The opinion
STEVEN J. ROTHANS – STATE BAR NO. 106579
1 KIMBERLY SARMIENTO - STATE BAR NO. 345641
CARPENTER, ROTHANS & DUMONT LLP
2 500 South Grand Avenue, 19th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90071
3 (213) 228-0400/ (213) 228-0401 (Fax)
srothans@crdlaw.com; ksarmiento@crdlaw.com
4
Attorneys for Defendant,
5 City of Culver City
Erroneously sued as “Culver City Policy [sic] Department”
6
7
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
9
10
DENZELL YOUNG, Case No. 2:25-cv-02967-MWF (RAOx)
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Plaintiff, STIPULATED PROTECTIVE
12
ORDER
v.
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CITY OF CULVER CITY, CULVER
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CITY POLICY DEPARTMENT,
KYWAN OWENS, RICO
15
GUTIERREZ, and DOES 1 to 10,
inclusive
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Defendants.
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18
19 1. A. PURPOSES AND LIMITATIONS
20 Discovery in this action is likely to involve production of confidential,
21 proprietary or private information for which special protection from public
22 disclosure and from use for any purpose other than prosecuting this litigation may
23 be warranted. Accordingly, the parties hereby stipulate to and petition the Court to
24
enter the following Stipulated Protective Order. The parties acknowledge that this
25
Order does not confer blanket protections on all disclosures or responses to
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discovery and that the protection it affords from public disclosure and use extends
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only to the limited information or items that are entitled to confidential treatment
1
under the applicable legal principles.
2
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B. GOOD CAUSE STATEMENT
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This action is likely to involve proprietary information for which special
5
protection from public disclosure and from use for any purpose other than
6
prosecution of this action is warranted. Such confidential and proprietary materials
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and information consist of, among other things, confidential and sensitive law
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enforcement records, such as police reports, body worn camera footage, booking
9
information, dispatch records, etc. (including information implicating privacy
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rights of third parties), which is information otherwise generally unavailable to the
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public, or which may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure under
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state or federal statutes, court rules, case decisions, or common law.
13
Accordingly, to expedite the flow of information, to facilitate the prompt
14
resolution of disputes over confidentiality of discovery materials, to adequately
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protect information the parties are entitled to keep confidential, to ensure that the
16
parties are permitted reasonable necessary uses of such material in preparation for
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and in the conduct of trial, to address their handling at the end of the litigation, and
18
serve the ends of justice, a protective order for such information is justified in this
19
matter. It is the intent of the parties that information will not be designated as
20
confidential for tactical reasons and that nothing be so designated without a good
21
faith belief that it has been maintained in a confidential, non-public manner, and
22
there is good cause why it should not be part of the public record of this case.
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C. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PROCEDURE FOR FILING UNDER
25
SEAL
26
The parties further acknowledge, as set forth in Section 12.3, below, that
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this Stipulated Protective Order does not entitle them to file confidential
information under seal; Local Civil Rule 79-5 sets forth the procedures that must
1
be followed and the standards that will be applied when a party seeks permission
2
from the court to file material under seal.
3
There is a strong presumption that the public has a right of access to judicial
4
proceedings and records in civil cases. In connection with non-dispositive
5
motions, good cause must be shown to support a filing under seal. See Kamakana
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v. City and County of Honolulu, 447 F.3d 1172, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006); Phillips v.
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Gen. Motors Corp., 307 F.3d 1206, 1210-11 (9th Cir. 2002); Makar-Welbon v.
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Sony Electrics, Inc., 187 F.R.D. 576, 577 (E.D. Wis. 1999) (even stipulated
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protective orders require good cause showing), and a specific showing of good
10
cause or compelling reasons with proper evidentiary support and legal justification,
11
must be made with respect to Protected Material that a party seeks to file under
12
seal. The parties’ mere designation of Disclosure or Discovery Material as
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CONFIDENTIAL does not—without the submission of competent evidence by
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declaration, establishing that the material sought to be filed under seal qualifies as
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confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable—constitute good cause.
16
Further, if a party requests sealing related to a dispositive motion or trial,
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then compelling reasons, not only good cause, for the sealing must be shown, and
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the relief sought shall be narrowly tailored to serve the specific interest to be
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protected. See Pintos v. Pacific Creditors Ass’n, 605 F.3d 665, 677-79 (9th Cir.
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2010). For each item or type of information, document, or thing sought to be filed
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or introduced under seal in connection with a dispositive motion or trial, the party
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seeking protection must articulate compelling reasons, supported by specific facts
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and legal justification, for the requested sealing order. Again, competent evidence
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supporting the application to file documents under seal must be provided by
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declaration.
