hearing transcripts,
27 legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney
1 || Protected Material. Any such archival copies that contain or constitute Protected
2 || Material remain subject to this Order as set forth in Section 6.
3 || 16. VIOLATION
4 Any violation of this Order may be punished by any and all appropriate measures
5 || including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
6 || FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
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8 |! Dated: July 28, 2026 hi Me. AG
9 N D. EARLY
10 United States Magistrate Judge
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1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, [print or type full name], of
4 [print or type full address],
5 declare under penalty of perjury that I have read in its entirety and understand the
6 Stipulated Protective Order that was issued by the United States District Court for the
7 Central District of California in the case of Owen Benjamin Evans v. County of Orange
8 et al., Case No. 8:25-cv-02645-JWH-JDE. I agree to comply with and to be bound by
9 all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and acknowledge that
10 failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and punishment in the nature of
11 contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose in any manner any information or
12 item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective Order to any person or entity except in
13 strict compliance with the provisions of this Order.
14 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for
15 the Central District of California for the purpose of enforcing the terms of this Stipulated
16 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of this
17 action. I hereby appoint [print or type full name] of
18 [print or type full
19 address and telephone number] as my California agent for service of process in
20 connection with this action or any proceedings related to enforcement of this Stipulated
21 Protective Order.
22
23 Date:
24 City and State where sworn and signed:
25 Printed Name:
26 Signature:
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