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Any document that is not confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable
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in its entirety will not be filed under seal if the confidential portions can be
redacted. If documents can be redacted, then a redacted version for public
1
viewing, omitting only the confidential, privileged, or otherwise protectable
2
portions of the document shall be filed. Any application that seeks to file
3
documents under seal in their entirety should include an explanation of why
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redaction is not feasible.
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2. DEFINITIONS
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2.1 Action: Denzell Young v. City of Culver City, et al., Case No. 2:25-cv-
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02967-MWF (RAOx).
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2.2 Challenging Party: a Party or Non-Party that challenges the designation of
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information or items under this Order.
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2.3 “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items: information (regardless of how it
12
is generated, stored or maintained) or tangible things that qualify for protection
13
under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c), and as specified above in the Good
14
Cause Statement.
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2.4 Counsel: Outside Counsel of Record, House Counsel (as well as their
16
support staff), and Third Party Administrators
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2.5 Designating Party: a Party or Non-Party that designates information or
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items that it produces in disclosures or in responses to discovery as
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“CONFIDENTIAL.”
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2.6 Disclosure or Discovery Material: all items or information, regardless of the
21
medium or manner in which it is generated, stored, or maintained (including,
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among other things, testimony, transcripts, and tangible things) that are produced
23
or generated in disclosures or responses to discovery in this matter.
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2.7 Expert: a person with specialized knowledge or experience in a matter
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pertinent to the litigation who has been retained by a Party or its counsel to serve
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as an expert witness or as a consultant in this Action.
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2.8 House Counsel: attorneys who are employees of a party to this Action.
House Counsel does not include Outside Counsel of Record or any other outside
1
counsel.
2
2.9 Non-Party: any natural person, partnership, corporation, association or other
3
legal entity not named as a Party to this action.
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2.10 Outside Counsel of Record: attorneys who are not employees of a
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party to this Action but are retained to represent or advise a party to this Action
6
and have appeared in this Action on behalf of that party or are affiliated with a law
7
firm that has appeared on behalf of that party, and includes support staff.
8
2.11 Party: any party to this Action, including all of its officers, directors,
9
employees, consultants, retained experts, and Outside Counsel of Record (and their
10
support staffs).
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2.12 Producing Party: a Party or Non-Party that produces Disclosure or
12
Discovery Material in this Action.
13
2.13 Professional Vendors: persons or entities that provide litigation
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support services (e.g., photocopying, videotaping, translating, preparing exhibits or
15
demonstrations, and organizing, storing, or retrieving data in any form or medium)
16
and their employees and subcontractors.
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2.14 Protected Material: any Disclosure or Discovery Material that is
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designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.”
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2.15 Receiving Party: a Party that receives Disclosure or Discovery
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Material from a Producing Party.
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3. SCOPE
23
The protections conferred by this Stipulation and Order cover not only
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Protected Material (as defined above), but also (1) any information copied or
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extracted from Protected Material; (2) all copies, excerpts, summaries, or
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compilations of Protected Material; and (3) any testimony, conversations, or
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presentations by Parties or their Counsel that might reveal Protected Material.
Any use of Protected Material at trial shall be governed by the orders of the trial
1
judge. This Order does not govern the use of Protected Material at trial.
2
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4. DURATION
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Once a case proceeds to trial, information that was designated as
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CONFIDENTIAL or maintained pursuant to this protective order used or
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introduced as an exhibit at trial becomes public and will be presumptively
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available to all members of the public, including the press, unless compelling
8
reasons supported by specific factual findings to proceed otherwise are made to the
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trial judge in advance of the trial. See Kamakana, 447 F.3d at 1180-81
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(distinguishing “good cause” showing for sealing documents produced in
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discovery from “compelling reasons” standard when merits-related documents are
12
part of court record). Accordingly, the terms of this protective order do not extend
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beyond the commencement of the trial.
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5. DESIGNATING PROTECTED MATERIAL
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5.1 Exercise of Restraint and Care in Designating Material for Protection. Each
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Party or Non-Party that designates information or items for protection under this
18
Order must take care to limit any such designation to specific material that
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qualifies under the appropriate standards. The Designating Party must designate
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for protection only those parts of material, documents, items or oral or written
21
communications that qualify so that other portions of the material, documents,
22
items or communications for which protection is not warranted are not swept
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unjustifiably within the ambit of this Order.
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Mass, indiscriminate or routinized designations are prohibited. Designations
25
that are shown to be clearly unjustified or that have been made for an improper
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purpose (e.g., to unnecessarily encumber the case development process or to
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impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may expose the
1
Designating Party to sanctions.
2
If it comes to a Designating Party’s attention that information or items that it
3
designated for protection do not qualify for protection, that Designating Party must
4
promptly notify all other Parties that it is withdrawing the inapplicable designation.
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5.2 Manner and Timing of Designations. Except as otherwise provided in this
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Order (see, e.g., second paragraph of section 5.2(a) below), or as otherwise
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stipulated or ordered, Disclosure or Discovery Material that qualifies for protection
8
under this Order must be clearly so designated before the material is disclosed or
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produced.
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Designation in conformity with this Order requires:
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(a) for information in documentary form (e.g., paper or electronic documents,
12
but excluding transcripts of depositions or other pretrial or trial proceedings), that
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the Producing Party affix at a minimum, the legend “CONFIDENTIAL”
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(hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL legend”), to each page that contains protected
15
material. If only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the
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Producing Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
17
appropriate markings in the margins).
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A Party or Non-Party that makes original documents available for inspection
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need not designate them for protection until after the inspecting Party has indicated
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which documents it would like copied and produced. During the inspection and
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before the designation, all of the material made available for inspection shall be
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deemed “CONFIDENTIAL.” After the inspecting Party has identified the
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documents it wants copied and produced, the Producing Party must determine
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which documents, or portions thereof, qualify for protection under this Order.
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Then, before producing the specified documents, the Producing Party must affix
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the “CONFIDENTIAL legend” to each page that contains Protected Material. If
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only a portion of the material on a page qualifies for protection, the Producing
Party also must clearly identify the protected portion(s) (e.g., by making
1
appropriate markings in the margins).
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(b) for testimony given in depositions that the Designating Party identifies the
3
Disclosure or Discovery Material on the record, before the close of the deposition
4
all protected testimony.
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(c) for information produced in some form other than documentary and for any
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other tangible items, that the Producing Party affix in a prominent place on the
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exterior of the container or containers in which the information is stored the legend
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“CONFIDENTIAL.” If only a portion or portions of the information warrants
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protection, the Producing Party, to the extent practicable, shall identify the
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protected portion(s).
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5.3 Inadvertent Failures to Designate. If timely corrected, an inadvertent failure
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to designate qualified information or items does not, standing alone, waive the
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Designating Party’s right to secure protection under this Order for such material.
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Upon timely correction of a designation, the Receiving Party must make
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reasonable efforts to assure that the material is treated in accordance with the
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provisions of this Order.
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6. CHALLENGING CONFIDENTIALITY DESIGNATIONS
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6.1 Timing of Challenges. Any Party or Non-Party may challenge a designation
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of confidentiality at any time that is consistent with the Court’s Scheduling Order.
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6.2 Meet and Confer. The Challenging Party shall initiate the dispute resolution
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process under Local Rule 37.1 et seq.
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6.3 The burden of persuasion in any such challenge proceeding shall be on the
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Designating Party. Frivolous challenges, and those made for an improper purpose
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(e.g., to harass or impose unnecessary expenses and burdens on other parties) may
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expose the Challenging Party to sanctions. Unless the Designating Party has
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waived or withdrawn the confidentiality designation, all parties shall continue to
afford the material in question the level of protection to which it is entitled under
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the Producing Party’s designation until the Court rules on the challenge.
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7. ACCESS TO AND USE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
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7.1 Basic Principles. A Receiving Party may use Protected Material that is
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disclosed or produced by another Party or by a Non-Party in connection with this
6
Action only for prosecuting, defending or attempting to settle this Action. Such
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Protected Material may be disclosed only to the categories of persons and under
8
the conditions described in this Order. When the Action has been terminated, a
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Receiving Party must comply with the provisions of section 13 below (FINAL
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DISPOSITION).
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Protected Material must be stored and maintained by a Receiving Party at a
12
location and in a secure manner that ensures that access is limited to the persons
13
authorized under this Order.
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7.2 Disclosure of “CONFIDENTIAL” Information or Items. Unless otherwise
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ordered by the court or permitted in writing by the Designating Party, a Receiving
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Party may disclose any information or item designated “CONFIDENTIAL” only
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to:
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(a) the Receiving Party’s Outside Counsel of Record in this Action, as well as
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employees of said Outside Counsel of Record to whom it is reasonably necessary
20
to disclose the information for this Action;
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(b) the officers, directors, and employees (including House Counsel) of the
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Receiving Party to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action;
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(c) Experts (as defined in this Order) of the Receiving Party to whom
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disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed the
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“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
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(d) the court and its personnel;
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(e) court reporters and their staff;
(f) professional jury or trial consultants, mock jurors, and Professional Vendors
1
to whom disclosure is reasonably necessary for this Action and who have signed
2
the “Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A);
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: (1) the deposing
7
party requests that the witness sign the form attached as Exhibit A hereto; and (2)
8
they will not be permitted to keep any confidential information unless they sign the
9
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” (Exhibit A), unless otherwise
10
agreed by the Designating Party or ordered by the court. Pages of transcribed
11
deposition testimony or exhibits to depositions that reveal Protected Material may
12
be separately bound by the court reporter and may not be disclosed to anyone
13
except as permitted under this Stipulated Protective Order; and
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(i) any mediator or settlement officer, and their supporting personnel, mutually
15
agreed upon by any of the parties engaged in settlement discussions.
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8. PROTECTED MATERIAL SUBPOENAED OR ORDERED PRODUCED
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IN OTHER LITIGATION
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If a Party is served with a subpoena or a court order issued in other litigation
20
that compels disclosure of any information or items designated in this Action as
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“CONFIDENTIAL,” that Party must:
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(a) promptly notify in writing the Designating Party. Such notification shall
23
include a copy of the subpoena or court order;
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(b) promptly notify in writing the party who caused the subpoena or order to
25
issue in the other litigation that some or all of the material covered by the subpoena
26
or order is subject to this Protective Order. Such notification shall include a copy
27
of this Stipulated Protective Order; and
(c) cooperate with respect to all reasonable procedures sought to be pursued by
1
the Designating Party whose Protected Material may be affected.
2
If the Designating Party timely seeks a protective order, the Party served with
3
the subpoena or court order shall not produce any information designated in this
4
action as “CONFIDENTIAL” before a determination by the court from which the
5
subpoena or order issued, unless the Party has obtained the Designating Party’s
6
permission. The Designating Party shall bear the burden and expense of seeking
7
protection in that court of its confidential material and nothing in these provisions
8
should be construed as authorizing or encouraging a Receiving Party in this Action
9
to disobey a lawful directive from another court.
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9. A NON-PARTY’S PROTECTED MATERIAL SOUGHT TO BE
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PRODUCED IN THIS LITIGATION
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(a) The terms of this Order are applicable to information produced by a Non-
14
Party in this Action and designated as “CONFIDENTIAL.” Such information
15
produced by Non-Parties in connection with this litigation is protected by the
16
remedies and relief provided by this Order. Nothing in these provisions should be
17
construed as prohibiting a Non-Party from seeking additional protections.
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(b) In the event that a Party is required, by a valid discovery request, to
19
produce a Non-Party’s confidential information in its possession, and the Party is
20
subject to an agreement with the Non-Party not to produce the Non-Party’s
21
confidential information, then the Party shall:
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(1) promptly notify in writing the Requesting Party and the Non-Party that
23
some or all of the information requested is subject to a confidentiality agreement
24
with a Non-Party;
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(2) promptly provide the Non-Party with a copy of the Stipulated Protective
26
Order in this Action, the relevant discovery request(s), and a reasonably specific
27
description of the information requested; and
(3) make the information requested available for inspection by the Non-Party,
1
if requested.
2
(c) If the Non-Party fails to seek a protective order from this court within 14
3
days of receiving the notice and accompanying information, the Receiving Party
4
may produce the Non-Party’s confidential information responsive to the discovery
5
request. If the Non-Party timely seeks a protective order, the Receiving Party shall
6
not produce any information in its possession or control that is subject to the
7
confidentiality agreement with the Non-Party before a determination by the court.
8
Absent a court order to the contrary, the Non-Party shall bear the burden and
9
expense of seeking protection in this court of its Protected Material.
10
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10. UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED MATERIAL
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If a Receiving Party learns that, by inadvertence or otherwise, it has disclosed
13
Protected Material to any person or in any circumstance not authorized under this
14
Stipulated Protective Order, the Receiving Party must immediately (a) notify in
15
writing the Designating Party of the unauthorized disclosures, (b) use its best
16
efforts to retrieve all unauthorized copies of the Protected Material, (c) inform the
17
person or persons to whom unauthorized disclosures were made of all the terms of
18
this Order, and (d) request such person or persons to execute the
19
“Acknowledgment and Agreement to Be Bound” that is attached hereto as Exhibit
20
A.
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11. INADVERTENT PRODUCTION OF PRIVILEGED OR OTHERWISE
23
PROTECTED MATERIAL
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When a Producing Party gives notice to Receiving Parties that certain
25
inadvertently produced material is subject to a claim of privilege or other
26
protection, the obligations of the Receiving Parties are those set forth in Federal
27
Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B). This provision is not intended to modify
whatever procedure may be established in an e-discovery order that provides for
1
production without prior privilege review. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence
2
502(d) and (e), insofar as the parties reach an agreement on the effect of disclosure
3
of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or
4
work product protection, the parties may incorporate their agreement in the
5
stipulated protective order submitted to the court.
6
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12. MISCELLANEOUS
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12.1 Right to Further Relief. Nothing in this Order abridges the right of
9
any person to seek its modification by the Court in the future.
10
12.2 Right to Assert Other Objections. By stipulating to the entry of this
11
Protective Order, no Party waives any right it otherwise would have to object to
12
disclosing or producing any information or item on any ground not addressed in
13
this Stipulated Protective Order. Similarly, no Party waives any right to object on
14
any ground to use in evidence of any of the material covered by this Protective
15
Order.
16
12.3 Filing Protected Material. A Party that seeks to file under seal any
17
Protected Material must comply with Local Civil Rule 79-5. Protected Material
18
may only be filed under seal pursuant to a court order authorizing the sealing of the
19
specific Protected Material at issue. If a Party’s request to file Protected Material
20
under seal is denied by the court, then the Receiving Party may file the information
21
in the public record unless otherwise instructed by the court.
22
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13. FINAL DISPOSITION
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After the final disposition of this Action, as defined in paragraph 4, within 60
25
days of a written request by the Designating Party, each Receiving Party must
26
return all Protected Material to the Producing Party or destroy such material. As
27
used in this subdivision, “all Protected Material” includes all copies, abstracts,
compilations, summaries, and any other format reproducing or capturing any of the
1
Protected Material. Whether the Protected Material is returned or destroyed, the
2
Receiving Party must submit a written certification to the Producing Party (and, if
3
not the same person or entity, to the Designating Party) by the 60 day deadline that
4
(1) identifies (by category, where appropriate) all the Protected Material that was
5
returned or destroyed and (2) affirms that the Receiving Party has not retained any
6
copies, abstracts, compilations, summaries or any other format reproducing or
7
capturing any of the Protected Material. Notwithstanding this provision, Counsel
8
are entitled to retain an archival copy of all pleadings, motion papers, trial,
9
deposition, and hearing transcripts, legal memoranda, correspondence, deposition
10
and trial exhibits, expert reports, attorney work product, and consultant and expert
11
work product, even if such materials contain Protected Material. Any such
12
archival copies that contain or constitute Protected Material remain subject to this
13
Protective Order as set forth in Section 4 (DURATION).
14
14. VIOLATION
15
Any violation of this Order may be punished by appropriate measures
16
including, without limitation, contempt proceedings and/or monetary sanctions.
17
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IT IS SO STIPULATED.
4 Dated: August 25, 2026 MGDESYAN LAW FIRM
4 /s/ Araksya Boyadzhyan
5 GEORGE G. MGDESYAN, ESQ.
ARAKSYA BOYADZHYAN, ESQ.
6 Attorneys for Plaintiff,
7 DENZELL YOUNG
8 DATED: August 26, 2026 CARPENTER, ROTHANS & DUMONT LLP
10
11 By: /s/ Kimberly Sarmiento
STEVEN J. ROTHANS
12 KIMBERLY SARMIENTO
Attorneys for Defendants, __
13 City of Culver City, Officer Rico Gutierrez,
14 And Officer Kywan Owens
15
6 FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, IT IS SO ORDERED.
17
Ig DATED:08/25/2026
19 °
Razeliis, A, OL
20 || HON. ROZELLA A. OLIVER
United States Magistrate Judge
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-15-
1 EXHIBIT A
2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND
3 I, _____________________________ [print or type full name], of
4 _________________ [print or type full address], declare under penalty of perjury
5 that I have read in its entirety and understand the Stipulated Protective Order that
6 was issued by the United States District Court for the Central District of California
7 on [date]__________________ in the case of Denzell Young v. City of Culver
8 City, et al., Case No. 2:25-cv-02967-MWF (RAOx). I agree to comply with and to
9 be bound by all the terms of this Stipulated Protective Order and I understand and
10 acknowledge that failure to so comply could expose me to sanctions and
11 punishment in the nature of contempt. I solemnly promise that I will not disclose
12 in any manner any information or item that is subject to this Stipulated Protective
13 Order to any person or entity except in strict compliance with the provisions of this
14 Order.
15 I further agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for
16 the Central District of California for enforcing the terms of this Stipulated
17 Protective Order, even if such enforcement proceedings occur after termination of
18 this action. I hereby appoint __________________________ [print or type full
19 name] of _______________________________________ [print or type full
20 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: ______________________________________
24 City and State where sworn and signed: _________________________________
25
26 Printed name: _______________________________
27
28 Signature: __________________________________